Recipe of the Week: Oven-Roasted Vegetable Medley, by L.H.

This isn’t so much a recipe, but a guideline – a very forgiving guideline – that basically works every time. It’s a wonderful method for cleaning out those bits and pieces in the refrigerator crisper drawer that might otherwise go to waste, and super easy to adapt to your family’s size and tastes. And did I mention that it’s a pretty healthy and delicious way to add more veggies to your family’s diet?

Ingredients:

  • 3-6 c. assorted vegetables, cut into similarly-sized pieces, about 1”x1”, or about the size of a medium broccoli or cauliflower floret (and don’t stress too much about this – it mostly all works out deliciously in the end)
  • 2-3 tbs. olive oil
  • 1-2 tbs. seasoning of choice

Directions:

  1. Place all your veggies in a large mixing bowl and pour olive oil over. Start with a smaller amount and stir all together. You are looking for all your veggies to be very slightly “damp”. If you are doing a large amount of veggies add more oil and stir till they are all lightly coated.
  2. Sprinkle seasoning over, to taste, and stir all together.
  3. Spread veggies out in a single layer (as much as you can) on a large baking sheet.
  4. Bake in preheated 425 degree oven for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and toss with spatula. Return to oven for 10 more minutes.

And that’s it. 425 degrees, 20 minutes, tossing halfway through. It works for most all veggies, most all the time.

Some ideas for your vegetables:

Potatoes or sweet potatoes; red, green or mildly-hot peppers; yellow squash or zucchini; onions of any sort; carrots; cabbage; broccoli; Brussels sprouts; celery; corn (I urge you to add a cup or more of frozen or canned corn to ANY medley you make. Add during the 2nd 10 minutes of cooking, as it roasts super-quick. We’ve found the corn to be a superbly sweet addition to all of our medleys); okra; green beans; snow peas and sugar snap peas; cherry tomatoes; whole garlic cloves; cauliflower.

Some ideas for your seasoning:

Plain ol’ salt and pepper; seasoned salt; Mexican blend (cumin is wondermous); Italian seasoning; Ranch salad dressing powder; Greek seasoning; Cajun seasoning.

Another option for topping: a garlic-butter sauce (one of our favorites). Place 3-4 tbs. butter in an oven-safe cup, add 2 cloves minced garlic (or equivalent amount of dried, or some garlic powder if you are short on time) and place on the baking sheet at the halfway/tossing point. Then pour over for serving.

However, plain ol’ roasted okra is the bomb! Just the bit of olive oil and seasoned salt and oh my! I’ve been working too hard with all the cutting and breading and frying of the stuff all these years! – Enjoy.

o o o

Useful Recipe and Cooking Links:

Robb Moffet has uploaded a new video on his blog Robs Homemade Life for Easy Crock Pot Chili made from food storage ingredients. The chili has no meat in it, but the TVP sausage bits and Soy strips make it taste like it does.

Do you have a favorite recipe that would be of interest to SurvivalBlog readers? Please send it via e-mail. Thanks!