After a long stretch of feasting on delicious but decidedly not-so-healthy foods like over the Thansgiving holiday, we sometimes crave for a simple, wholesome dish that can carry us in to the next week. Something that is easy to prepare (since we are still lethargic from the afore-mentioned feasting) and can get back some much needed essential nutrients into our bodies. You know, since chocolate and fried breading do not really constitute a well-balanced diet, and you can only go so far with the leftovers you have left from Turkey Day dinner!

An easy dish of Roast Veggies is all we really needed to make this weekend to help cheer us up a little bit – though getting out of bed Monday morning after a nice and easy holiday week was tough no matter what. The colorful vegetables added a little brightness to an otherwise bleak, gray, rainy day.

This dish is easy to put together – chop up whatever vegetables you have left over (we’re partial to carrots, mushrooms, onions and peppers), omit whatever veggies your significant other may not want (wifey hates zucchini, so I will have to find another use for them this week),  add in some dried herbs along with salt and pepper, drizzle in some olive oil and throw it in a hot oven. In about 20-30 mins you’ll have a nice fresh side of veggies to go with whatever concoction you’re sure to try this week involving turkey breast and cranberry sauce!

We added some red onions in there this week to add a little zing to the veggies, to pair with the blandness of the leftovers. If you prefer a milder flavor, replace with some regular white onions. Make sure all the vegetables are cut about uniformly the same size so they all cook up evenly.

THE RECIPE

YOU’LL NEED

• A cup of chopped peppers of any kind
• A cup of chopped carrots
• A cup of chopped red onions
• A cup of chopped white mushrooms
• 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 2tsp dried herbs of your choice (or use a premade mix like Herbs de Provence)
• 1tbslp olive oil
• 1tsp of salt (you may need to add more after cooking based on how you intend to eat these, by themselves or as a side)
• 1tsp pepper

THE METHOD

• Pre-heat oven to 350degrees F
• Spray a 9x13inch baking dish with some non-stick cooking spray, or just add some olive oil and grease pan using a paper towel
• Add in the chopped vegetables
• Add in the dried herbs, salt and pepper
• Drizzle in the olive oil, and mix well (go on, get in there with your hands!)
• Put in oven for 20-30 mins. Keep checking and mixing every 10 mins to ensure the vegetbales don’t burn – it will also help you roast to exactly the right amount of tenderness you are looking for in your veggies.

ADDITIONAL TIPS:

• While this works great as a side dish for any kind of meat, it also works wonderfully as a wrap filling – just add in some green and crumbly cheese and you’re good to go.
• If you don’t like the little pieces of garlic in these, substitute with some garlic powder.
• For folks who like oven-roasted tomatoes, try adding in some chopped (pulp-removed) tomato pieces in there to mix it up.
• A dash of cayenne pepper add a little heat.

• Tags: baking, vegetable
• Posted on Monday, November 30th, 2009 at 10:21 pm
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