Roasted Veggies

I love vegetables! I mean, I truly adore them! I will eat a bowl full of veggies over fruit any day. I try to make at least 2-3 meals a week that are mostly vegetarian. I have found that roasting veggies is an easy way to make sure that my family is getting a lot of veggies in one serving. A few years ago my friend and neighbor, Kim P. made me one of her signature dishes with roasted veggies. Her veggies contained a root vegetable, that up to that point, I would have never, ever have eaten---they were BEETS! yuck! Well, after that dinner, I was hooked on roasted beets, their earthly loveliness is like nothing I have ever tasted. I love, love them roasted---and now, I will even eat them in a salad and pickled. 

Since, that dinner I have more perfectly, perfected the art of roasting vegetables. I used to throw them in with whatever meat I was cooking, but have since found that they taste much better roasting them by themselves and slowly. I use mostly root veggies, but, really, any veggie will do. They are the perfect side dish to the Sunday Roasted Chicken. I use the leftovers later in the week for all sorts of other dishes, such as, pizza toppings, a frittata, a pasta topping, risotto topping or a delish Roasted Veggie Winter Tart that I make (I will post that recipe sometime). Whatever I am making at the beginning of the week usually, will work in other dishes that I have mapped out for that weeks' menu. It is a very cost and time effecient way of cooking.

Ingredients:
1 small sweet onion (such as a Vidalia onion)
1 small red onion
1 yam or sweet potato
1 russet potato
3-4 carrots
1 bunch of beets (there are usually 3-4 beets per bunch)
3 celery stalks
& whatever other veggies strike your fancy---Roma tomatos are good to use, winter squashes ie.zucchini, mushrooms, or any other veggie in season or root veggie you like.
1 tsp Balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp Olive oil
Tbsp crushed garlic
1 tsp Provencal herbs (or a mix of thyme, lavendar & rosemary)
Salt (I almost always use Kosher salt and save table salt for eggs or baking) and Pepper (fresh cracked is my preference).

Directions:
Wash & chop all veggies (chop chunky---not fine)

Washed and chopped

Put veggies in a ziplock baggie and then add

all spices, oil and vinegar 

 

Coat all veggies with the spices, oil and vinegar. I find that putting it all in the ziplock is the best way to make sure all your veggies are evenly coated. However, if you don't have any on hand or you don't want to be wasteful---a bowl works fine too.

Line a cookie sheet with tin foil (if you want---I like to do it this because it makes for easy clean up, again you can skip this step if you don't have any foil or you don't want to be wasteful).

Dump veggies onto sheet;

spread veggies out with a wooden spoon (any spoon will do ;)

Roast veggies in a preheated 325 degree oven and roast until a fork goes easily into the potatos & beets, since they are the bigger veggies they will take a little longer than the others. Usually around 40-50 min. Check the veggies about every 15 min and stir them...you are basically, carmalizing the veggies in the oven. You want to make sure they are all coated with the sugars that are being released from the veggies.

Remove from oven and Viola!

Roasted, luscious, rich goodness!!

 

Transfer to a bowl (it's the same one I used at the beginning & yes, I washed it ;)

Sunday Roasted Chicken with Veggies

My favorite dinner of the week, Sunday dinner. I have always loved the idea of Sunday dinner. My dad's mom always had a family style Sunday dinner every---well, Sunday. I have taken over this family tradition. I usually make some sort of roasted meal that I can turn into other meals throughout the week.

Ingredients:
One 2- to 3-pound farm-raised chicken, or organic (or whatever chicken you perfer)

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons thyme
1 teaspoon garlic powder (or whatever garlic you have on hand will work fine)
1 stick unsalted soft (not melted) butter
2 carrots
1 large onion
2 large potatos
A bunch of beets (there are usually 3 stalks in a bunch)
Olive oil

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 450°F. Rinse the chicken, then dry it very well with paper towels, inside and out. 

Now, mix the butter with the salt, pepper, garlic and thyme, to a paste. Rub the chicken with the butter paste, like you were rubbing it with suntan lotion. This is how it will get it's nice brown skin when you take the foil off later. Place the chicken in a large dutch oven or deep pan.

Now, wash and cut up all your veggies in large chunks and them all around the chicken. Drizzle just a little of the olive oil onto your veggies. Cover in tin foil, the put the chicken in the oven. I leave it alone—I don't baste it. Roast it until it's done, 50 to 60 minutes (the last 20 min or so take off the foil and let it brown). Remove it from the oven. Baste the chicken with the juices & let it rest for 15 minutes. Then serve!