Five Favorite Vegetables

This was supposed to be posted yesterday,
but somehow my day just got away from me.
WHOOPS

Anyway...

I'm back today for another Friday Link Up (but a day late)!

This week, I'm linking up with THREE different groups.
Make sure to check them all out at the bottom of this post!

I'm a really big fan of eating vegetables.

I'm not picky and like pretty much all vegetables,

and since this is mostly a food blog I thought today I'd share my 

FIVE FAVORITE VEGETABLE TO EAT!!!

These are in no particular order because I honestly love eating them all,

but my favorite changes depending on the time of year

Lucky for me though because living in California,

means I can get them all pretty much year round!

Enough yapping outta me, let's get to the vegetables!

Asparagus

My favorite way to eat asparagus is to roast it.

I drizzle a little olive oil and then sprinkle salt and pepper on top

before roasting at 350 degrees for about 15 to 20 minutes.

Broccoli

I can't decide if I like roasted or steamed broccoli more.

I prepare my roasted broccoli the same way I do the asparagus,

but I sometimes add a little fresh Parmesan at the very end. 

Brussels Sprouts

I didn't know how much I loved brussels sprouts until I was an adult.

And since I discovered how much I love eating them,

I haven't found a single way of preparing them that I don't like!

Cauliflower

Cauliflower is the most recent vegetable I've realized I love to eat.

Again, I think the method of preparing it I like the most is to roast it.

Adding a lemon juice and zest gives it a little extra flavor too!

Corn on the Cob

Fresh, sweet corn on the cob roasted or grilled in the husk is AMAZING!

I've been known to make extra to have as leftover too.

Can't wait for Summer to get here because that means fresh corn!

Now for more Friday Link Up Fun, check out the blogs below!

Andrea and Erika's blogs from Friday Favorites.

April and Christina's blogs from 5 on Friday.

Karli and Amy's blogs from oh hey friday!

Sunday Night Dinner: Take 32

I was originally planning to make Roasted Squash for dinner, but turns out I'd had my squash too long. :( Oh well, I wasn't too disappointed and was happy to replace the squash with a grilled cheese sandwich. Mmm mmm mmm!!!

I'm sure roasted squash would have been very tasty, but I'm not sad I had to have the grilled cheese instead... 

I was already planning on making a salad tonight, but once the squash was out I opted to roast some brussels sprouts to have with the salad and grilled cheese. 

While things didn't go as I'd originally planned, tonight's dinner was absolutely a success. 

Sunday Night Dinner: Take 29

Another Sunday night, and once again...another yummy Sunday night dinner! Tonight, I got to enjoy the company of my girlfriend Alison and catch up on our busy lives. It was a great evening and I look forward to more nights like tonight in the near future!

We started with some fresh watermelon juice and had some tasty olives too! Soon after, she was digging into the Soft Pretzels I made last night! They're so good, even after freezing. And the main course was just as good - salmon with herb garlic butter, roasted brussels sprouts and herbed basmati rice. YUM! We both were stuffed and completely satisfied!!

Sunday Night Dinner: Take 28

Tonight's Sunday Night Dinner was pretty simple, but finding all the pieces to make it a success was far from simple!  One would think that it'd be easy to find pretzel rolls, correct? Especially now that they're pretty trendy. Well...not really! After going to 4 different stores, I was finally able to purchase pretzel slider rolls from a store I'd seen them at MONTHS ago. Why I didn't start there in the first place...that's another story! 

Now that I had pretzel rolls, I could make what I'd picture as an amazing dinner! I made turkey burger pretzel roll sliders with cheddar cheese, mustard, lettuce and pickle slices. They were simply amazing and even better than I thought possible! With them, I enjoyed some grilled zucchini and roasted brussels sprouts. Both were very tasty and oddly enough, a great compliment to the sliders.

Sunday Night Dinner: Take 21

It's been a few weeks since I posted a Sunday Night Dinner post, so I'm sorry! But - tonight's post is extra special because it's completely vegetarian and is still absolutely amazing and very filling!!!

I was going to roast a butternut squash, but I found a banana squash at the grocery store tonight and decided I wanted that instead! With the roasted squash, I had some roasted broccoli, sauteed garlic brussels sprouts and small salad with baby greens and bleu cheese tossed in a creamy balsamic dressing.

This meal was SO good and just thinking about it now makes me want to go eat some leftovers. Not only does it taste to good, it's all really simple to make as well.

Sunday Night Dinner: Take 11!

It's been awhile since I've done a Sunday Night Dinner post, but I've missed them, so it's back - at least for tonight, but I may make it more of a regular thing.  

Even though none of my recipes are techically "Fall Recipes", pretty much anything I've been making recenly has been "Fall-y" to me. :)

Tonight I made three amazing dishes, two of which I'd never made before and the other was modified from a usual favorite!

The main part of the meal was a chicken dish. I've made many lemon chicken dishes and many rosemary chicken dishes, but I never even thought to combine the two. Well, I did that tonight when I made Rosemary Lemon Chicken. It was very moist, tender and flavorful. I'm looking forward to the little bit I have leftover, which I plan to enjoy in a salad for lunch tomorrow.  

Please forgive me. I forgot to take pictures of ANY part of the chicken dish. I always seem to forget SOMETHING. I hope I get it together eventually...

Next was an old favorite - roasted red potatoes. I always toss them in olive oil and some spice with some fresh garlic cloves, but tonight I kicked it up a notch. I did the usual, but I added some golden pearl onions and fresh minced rosemary too!

And finally, I was trying my hand at a new vegetable dish as well. I made Brussels Sprouts with Lemon and Garlic. While it was very tasty, I may cut back on the lemon juice just a tad. I loved the tastes, but it was a little strong for others.

It's Fall!!!

As of last Friday, it is OFFICIALLY Fall.  Oh how I LOVE the season and so much that goes along with it!

Now that it's Fall, it's time to...

Things such as cooler temperatures, earlier sunsets, crisper air, pumpkins, apples, saquash, Halloween, Thanksgiving, boots, sweaters, scarves, pies, soups, breads and SO much more!

I couldn't let the first weekend of Fall go by without doing some cooking that can somewhat be considered Fall dishes. I have no problem cooking all of them year round, but each an every one would make a perfect side dish to any Fall dinner.  

While making a quick stop by Trader Joe's, I noticed a stock of brussels spouts. I have only used them off the stock once before and that was YEARS ago so I was excited and had to buy it! 

After trimming all the sprouts off the stock I ended up with a whopping........

60 BRUSSELS SPROUTS!!!

There is no way I could eat all of them over a few days if I cooked them all at once, so I picked out the 20 smallest sprouts and made Garlic Roasted Brussels Sprouts. YUM!

Cut all sprouts in half keeping any leaves that fall off.

Add a few cloves garlic -
cut into smaller "chunks" if on the larger side. (I used 4.) 

Toss in olive oil, fresh ground pepper and sea salt.

Pour dressed sprout into a baking dish and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, or until almost all sprouts are a toasted golden brown on both sides. Remove from oven and cover with freshly shaved Parmesan Cheese.

Server immediately and store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Before finding the stock of Brussels Sprouts, I made a quick trip to the local farm and picked up a few things. I love their produce, but love their prices on most things even more!

One of my farm finds was a bag of fresh beets. I love the taste of beets, but fresh ones are a million times better than ones from a can. After making them myself a few times I don't think I can ever eat canned beets again! 

There are many ways to cook fresh beets, but I decided to roast them. The flavor is so amazing and from my little practice, I feel it's less mess than the boiling method.

So how did I roast the beets you ask? I'll tell ya!

Wash beets and pat dry with towel.

Line baking sheet with foil and grab an extra sheet of foil.
Set beets in a row on extra sheet of foil.

Drizzle olive oil over beets.  

Fold foil over beets and secure tightly to trap as much steam/heat as possible.

Check beets with fork after 30 minutes. If not tender enough, recover and roast another 10 or so minutes.

Once done, take beets out of foil and let cool on a plate.

When cool enough to handle, remove skin either by peeling it off or with a knife.  Cut beets into desired shape and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.  

And last but certenly not least is a Sweet Potato/Carrot Mash that is simply amazing. It is simple and it really is simply amazing. I got the idea from a coworker and have made it so many times since. It's just so tasty and I've even used the leftovers to make Sweet Potato/Carrot Pancakes!!!

To make the tasty dish, start with a few sweet potatoes. 

I used five because they are VERY tiny!  

Next, add a couple carrots.  

I used two because this is the normal sweet potato/carrot ratio I use. 

Feel free to change it up however you like!

Cut up both sweet potatoes and carrots into similar sized pieces and bring to a boil.

Boil them until very tender - almost mushy and drain.

Let them cool a little and then mash with a potato masher.

Add a little butter, maple syrup and salt and combine with masher.

Serve warm and keep leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Because of my love for the season, keep your eye out for many other Fall dishes in the next few weeks, as well as other seasonal posts in the coming months!