Autumn Roasted Veggies with Apples and Pecans

Autumn Roasted Veggies with Apples and Pecans 

Cook's notes: 

This colorful side dish is the perfect blend of sweet and savory. It's easy, delicious, and healthy. A wonderful blend of flavors, colors, and textures with Brussels sprouts, butternut squash, red onion, and apples. This perfect Thanksgiving side dish features tender fall vegetables with incredible flavors. I recommend using one sweet and one tart apple for this. I used a Honey Crisp and a Granny Smith, but Braeburn, Cortland, or Jonathon would work, too.

Some other veggies you might consider adding to this mix are:

• Carrots
• Parsnips
• Sweet potatoes
• Cauliflower
• Beets
• Shallots
• Acorn squash
• Turnips

The recipe was adapted from cookingclassy.com and serves 4-5
Ingredients:

• 16 0z. Brussels sprouts, bottoms trimmed, halved(discard loose leaves) 
• 1/2 red onion. diced into small chunks
• 2 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil or Lemon Olive Oil
• 2-3 cups butternut squash cubes (diced into 3/4 inch pieces) or sweet potatoes, diced
• 2 medium crisp apples, peeled and diced into chunks
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 teaspoon Saigon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon apple pie spice
• Dash of nutmeg
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1/4 tsp. each thyme and rosemary
• 2/3 cup roughly chopped pecans
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. In a large bowl, add oil, brown sugar, and spices.
• Add halved Brussels sprouts, red onion chunks, squash cubes, and diced apples. Mix well.
• Spread veggies evenly on a baking sheet. Bake for 40 minutes, or until Brussels sprouts and squash are tender but not mushy. In the last 5 minutes of baking time, add in cranberries and pecans.

Buttermilk Honey Cornbread with a Southwest Twist

Cook's Notes: Cornbread is the perfect side for your holiday dinner. The recipe is so easy and requires no mixer! It is moist and flavorful and pairs well with roast turkey. The addition of green chiles gives it a Southwest twist.

The recipe is adapted from dammdelicious.net  

Ingredients: 

• 1 ½ cups cornmeal
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• ⅓ cup sugar
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 cups reduced-fat buttermilk
• 1 large egg
• 6 tablespoons butter, slightly melted 
• 1 small can ( 4 oz.) of green chiles, drained and patted dry with a paper towel 
• Honey

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 4oo degrees and grease an 8 x 8 pan.
• Combine cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.
• In a large glass measuring cup or another bowl, whisk together buttermilk, egg, butter, and chiles. Pour mixture over dry ingredients and stir using a rubber spatula until moist.
• Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Immediately poke holes over the surface and drizzle honey over the holes.