Make the holidays easier with these slow cooker Brussels sprouts with butternut, pecans and cranberries. Instructions to prepare them in a slow cooker or on a sheet pan, so you can maximize your oven space!
Make the holidays easier with these slow cooker Brussels sprouts with butternut, pecans and cranberries. Instructions to prepare them in a slow cooker or on a sheet pan, so you can maximize your oven space!Family tradition and holidays go hand in hand. When I close my eyes and picture my family’s table during the holidays growing up, I see tradition. I see turkey, I see stuffing, I see cranberry sauce. And somewhere on that table, I definitely see Brussels sprouts.
Brussels sprouts are that holiday tradition that I really didn’t understand growing up, and to be honest, avoided. Every year, my mom did the bulk of the heavy meal prep (the turkey and stuffing), but curiously, my dad always made sure that the Brussels sprouts made it on the table.
I recently asked my dad why he was so adamant that those Brussels sprouts make it on the table each year, and got a surprising answer.
He thought for a moment, and told me that it just wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without Brussels sprouts. Growing up, his family didn’t have much, and they lived and ate simply. They made do with what they had, and my grandmother always grew Brussels sprouts in her vegetable garden.
As a child, he’d watch those Brussels sprouts grow, and every Thanksgiving it was his job to prepare them. His method is and has always been simple: Brussels sprouts, gently simmered, drained, and dolloped with butter.
Hearing this story gave me new respect for that ever-present bowl of Brussels sprouts from my childhood. To my dad, those Brussels sprouts aren’t just Brussels sprouts. They are the spirit of Thanksgiving.
Continue reading: Slow Cooker Brussels Sprouts with Cranberries, Pecans and Butternut
