Clean Bill Brussel Sprouts

The past few months in my parent's household has been a nightmare. My Father has been battling cancer. One of his three small business had to be taken over by my brother (who is doing a fantastic job!), and my Mom has been working from home, keeping up the house, feeding and clothing and taking care of my Dad and brother as well as watching over 4 dogs, 1 cat and a parrot that screams in Spanish all day. There's been a lot of pressure, needless to say.

BUT! As of this week, my father has been given his official clean bill of health! YES! Applause. "So what does this have to do with food?" you ask? Everything! Food makes life easier for so many people, especially when you go out of your way to cook it for someone else. In the first months of Cancer Battle 2009 my mother could barely make it to Publix in between pre-menopausal breakdowns let alone make a sensible dinner every night 5 nights a week. Thank the heavens we have such a great neighborhood of beautiful people to bring over pizzas, pot roasts, macaroni and booze for my family.

So, if you know someone in your life is having a rough day or week or months, nothing says "Fuck it, we'll get through this together!" like a home-cooked hot meal. In celebration of Dad's recovery, I've come up with an easy side dish that takes no time at all and even cheats a little.

You will need:

1 bag of fresh frozen Brussel Sprouts (I like the Bird's Eye Stemfresh bags)

The juice of half of a lemon

3 Garlic Cloves minced

Salt/Pepper to taste

Olive Oil

- First, coat a small frying pan with olive oil and heat on medium/low heat. Add in your Garlic.

- Meanwhile, microwave your Sprouts and when they're done, chop the bigger ones in half leaving only the really tiny ones whole and toss them into the pan with the Lemon Juice.

- Sautee the Sprouts and add the Salt/Pepper (I like the use the Garlic/Salt grinders for this) to taste. Use as much as you want because it helps make a nice crust on the Sprouts.

- Sautee until the sprouts have a nice dark crust on their sides and serve!

I concocted this recipe the day my family found out my Dad had won. There was next to nothing in the fridge or pantry save for frozen veggies and chicken. It tasted great despite it's store-bought quality. I had also made my Sexy Spinch and Goat Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breast. For a starch, I sliced up some lonely hoagie rolls, brushed them with olive oil and sprinkled some minced garlic on them, baked them and had an easy Garlic Bread Crostini side dish.

Everything came out perfect and the only thing I had to run out and buy was a container of goat cheese! This meal is perfect and fast and healthy and easy! So just keep this in mind next time you're wondering how to show you care without mailing a sympathy card.