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Sometimes it’s getting close to dinnertime and you have no idea what you’re going to make. So you look in the pantry and the fridge and ask yourself, “What can I make out of this?”

This day, I found Brussels sprouts, leftover diced tomatoes, and Asiago cheese. Hmm … I’ve always got onions, and I’ve always got bacon fat. I’ll bet that would all work together.

And it does.

Ingredients

Brussels sprouts

onion

diced tomato

Asiago cheese

bacon fat

kosher salt

fresh ground black pepper

Directions

First off, don’t ask for amounts on this one. It was whatever I had left. You can see it all in that picture above. (I only used about half the sprouts in that bowl, though.)

Cut the stems of the sprouts and split them in half lengthwise. Peel off any yellow outer leaves.

Melt the bacon fat over medium heat. (Click here for info on rending and storing bacon fat.)

You can use butter, but you’ll be missing out on a ton of flavor. If you’ve got some bacon lying around, chop it up, cook it, and leave it in the pan while you follow the rest of the recipe.

Dice the onion (click the link for directions) and add it to the pan.

Add salt and pepper and cook over medium-low heat, stirring or tossing occasionally, until the onion is softened and starting to darken.

Once the onion starts to caramelize, add some more bacon fat, and the cut Brussels sprouts.

Toss to make sure the sprouts are coated, then turn them so they’re all cut-side down. Cover the pan so the steam will help cook the sprouts faster.

Once the sprouts are soft all the way through, 5-10 minutes — toss a few times along the way to make sure they don’t burn on the bottom — add the diced tomatoes.

Stir together and cook just until the tomatoes are warm, but not so much that they break down into sauce.

Top with shredded Asiago cheese.

And that’s it.