Okay, Brusselly Sprouts are my favorite veggie. But whatever you do, do not buy frozen Brussels sprouts, they truly s*ck in taste and have a horrible texture. Stick with the fresh. Some things just do not freeze well.
Now for a recipe, I'll pass along my old tried and true, one I created years ago and seems to be a hit (even with teens at one family Thanksgiving gettogether).
For simplicity's sake, start with one pound of fresh Brussels sprouts (try to pick them close to the same size and give them a squeeze to make sure they are hard marbles, not squishy); if you cannot pick your own, but are prepackaged, well, that's no fun. But if that's what you are stuck with, separate the sprouts into two piles by size. Peel off any tough outer leaves. Trim the stem. The larger sprouts should be cut in half through the stem to ensure even cooking time.
Braised Brussels Sprouts
1 lb Brussels sprouts
2-4 TBS butter
1-2 TBS low sodium soy sauce (Kikkoman is the best)
2 lemons (zest removed and reserved)
1-2 TBS sliced almonds
In a skillet, heat 1 TBS butter. Watching all the time, lightly toast the slices just until they become fragrant, remove and drain on a paper towel, then reserve. Do not discard butter (it's got all that almond flavor now).
Add a little more butter (now here is where that separation by size matters). The ones halved should be toasted in the butter cut side down until lightly golden. The smaller whole ones should go into the skill at is. Once the cut sprouts are browned, add the soy sauce, butter and juice of one lemon to the skillet. Cover, bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a low simmer. Cook for about 20-25 minutes, or until the sprouts are just cooked but not mushy. Shake the pan/stir the sprouts every so often while they are cooking. Halfway through, add the juice of the second lemon, adjusting the soy and butter accordingly to taste. [You can remove the sprouts as they cook to a bowl so they don't overcook.] I use my spoon to gently press down on the sprouts to check their doneness. Once they give a little, that is, the rock hardness is gone, they are done.
Once the sprouts are done, remove and reduce the cooking liquid until it's a thick syrup, again adjusting the soy and butter to taste. Be careful you don't burn it, though. Add the cooked sprouts back to the pan and toss to coat. Place the sprouts into a serving bowl or place a portion right on the dinner plate, drizzling any reduced sauce over them, sprinkle the toasted almonds over them and top with a snowfall of lemon zest. Serve immediately.
--------
IDP, when blanching asparagus, add to the water the juice of one lemon and add the lemon halves as well. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook the spears for about that 2-3 minutes you mentioned. Then dip into an ice bath and use in your favorite recipe. Doing the spears this way, lemon flavor is imparted so they can be used for a cold/room temperature appetizer/antipasti. Shmeering a piece of prosciutto with goat cheese [that is mixed with finely minced fresh Calamata, or your favorite black, olives and dried oregano], then roll the asparagus up inside the prosciutto like a cigarette (keeping the prosciutto cold for easier manipulation). By handling the prosciutto as you roll up the spear, the fat in the prosciutto warms up and becomes a self-sealing glue that holds the roll-up together. Store by layering thin slices of lemon on the bottom of the container and between each layer of asparagus roll-ups (may be made a couple of days ahead of time). Serve as an appetizer, fanning out 3 or 5 roll-ups (tip side pointing away), with a black and green olive between each roll-up, scattered chunks of Parmigiano Reggiano and imported sharp Provolone, and a pepperoncini. Serve at room temperature for optimum flavor. Fancy, but expensive, finger food. Goes great with a nice chianti.
I made this back in '05 or so, and I bought two bundles of asparagus, 45 spears in all (I counted them). I then asked for 50 slices of prosciutto at the Italian deli (just in case I needed extra or got hungry making them). The prosciutto alone was $45-50, with 12 to 18 oz of goat cheese being another $20-30, the olives were $5-10 dollars and the asparagus being gawd knows what at $2.99-$3.99 a pound; my bill was around $90 for 45 rollups, or about $2-3 a roll-up (make them only for very good friends or family you actually like).