Roasted Sprouts and Honey BBQ Glazed Pork Bites

So tonight I decided to pull something out of the freezer and make some honey BBQ glazed pork bites and roasted sprouts. I have been cooking many years and even took culinary courses for 2 years. I love inventing in the kitchen and so tonight I did just that.

I got out one of the balsamic vinegar I purchased at the Italian festival last year. It is a cranberry balsamic {25 Star Reserva Balsamic} made by Olive-N-Grape; they also have fresh pressed olive oil. Oh my oh my if you want something amazing you need to try these!

So I decided to roast some sprouts in the oven tonight. I began by washing them; I buy fresh organic ones but you can buy any fresh you want. I let them sit and drain while I prep a pan with foil {makes for easy cleanup later}. Once prepped I set in reach to toss in the sprouts once cut. I find that cutting off just a tiny section of the ends and splitting them in half they roast so much better than whole. {Some I do have to cut into quarters due to the size} then I toss them into my pan until all done.

Once they are all in the pan I give them a drizzle of the balsamic, some first cold press extra virgin olive oil {first cold pressed means that they were crushed and pressed only one time and that the temperature did not go above 80.7*; giving this the most flavor of all olive oils}, pink Himalayan Sea Salt, and fresh ground medley pepper. Once dressed I use a spatula to lightly move them until coated. By shaking the pan to even them out I get a more even cooking. I place them in a 450* oven for 10-15 minutes depending on amount and size.

Sprouts dressed with balsamic, first cold pressed extra virgin olive oil, pink Himalayan Sea Salt, and fresh ground medley pepper.

While the sprouts are cooking I begin making the sauce for the pork bites. I love raw dark honey so I use this the most. I use 1/2 cup of raw dark honey and 1/2 cup tangy BBQ sauce. I stir stir stir until the BBQ sauce mixes with the honey and makes a nice thick glaze. Now I do not like taking photos of raw meat so I did not take any of the pork however I take the country style pork ribs and I slice them down to 1/2-1 inch cubes.

Placing them on a foiled flat sheet {again easy clean up} I season them with some garlic, red pepper, fresh ground pepper medley, and a dash of seasoning salt. I place them in the 450* oven for 10-15 minutes to get a nice color to them. Pulling them out briefly I drizzle the honey BBQ glaze on them {if you own a honey spoon this is a great time to use one; a spoon or brush work great too} and back in the oven for 5 more minutes so they get a little crisp to the edge. You might have a little left over and that is okay you can use it as a dipping sauce or glaze them a second time.