Oven Roasted Vegetable Bonanza

One evening, I was just really hankering for some vegetables; like, I just wanted to sink my teeth into a big bite of veggies.  I knew I had a variety of veggies chillin' in the fridge and I decided that I would roast them up in the oven because I knew that would be relatively quick and easy.  One of the great things about fresh vegetables is, when you throw them all together, the final result always seems to come out delicious.

Shopping List:

1 lg. red onion

1 lg. white onion

1 md. tomatoes

1 lg. squash

1 lg. zucchini

1 md. red, orange, and yellow pepper

6 lg. cloves garlic

From the Pantry:

salt

pepper

white balsamic vinegar

olive oil cooking spray

Tools:

large cookie sheet with rim

cutting board

knife

Preparation:  I rinsed all my vegetables and then proceeded to slice, chop, and dice each one.  I wanted everything to be kind of chunky so, the only thing I chopped into small pieces was the garlic.  I lined my cookie sheet with foil for easy clean up, laid out all the vegetables, spritz the top with olive oil, and gave the entire thing a liberal sprinkling of salt and pepper.  Finally, I drizzled white balsamic vinegar over the top of the dish.  I probably used a total of about 1/2 c. balsamic vinegar… maybe even a little more.  The vinegar really brought out the sweetness in the vegetables, which, the roasting process is also going to naturally do so, if you prefer more savory than sweet, you may want to forgo the vinegar.  I placed the pan in an oven preheated to 450 degrees and baked it for 30 minutes stopping to check and stir the vegetables at the 15 minute mark.

The result was exactly what I'd hoped for.  I got a bowl full of straight-up veggies.

Now, I know that's not everyones cup of tea but, this dish would also make an excellent base for a hardy vegetable soup.  Add some carrots, celery, and corn, roast everything up, boil some red potatoes (high in antioxidants), warm a pot of vegetable stock and then combine everything to create a veritable cornucopia of chunky vegetable bliss.  This will probably sound better in the cooler months…

Another great idea, especially since we're in the heart of grilling season, would be to make vegetable kabobs.

All in all, this dish was incredibly simple, fast, and satisfying and absolutely chock full of amazing nutrients from all the beautifully colored vegetables.  It was enjoyable as a main dish but would also make a stunning side.