Shredded Brussels Sprouts and Ham Bake

In my past (which actually is beginning to feel like more of a past life than just a couple of years ago), I normally would have done high kicks to hear the overly aggressive Light FM stations blasting their X-Mas music pre- Thanksgiving. But yesterday, that damn Hippotomas song popped on as I was scrolling through the radio (yes, I still listen to radio) and I instantly felt like Derek Zoolander (in Zoolander) walking down the runway for Mugato when his “trigger song” pops on and he turns into this fighting ninja warrior. Except, being that I am not athletically fit to turn into a Ninja Warrior (and quite lazy)  I was filled with rage, like Scrooge style rage, and literally broke into an immediate sweat and wanted to roll down my window and tell the kids sitting in the car next to me that Santa is a lie and to be naughty AF, because misery loves company. Duh.

But don’t worry, I’m not that much of a grumpy old man. These are just my thoughts when I hear Christmas Music. More specifically that whiny greedy child singing that hippo song.

Anyways. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves here. We still need to get through Thanksgiving. Which is probably the greatest holiday of the year. Because it is 100 percent revolved around the food you are going to eat. And not just one specific course. You go big or go home on this evening, and it is fully acceptable to go to town on both dinner AND dessert.

Hummada-hummada.

And this year, and probably every year, it is all about them side dishes. Anything to take away from the boring Turkey. And one of my favorite sides are brussels sprouts. Despite all of their gas inducing qualities, those hearty green balls really do it for me. No triggered rage in any way shape or form. Just pure happiness, and gluttony.

Shredded Brussels Sprouts and Ham Bake. With Chestnuts. To instantly mute out any crappy Christmas music that could be blasting during your holiday feast. My “Happy Place” recipe.

Recipe Notes:

If you are unfamiliar with brussels sprouts, for prep work you’ll need to remove the ends and then peel off the outer layer of leaf (though they usually fall off when the stems are moved). The quickest way to shred is to add them to a food processor, and depending on how big or how little your processor is, do it in batches to avoid completely chopping up the sprouts into fine bits, unless your processor is large enough to handle all the sprouts at once  – aren’t you just so damn lucky 😉 –

My grocery store offers small portioned thick cut ham (you usually find this next to the bacon aisle, not in cold cuts section). Which is nice because I use about half of it for this recipe, and the rest goes along side eggs in the AM or on an epic sammich.

You MAY replace the sesame oil with whatever oil you have HOWEVER I strongly recommend using sesame. It really adds a nutty asian kick to this dish.

This recipe can be served at room temperature, perfect for entertaining / holidays. And I personally love the leftovers even MORE.

5.0 from 5 reviews

Shredded Brussels and Ham Bake

Prep time:  10 mins

Cook time:  40 mins

Total time:  50 mins

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Ingredients

• 6 cups brussels sprouts, ends removed, outer layer leaf discarded and then shredded
• 2 cups chopped thick cut ham
• ½ large yellow onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
• ⅓ cup roasted chestnuts, chopped small

Sauce:

• 3 tbsp soy sauce (lower sodium)
• 2 tsp sesame seed oil
• 1 tbsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tbsp coarse ground pepper
• 1 tbsp brown sugar

Instructions

1. First preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
2. Next in a baking dish add your shredded sprouts, chopped ham, chopped onion and chopped chestnuts. Set aside until sauce is made.
3. For the sauce whisk all ingredients together in a small bowl.
4. Next pour sauce over your brussels sprouts and ham mix and toss until sauce is evenly distributed over mix.
5. Cover baking dish with foil and place in oven for 35-40 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. Remove foil half way through baking and continue to bake uncovered.
6. Remove from oven and cover with foil to keep warm until ready to serve. May be served at room temperature.

3.5.3226