Roasted Zucchini and Tomatoes with Za`Atar

Ingredients:
3  med. Magda Zucchini quartered and  sliced 1/2 in. thick
2 cups Grape Tomatoes cut  in half lengthwise
1 large yellow  onion roughly chopped
4 tablespoons of Olive Oil
2 teaspoons of Za`Atar  * See notes below
2 teaspoons of Lemon Juice
1/2  cup pf Parmesan  grated cheese * See notes Below

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees 
Add Zucchini, Tomatoes,and Onion to a bowl.  In a glass measuring cup add  Olive Oil, Lemon  Juice and the Za~Atar and whisk and pour over the veggies and toss well to coat.  Put on a large baking sheet and roast for 25 minutes.
Remove the veggies  and put in a large serving bowl or  platter. Add the Parmesan and lightly toss and serve warm.
NOTES
*Za`Atar is  a popular spice blend used in Israel. It is a blend of ground dried thyme, oregano, and roasted sesame seeds. It can  be  purchased from Amazon. 
*I selected the Magda Middle-Eastern Zucchini for its nutty flavor and paired it with the Parmesan Cheese because of the salty nutty flavor it has, it really brings the dish together.
*I served this  dish with roasted boneless chicken thighs.

MEDITERRANEAN ROASTED SWEET POTATOES

Ingredients : 
2 - medium sweet potatoes
1 - 15-ounce can chickpeas (rinsed and drained)
1/2 Tbsp - olive oil
1/2 tsp-  each cumin, coriander, cinnamon, smoked  paprika

1 pinch sea salt

GARLIC SAUCE

1/4 cup -  Tahini

1/2 medium-  lemon, juiced 

3/4 - 1 tsp dried dill

3 - cloves garlic, minced 

Water to thin

Sea salt to taste 

TOPPINGS 

1/4 cup-  cherry tomatoes (diced)

1/4 cup - chopped parsley (minced)

2 Tbsp - lemon juice

Instructions: 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line a large baking sheet with foil.

Cut  the sweet potatoes in half length wise. 

Toss rinsed and drained chickpeas with olive oil and  cumin, coriander, cinnamon, smoked  paprika and place on a foil-lined baking sheet.

Rub the sweet potatoes with a bit of olive oil and place face down on the same baking sheet as the chickpeas and bake for 30 min. or until sweet potatoes are tender and remove from the oven.

While the sweet potatoes and chickpeas are roasting, prepare your sauce by adding all the garlic sauce  ingredients to a mixing bowl and whisk to combine, only adding enough water to thin so it’s pourable. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed

Also prepare the parsley-tomato topping by tossing tomato and parsley with lemon juice and setting aside to marinate.

To serve, turn the  potatoes flesh-side up and smash down the insides a little bit. Then top with  the chickpeas, sauce and parsley-tomato garnish. Serve immediately.

Brussels Gruyere

This delicious Brussels Gruyere recipe would be a perfect addition to any  special occasion meal. Makes 6 servings

Ingredients:
16 oz. fresh Brussels sprouts, trimmed of outer leaves and  cut in half
1/4 tsp. salt
Black pepper to taste
Olive oil spray
1/2 tbsp. butter
1/4 tsp. onion powder
2 tsp. of  All  Purpose flour
3/4 cup milk
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. dried Thyme
1 tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese
2 oz. grated Gruyere cheese divided

Directions:

Preheat  oven to 400*F. Spray  a 8 x 8 casserole dish  with  olive oil.  Add the Brussesl sprouts  and  season with salt and pepper. Spray more  Olive oil over the Brussels sprouts and place in the  lower rack of the oven.  Bake 15 minutes, toss and bake another 10 minutes and remove from the oven.

While  baking the Brussels  sprouts, heat a medium sauce pan over medium heat. Add butter and let melt and then add the onion powder and cook for 2 minutes. Sprinkle the flour over the butter and onion powder mixture to make a roux whisking for 1 to 2 minutes. Add the milk and stir with a wooden spoon until the roux is  incorporated into the milk. Cook  over med. low heat for about 4 minutes, stirring  until the sauce thickens. Add the dried thyme, Parmesan and half of the Gruyere cheese  into the white sauce and stir  until the cheese is melted and is incorporated into the sauce.

Pour the sauce  over the Brussels sprouts  and top with the remaining cheese. Bake for 15 minutes until the cheese is lightly  browned and bubbly.

Tomatillo Roasted Vegetable Blend

A unique Sweet and Savory blend of roasted Vegetables

Makes 4 servings
Ingredients :
5  -  Tomatillo`s chopped
2  - Granny Smith Apples chopped
1  - Med. Yellow onion chopped
Olive oil
1/4 -  teaspoon Garlic powder
1/4  - teaspoon dried Cilantro
Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Clean the husk off the Tomatillo`s and wash, then cut them into quarters and place in a med.  bowl.
Leave  the peeling on the Apples and remove the core and cut into inch cubes and place in the bowl.
Peel the onion and remove both ends and cut into about 8  wedges and separate them as  you put them in the bowl.

Drizzle the vegetables with Olive oil, salt and pepper and put in the Garlic powder and Cilantro and toss the vegetables  to mix and pour them onto a baking sheet and bake for 30 min. till tender. Serve warm. I served mine with Chicken Chimichanga`s with Salsa Verde.

Roasted Mediterranean Vegetables

This is a amazing dish, while it is roasting it just fills your kitchen with wonderful aromas. This dish presents very well with all the beautiful colors and it goes well with any meat .

Ingredients for  Roasted  Mediterranean Vegetables Recipe
1 Sweet Potato
1 Onion
1 Green Pepper
1 Red Pepper
4 Carrots
1 cup Cherry Tomatoes
1-2 Medium Tomatoes

For the Marinade
1 tsp Paprika
1/2 tsp Black Sesame Seeds
½ tsp  Basil
½ tsp. Thyme
1 tsp  Parsley
1 tsp. Lemon Juice
¼ cup Olive Oil



Directions
Peel and chop the vegetables up into similar sized pieces
Place onto a large baking tray.
Mix all of the marinade ingredients together.
Pour the marinade all over the vegetables.
Cover with  foil.



Place into a hot oven at 350 for 20 minutes. Take the tray out of the oven and remove foil, place back into the oven for another 10 minutes or until the roasted vegetables are cooked.

Sprinkle roasted vegetables with salt and pepper and serve

Cranberry Stuffed Acorn Squash

Serving size - 2

Ingredients :
1  med. sized acorn squash, halved and seeded
3/4 c. dry cranberries
1/4 c. firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
3/4 c. pecans, chopped
3 tsp.stick  butter diced
Olive oil
Directions:
Pre-heat  the oven to 350 degrees. Cut the  Acorn squash  in half and scoop out the seeds and cut a little off ( don`t go all the way through) the pointed ends so the squash will sit  flat when stuffed. Drizzle olive oil on a baking sheet and place the 2 squash halves open  side down. Place in the hot  oven for  30 min.
In a small bowl add the  brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, pecans, and  cranberries and mix together.   When the squash are done roasting, leave the oven  turned on and remove the squash and place them  in a 8 x 8 baking  dish open side up, then fill them with the  cranberry and pecan mixture and top  with the butter dices. Place back in the hot oven for about 10 minutes, remove and serve.

Herbed Sugar Snap Peas

Ingredients:
1/2 pound  fresh sugar snap peas  trimmed
1/2 cup water
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Directions:
Place  trimmed sugar snap peas in medium steam pan, add the water and bring to a boil. Then reduce the  heat to med.- low and cover. Steam  4 to 6 minutes or until sugar snap peas are tender-crisp. Drain. Melt butter in  a small  skillet and add basil and onion powder and salt, mix well. Add sugar snap peas; toss to coat well. Serve immediately.

Roasted Summer Medley

1  - cup cauliflower florets
1 - sm. Bag baby carrots
6 - sm. Red potatoes  quartered
2 - Vidalia onions quartered
1 - cup broccoli florets
1 - yellow summer squash  sliced
1 - sm. Zucchini sliced.
 1/3 cup Olive oil
Parmesan cheese
 ½ teaspoon Salt
 ½ teaspoon Pepper
Parchment paper


Preheat oven to 400 degrees
 Place parchment paper onto a large baking sheet, if have you  smaller baking sheets you can use 2 of them.

In a bowl put in the veggies, add salt and the pepper  and the olive oil and toss them to coat  the veggies then pour onto the baking sheet, make sure to spread them out and put into oven and bake about 20  min. take out and sprinkle with parmesan and place back into the oven for about 10 min. or until  veggies start to get golden brown. Use a fork to make sure potatoes are tender.   When  done place the veggies on a platter and serve.

Roasted Parmesan Asparagus

1 pound fresh Asparagus
1 tblsp. Olive oil
1 pinch of salt
¼ tsp. ground pepper
½ cup grated Parmesan

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Trim about 2 inches off the bottom of the Asparagus.
Lay them in a baking sheet in a single layer and drizzle with olive oil.
Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast for 15 minutes. Sprinkle with Parmesan and return to the oven for about 5 minutes more.  Serve

Roasted Za`atar Carrots

Preheat baking sheet in a 450  degree oven.  Quarter 1 1b. Carrots lengthwise and toss with …

¼ cup Olive oil

¾ tsp. salt

¾ tsp. pepper

Spread carrots on the  hot baking sheet and roast until browned, 18 -20 minutes. Toss with …

4 tsp. Za`atar

3 tbs. chopped Parsley

And the juice of 1 lemon 

Put  on a platter and serve


* Za`atar  is a spice blend that can be purchased at  middle eastern markets or online at http://www.penzeys.com/

Roasted Greek Potatoes

3 pounds baking potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes
1/2 cup olive oil
1 Tablespoon Garlic powder
1 1/2 teaspoons dried  Greek Oregano
1 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup lemon juice

Preheat oven to 400°F.
Place the  cut potatoes in a  bowl and add Olive Oil, Garlic Powder, Oregano, Salt, Pepper and Lemon juice  and toss together  and put on a parchment lined baking sheet and cover with foil. Bake the potatoes for 20 minutes. Then uncover and toss  and drizzle  with a little more Olive Oil and bake for 20 minutes more or until golden brown and tender..