Tuesday, August 19, 2008

The so many ways veggies

On one of my recent shopping trips I had bought an assortment of veggies that I roasted off while they were still pretty fresh. My mixture of zucchini, squash, green peppers, red peppers, and red onion more than filled a 9X13 glass pan before they were roasted, so we are really talking about a ton of veggies. I was going to put them in a marinade, but was concerned about making such a large quantity of veggies one singular flavor. Instead they just went in with a tad bit of olive oil and salt and pepper that way they are super adaptable.

Here are a few recipes/ideas that I am using for them:

Veggie wraps- (duh, right?) I have just thrown the veggies in a tortilla and used a little Italian or Balsamic vinaigrette to give them a little flavor.

Noodleless veggie lasagna- I am feasting on this currently. I reheated the veggies and just topped with some leftover marinara and cheese from the freezer (leftover from the little homemade pizzas) and added some dried Italian herbs just before putting it in the oven. Sounds really simple, but it is really good. I don't even miss the noodles! Plus, I went light on the cheese to save on some calories.

Loaded Spanish rice toppings- Just a quick saute with some cumin, chili powder and cayenne has made a wonderful addition the spiciness of the rice with black beans.

Fritta/omelet topper- I think most of my veggies will be used up by the other 3. But if not I am going to dice them up and throw them on top of a mostly egg white omelet or fritta with some salsa.

If I am totally burnt out by veggies before they are used all up I am going to throw them into a soup with some rice or white beans and freeze it. I have this great product:



That is a quick solution to making a quick and yummy soup. It is a little pricey at nearly $5.00 a jar, but totally worth it. The chicken base is also awesome and the brand even carries organic and vegan varieties too.
In case you were curious. Here is the cost breakdown:

Zucchini three pack from Aldi: $2.19
Squash three pack from Aldi: $2.19
Red/Green bell pepper pack from Aldi: $1.79 (I didn't use it all, but I will go ahead and round up)
The red onion was from Shop n Save and was by the lb so I don't have a price on that. But I only used a half so I will give a general over estimate that it was $. 50

Grand Total: $6.67 for some great fresh veggies that will provide 6-8 meals easy.

Speaking of money, I am sure you are all on the edge of your seat wondering how the budget is going. Another budget post is coming your way soon!

3 comments:

Julia Goolia said...

yummy! we have *nearly* gone vegetarian so all of these ideas sound fabulous to me. It's amazing some of the no-brainer things that I never thought about before!

Anonymous said...

First of all, Chad is obsessed with Better than Bouillon. Second, after you roasted the veggies, what did you do with them? Just store them in the fridge?

Maria said...

I'm always looking for more vegetable ideas, and this is great! Thank you for posting this!!