How to Save Those Veggies You “Meant to Cook”

In case you haven’t noticed, fresh vegetables wilt and mold and die. Oftentimes you buy them with well-intent to be healthier or cook more at home or just because you were really craving it, but for one reason or another you also never get around to cooking them. I have been there.

Sunday night, I opened one of my refrigerator crisper drawers to find some broccoli that I kept dismissing every single day last week. I always think, “oh, I’ll definitely use that with something tomorrow,” and I almost never do. At this point, I fully expected for each floret to be ruined, but luckily they seemed all good! I knew that I needed to cook it then because surely the broccoli wouldn’t survive much longer.

Yes, on a Sunday night, I decided to prepare some broccoli. Some of you may be thinking that you would likely have just tossed the broccoli then and there instead of cooking it. I considered this, but I really, really hate to waste food, AND I knew I definitely would need a quick, healthy side for either lunch or dinner the following day, too.

So, next time you find yourself not wanting to waste those veggies or *obviously* save yourself some time and effort, try these Toss & Roast Veggies! Almost any vegetable will do, old or new! I used broccoli because it was in my ‘fridge, along with some leftover red onion I bought for a salad the week before. So yummy!

Print Recipe

Toss & Roast Vegetables

I used broccoli with red onion, but typically I use a mix of vegetables. Often I will use what has been hanging out in the fridge.

Prep Time5

Cook Time12

Total Time17

Keyword: broccoli, roasted

Servings: 3

Ingredients

1 bunch broccoli (or substitute)
1/4 cup red onion diced
2 tbsp olive oil extra virgin
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
~1/2 tsp salt (to taste)
pepper (to taste)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Rinse broccoli. Snap off individual florets from the stalk and place on foil-lined baking sheet.
Rough chop or dice red onion and sprinkle over broccoli.
Sprinkle broccoli and red onion with olive oil and seasonings. Toss together on the pan, and spread veggies across the pan in one layer- as best as possible.
Place in preheated oven.
Toss on the pan, halfway through the cooking time. Place back into oven for remaining time.
Serve immediately, or cool and place in container and refrigerate for later!

As stated above, I use any vegetables laying around – Especially, when I’m busy! 🙂 With this combo, I tend to also toss in mushrooms. Other times, I have substituted fresh green beans for the broccoli. I have several variations of this so feel free to comment or ask about any other substitutions!