I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been asked how on earth I manage to cook dinner from scratch every single night?!? And… I’m here to tell you, it’s all about the simplicity. Most of my recipes are super simple, which is the main reason I’m able to get dinner on the table. But, it goes deeper than that – I have my own system of ‘convenience foods’ so to speak. By having certain foods already prepared and ready to go, I don’t have to start from scratch every singe night!
Today’s recipe is a perfect example of how food evolves in our kitchen. I brought home quite a few veggies from farmer’s market, and instead of finding room for them in the refrigerator, I chopped them up and popped them in the oven to roast. With 1 pan of roasted veggies, I made these veggie bowls topped with over easy eggs and basil aioli. Three days later, I made my quickest ever Thai Curry with the other pan of roasted veggies. The Thai Curry was so quick and easy to make, I had to wait a bit for the rice to finish cooking – dinner really doesn’t get any faster than that! So that’s my big ‘secret’ so to speak! It’s along the lines of the ‘cook once eat twice’ saying but with a bit more flair – this way you’re not eating the same thing the next night reheated, (although we do that too to save time as well)! For instance, I made a triple batch of my Crockpot Salsa Beef – the 1st night we had Salsa Beef with rice and all the toppings called for in the recipe. Then, I froze the remainder in 2-3 cup packages for easy freezer meals. With 1 of my frozen packages, I made a huge tamale pie and froze half of that for another occasion. So, that’s 3 meals and counting from my triple batch of Salsa Beef! The more you practice this in your own kitchen, the easier it gets! Pretty soon you’ll have Homemade Marinara, chicken stock, Salsa Beef, and all sorts of goodies in your freezer that will make your life so much easier!
For the zucchini and eggplant in this recipe, I cut off both ends and cut them into quarters lengthwise. Then, you slice across the quarters to make bite sized triangles. If you’re using bigger vegetables, cut them into bite sized pieces, keeping everything basically uniform.
For the onions, cut off both ends and peel them. Next, cut them in half from the top to the bottom. Place each onion half face down on the cutting board and slice into 1/4-1/2″ half moon slices. For the bell pepper, remove the core and cut in half lengthwise. Cut each pepper half lengthwise into 1/2″ strips – then cut across the strips in 1 ” intervals. I tossed all the veggies together right on the parchment lined baking sheets, and drizzled with olive oil. Don’t worry about trying to mix in the olive oil, just sprinkle evenly with sea salt and pop them in the oven. Everything will get mixed together better when you stir the veggies halfway through the cooking point.
While the veggies are roasting, wash the cherry tomatoes (I used Sungolds) and cut them into quarters and halves – whatever makes for bite sized pieces. I’ve found the basil aioli keeps best if the basil is stirred in rather than ran through the blender blades. The basil wants to turn brown after about 24 hours if you add it to the blender. To keep it for up to 3 days, stir in hand chopped basil after the aioli is emulsified in the blender.
These roasted veggies are great as a filling for an omelet or tossed with freshly cooked pasta. I even made a salad out of them by tossing them with fresh greens and my 2-Ingredient Balsamic Vinaigrette! By varying what you put these veggies with you can easily make several different meals without having to eat the same thing day after day! No reviews
