On Our Plates: Brussels Sprouts and Stuff

This saga begins on Monday. Sarah's Little Sister, Emery, and her sister, Emma, came over. It was great! These girls are 12 years old now and super helpful. All three of our girls are drawn to them because they are kind and gentle young ladies who are willing to play play play and hold a baby. (Felicity was in awe of Emery's braces. Made us laugh.)

Sarah thought it would be fun to make dinner with them and let them try something new. It's a favorite recipe in our house, originally found in a Rachael Ray magazine. But it sounds kind of disgusting at first glance. Don't pre-judge and rob yourself of these tastes. SOOO good. Emery and Emma seriously could not decide what they liked best...Brussels sprouts? Dip? Pork? Pear? All delicious.

Glazed Pork Loin with Brussels Sprouts & Sweet Potatoes
1 1/2 pounds pork loin
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons grainy mustard
1 tablespoon cider vinegar 1 tablespoon dark brown sugar 1 pound Brussels sprouts, halved lengthwise 1 pound sweet potatoes cut into wedges 4 sprigs thyme, plus more for garnish 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 pear cut into chunks
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Season the pork all over with salt and pepper. Place in the center of a roasting pan. In a small bowl, stir together the mustard, vinegar, and brown sugar and brush over the pork. Scatter the Brussels sprouts, sweet potatoes, and thyme around the pork. Sprinkle with the oil, any remaining mustard glaze, salt, and pepper; stir to coat. Transfer to the oven and roast, tossing the vegetables occasionally, until almost tender, about 30 minutes. Stir in the pear and roast until the vegetables are tender and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the pork registers 150 degrees - 15 to 20 minutes. Discard the thyme. Let the roast rest for 5 minutes, then thinly slice and serve with the vegetables and dip. 
DIP
3 tbsp. each mayo, grainy mustard, and chopped pickles. Mix. (BEST PART.)

Right. So the story continues Tuesday night when Mommy came home from church. Daddy presented her with a box of TWENTY pounds of fresh Brussels sprouts that the neighbor brought over. (Side note: we love our neighbors. Dread leaving them when we build the new house.) We like Brussels sprouts in this house so accepting free sprouts was a good idea. Twenty pounds was a biiiiiiit more than we could possibly hope to eat before they spoil. Mommy had to learn how to preserve them. Pinterest helped.

Wednesday (today) Mommy and the girls spent the morning getting 16 lbs of Brussels sprouts into the freezer. Felicity was mostly mad that her playmates were unavailable. Miriam and Vivian were both super helpers as we trimmed, blanched, and got them into bags. Miriam asked, "Mommy, am I being like a Mommy right now? Do you think I can learn how to do this all by myself when I grow up?" Such a sweetheart.

The Brussels sprouts story is over now. If you're craving them, you know where to come.