Many people out there hate brussel sprouts and I can almost guarantee that they hate them because they grew up with steamed mushy bitter brussels from a freezer bag, maybe coated in lard or butter to "help" them go down. Yuck!

Get over your fear with delicious roasted sprouts!

Step 1: Ingredients

Between 1/4-1lb of FRESH brussel sprouts (Never ever use frozen brussel sprouts as a dishes focal point!!)
Olive Oil
Sea Salt
Black Pepper(preferably fresh)

Optional: Balsamic Vinagrette and Salad Bacon/Precooked bacon

Step 2: Toss the Sprouts

Put the brussel sprouts in a plastic bag or large bowl.
Pour in enough olive oil to coat them thoroughly.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
Toss!

Too much olive oil isn't a huge problem, but drain excess off if there is a lot in the bottom of the bowl/bag.

Be careful with the salt! You can always add more salt when they are done cooking.

Step 3: Cook

Preheat the toaster oven to 400 degrees, I set it to Broil.
I put down tinfoil in the bottom for easy cleanup.
Place your brussel sprouts in a single layer and make sure there is some room between them. If they are crammed too close together the air doesn't circulate well and they aren't as crispy in the end.
Set your timer for 25 minutes.
Turn the sprouts over every 7-10 minutes. This makes sure they don't burn too much on one side and are crispy all over.
You will see some browning/black color, but that is what you want. You will smell burning if they have stayed on one side for too long. If you get there in time you can simply turn them and they should be fine.

You can use a regular oven for this, but make sure the rack is in the middle.

Optional: At 20 minutes add half a cup of the bacon over the sprouts. This will make the bacon really crispy and add more fat and salt. Yum!
If you want to get really crazy put some shredded cheese on top...though this is taking away from the brussel sprout experience, I can't really argue with cheese.

Step 4: Done!

Serve hot/warm.
Do a taste test and make sure it is salted and peppered to your liking.
If too salty you can try mixing them with more olive oil to try and rub some of the salt off.
Add a small dish of balsamic vinagrette for dipping if you like.

If you don't love brussel sprouts after this then you definitely hate them and are a lost cause and I'm so so sorry you had to eat them again!