Sausage and Vegetable Roast

This is a kind of suggestion-type recipe, throw in your favorite vegetables and ignore the ones you don’t like (or don’t want to do today).

Ingredients

  • Two medium-sized red potatoes
  • 1 head of broccoli (or cauliflower)
  • 2 bell peppers (use two different colors, for the look)
  • 1/2 pound green beans (a couple of handfuls)
  • 1 bunch of asparagus
  • 3/4 pound of sausage
  • Olive oil
  • 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 tablespoon dried oregano
  • 1 tablespoon dried parsley
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper

Steps

  1. Heat up an oven to 400° F
  2. Cut up the potatoes into small (less than 1 inch) pieces. If they’re too big they won’t cook fast enough
  3. Cut up the broccoli, peppers, and asparagus into comfortably-bite-size pieces, and snap the stems off the beans
  4. Slice the sausage into “coins”
  5. Toss veggies, sausage, cheese, and spices into a large bowl with enough olive oil to lightly coat everything (a few tablespoons)
  6. Spread out onto a couple of pans
    1. Everything should be a single layer; doubling up will lead to a mix of burnt and raw bits
  7. Bake for 15 minutes
  8. Flip the veggies and reverse the pans top to bottom
  9. Bake for another 10-15 minutes

Serve with brown rice!

Variations

Swap in a cup of any of the following:

  • butternut squash
  • zucchini
  • sliced carrots
  • a sweet potato
  • turnip
  • radishes
  • sliced jalapeños
  • cherry tomatoes (cut in half)
  • red onions
  • mushrooms

Pasta Twists with Broccoli Sauce

From http://www.momswhothink.com/quick-and-easy-dinner-recipes/pasta-twists-with-broccoli-sauce.html

Ingredients

  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 1 medium onion
  • 2 medium stalks broccoli
  • 1 large red bell pepper
  • ¾ pound pasta twists (about 4½ cups)
  • 2 Tablespoons olive oil
  • ¾ teaspoon oregano
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • black pepper to taste
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

  1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
  2. Finely chop the garlic and onion.
  3. Separate the broccoli tops from the stems, cut the stems and tops into bite-size pieces. Coarsely chop the red bell pepper.
  4. Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook until al dente, 10 to 12 minutes, or according to package directions.
  5. While pasta is cooking, in a large skillet, warm of 1 tablespoon of the oil over medium-high heat until hot but not smoking.
  6. Add the garlic onion mixture and stir-fry until browned, about 5 minutes.
  7. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil, the broccoli tops and stems, the bell pepper, oregano, salt, and black pepper.
  8. Stir fry until vegetables are crisp-tender, about 5 minutes.
  9. Add the heavy cream and Parmesan and bring the mixture to a gentle boil over medium heat.
  10. Cook, stirring, until the mixture thickens slightly, 2 to 3 minutes.
  11. Drain the pasta and toss with the vegetables and sauce. Serve with warm Italian bread.