Sole Amandine with Shredded Brussels Sprouts

     My mission this week is to kick my cooking blues to the curb and not allow myself to be lazy when it comes to making dinners.  Recently, I made a dinner that neither Arnauld or I would eat. Maybe it had to do with the way my nose wrinkled after I sampled the dinner or the not so appetizing smells that permeated the entire house.  Either way, the dish went right down the garbage disposal.  Arnauld hit the nail right on the head when he said something along the lines of, "I can totally tell when your heart just isn't in what you're cooking."  There are days that my only goal is to get something on the table, usually quickly with little regard to who has to eat my creations.  The real kicker is, that despite my lack of effort, I still get upset when Arnauld isn't completely enamored with dinner- like "How dare you not like that dinner I just whipped up?" 
     So tonight I decided to put my heart back into the kitchen.  In the process I rediscovered that dinner doesn't have to take hours to prepare in order for it to be healthy and delicious.  My goal tonight was to create, dare I say it, something that we would actually want to eat.  Mission accomplished.

Sole Amandine with Shredded Brussels Sprouts

Ingredients
1 cup Brussels Sprouts, thinly sliced
2 sole fillets
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 1/2 tbsp Smart Balance Butter, divided
3 tbsp slivered almonds

Method
1. Toss Brussels Sprouts with salt and pepper.  Steam them over boiling water until they are tender, about 4-5 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, season the fish with salt and pepper.
3. Heat the oil and half of the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Cook the fish, turning once.  This should take about 2 1/2-3 minutes total.  The fish should be browned and cooked through.  Remove the fish to a plate with the sprouts.
4. Remove any leftover fat from the skillet and add the remaining butter and almonds.  Reduce the heat to medium-low and stir until the almonds are golden, about 1-2 minutes.   Spoon the almonds over the fish and Brussels Sprouts.

The Taste Test
     I never really gave Brussels Sprouts a chance.  I always just assumed I wouldn't like them, given their reputation.  Well last weekend, Arnauld came home with some roasted sprouts from Whole Foods and I loved them!  Tonight while picking something up for dinner, I picked up a bunch.  Although I wasn't really sure what to do with them, I was excited to eat them.  While at the store, I also picked up some sole- a random choice which could have been disastrous.  Lucky for me, I found a recipe  on epicurious.com that called for Brussels Sprouts and sole.  What are the chances?  It was fate and with that I am rejuvenated for the time being.