Roasted Veggies

Most of the time, a side dish for us is a veggie. In the winter, this almost always means a roasted veggie. In the summer and on warmer days I try not to turn on the oven if I don't have to, but a lot of nights even when it's warm we end up roasting our side dish. I just love roasted vegetables.

All of the vegetables I roast carry the same general rules for cooking and ingredients:

1. Trim and wash veggies.

2. Chop into pieces that are all relatively the same size.

3. Toss with olive oil and salt.

4. Place on a baking sheet or dish lined with foil (for easy clean up).

5. Roast at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until golden and tender.

Roasted okra. This was a recent experiment and I loved how it turned out! We will be doing this again very soon.

Roasted potatoes and onions. I like to leave the skins on red potatoes. The color and texture are great!

Cauliflower and broccoli with all the usual ingredients + curry powder!

Butternut squash and cabbage. A little rosemary added to the squash for extra fall flavor.

Tomatoes! Delicious on pasta.

Mixed veggies - great for cleaning out all those random quantities of veggies sitting in your produce drawer. Picture here; zucchini, yellow squash, eggplant, broccoli, carrots.

Beets! A little different way of roasting these guys, find the recipe here.

Broccoli, mushrooms, and zucchini.

Kale! When you roast kale according to the "general" directions, it turns into kale chips! More one that here.

Brussel Sprouts. Yum. Follow the same directions as normal veggies require, except substitute soy sauce for salt. A family favorite!

As fall comes nearer I hope you can put these roasted veggie ideas to use!

Green Tortellini Salad

Sorry for the delay in posts, ya'll. This past week was more hectic than normal, and I just didn't have a chance to sit down at my computer to do some writing until now! I hope you are all enjoying your weekend - we've had a beautiful one here in the High Country!

Before I share this recipe, I have to sneak in a few pictures of my adorable niece and sister from while they were hear over Memorial Day Weekend. We had a little photo shoot...

So cute! Ah! Ahem, back to the pasta. Today, I share with you a recipe for green tortellini salad. Pasta salad is one of my favorites, especially in the summer time. You know those hot days when the last thing you want to do is slave over a hot oven or stove for hours? This is the perfect dish for one of those days - the only thing that requires heat is boiling water for the pasta. Then, you can enjoy pasta salad cold from the fridge for days on end without having to add any extra heat to your already hot house.

Now keep in mind, this recipe is very versatile. You could use any kind of beans, and add or substitute any other vegetables to create your own custom version. The basics are simple, and they're all you need to create a delicious salad.

For my additions, I used kidney beans, sun dried tomatoes, olives, green beans, cucumber, artichoke hearts, and celery. Bite size pieces of each!

Once the pasta was cooked (I used tortellini and a cup of shells to add some extra bulk), I tossed it in a big bowl with all the additions and started working on the dressing. First, pesto.

Then, olive oil, a dash of vinegar, salt and pepper to taste. Oh, and a little parmesan cheese was added to the mix too.

Served up as a main dish on this particular evening.

Simple, quick, refreshingly summery.

Green Tortellini Salad Recipe:

Makes a LOT of pasta salad.

- One package of refrigerated tortellini (usually found near the dairy section of your grocery store), I used spinach

- 1 cup Pasta, any shape will do.

- 1 can beans, rinsed and drained

- 2-3 sun dried tomatoes

- 1 small can sliced olives

- 4-5 artichoke hearts

- 2 cups fresh green beans

- 2 stalks celery

- 1 cucumber

- 3 tbsp pesto (home made or prepared)

- 3 tbsp olive oil

- 2 tsp white vinegar

- Salt/pepper to taste

- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese

Directions:

- Cook both the tortellini and pasta based on package directions. Drain and let cool.

- Wash, trim, and chop the additions into bite sized pieces.

- Toss additions and pasta in a large mixing bowl.

- Add pesto, olive oil, vinegar, salt/pepper, and parmesan cheese.

- Mix everything together, and serve room temperature or cold.