Veggie Surprise

Okey doke. I heard you all loud and clear! I'm working on a new blog site. Stay tuned for updates about "The Roots of My Heart". Is that a good name? Do you have ideas for a better one? This blog will remain the same and probably hardly ever get any attention, as usual.

BUT, something kind of amazing happened last night that I just HAD to share.

My kids don't really like vegetables. Don't judge me. I don't try to disguise them and sneak them into meals because that takes forethought and planning and for those who know me, you know these are not areas in which I excel. This does not mean that my children never eat vegetables. They are forced to take "No Thank you" bites. They take the same number of bites as their age. So one takes 8 no-thank you bites and the other takes 5.

Last night I was looking in the fridge trying to decide what to make for dinner. I realized that much of my produce was on the verge of getting that slimy film that happens right before they get mushy and smelly. This meant that I needed to make a VERY veggie-heavy dinner.

The boys (all 3) LOVED it! Bill had 3rds and Wyatt had 2nds and Wes all but licked his plate! I'll post the recipe, to the best of my memory. See, it was one of those dump this in and pour some of that, and ooooh maybe this would be good. So it's not an exact science.

Italian Veggie Surprise

3 zucchini sliced

1 medium onion diced

1 BIG handful of fresh green beans cut into teensy pieces

About 10 mini red/yellow/orange peppers (or 2 bell peppers)

1 box of button mushrooms chopped up

2 turkey sweet Italian sausages

about 1/2 c. your favorite jar of pasta sauce

1/2 c. shredded cheese

Saute all the veggies in a ginormous pan just until they're softish. As they're cooking, season them with salt, pepper, garlic powder, & pizza spices (oregano, basil, rosemary, and thyme)

Dump all the veggies in a deep 9x9 pan. (Mine is Pyrex, but use whatever)

Slice the sausage lengthwise and remove the casing. Brown the sausage in the same ginormous pan that still has some of the yummies from the vegetables.

When it's all brown and delicious, spread it across the top of the veggies. The pour the pasta sauce over that, sprinkle it with cheese. Bake it at 350 for about 15 minutes til the cheese is all melty gooey goodness.

You'll want to serve this with a slotted spoon because it's pretty juicy at the bottom, but YUM!

So, that's it! Try it.

p.s. this is super healthy. Ssshhh. Don't tell the kids or husbands.