ITALIAN ROASTED VEGGIES & QUINOA

I must start out by saying, truly, this turned out way, way better than expected.

Conception

As you have noticed from some of my posts, I am not one to waste food, or anything for that matter. I am just naturally the one to always clear her plate, donate clothes, food, etc., AND try my hardest to never let food in the fridge/pantry spoil.

Today was like any ole’ day as I realized at lunch that I had no plan for dinner and thought for sure that I would HAVE to go to the grocery store. (Its not that the grocery store is bad, because believe me, I love it! We just don’t always want to put in the time to stand in line or add these efforts to our cooking time. It is ok!) Just then, I see these heirloom tomatoes–some wrinkly–and thought they were goners for sure because there was no way I would really want to put those on a salad. I definitely didn’t think the garbage was the most productive option, and within a moment I decided to roast them.

Nutrition

See, tomatoes are a wonderful “fruit.” I used to hate them – unless they were basically pulverized to a paste. My love for them grew when I realized that they not only pack a lot of flavor, but they also *SOAK IT UP* too! Tomatoes are one of those special foods that can go from not-so-exciting to almost an instant delicacy depending on what you pair it with. This dish is no different.

In addition to the yummy tomatoes, I included other veggies to be served over quinoa. If you don’t know about quinoa, you should.

Though technically a seed, Quinoa is classified as a whole grain and is a good source of plant protein and fiber. One cup cooked provides about 8 grams of protein and 5 grams of fiber. Unlike some plant proteins, quinoa is a complete protein, meaning that it contains all nine essential amino acids that our bodies cannot make on their own.Quinoa is also naturally gluten-free and can be eaten safely if one has gluten intolerance such as celiac disease.

Harvard school of public health

It really is a simple recipe, though. I have included no meat in it; only chickpeas. Please do not sell yourself short by skipping these. I am by no means a vegetarian, but I’m all for balance! If you must have meat, season chicken accordingly, as I did the vegetables, and roast it along as well or throw on the grill!

Process

OK – I began by halving and slicing one good sized zucchini, some heirloom tomatoes, sweet vidalia onion, mushrooms, & drained/rinsed chickpeas. I placed these all on a foil-lined baking sheet and sprinkled with olive oil, Italian seasoning, and salt, black pepper, & crushed red pepper. In about 15-20 min, I had beautifully cooked seasonal veggies to serve over my freshly prepared quinoa!

What’s best about this dish is that it took almost ZERO effort. I mostly just dumped some veggies on a sheet pan, quinoa in a pot, & forgot about them until my timer went off. LittleBitBusy approved!