Well, apparently, I thought these two simple veggie dishes were “too insignificant” to even bother to take a photo.  “Too Insignificant” meaning something so unimportant or small that it was not worth considering or paying attention to; essentially completely negligible or irrelevant. Well, that may have been the case when I prepared both of these recipes as almost an afterthought to accompany the more exciting and note-worthy entrée. That is until I sat down to dinner and thoroughly enjoyed the first bite and every bite thereafter of these simply prepared veggies. So, I thought you might profit from my disdain. And believe me, I’ll try hard not to let this happen again. Starting today, I plan to take a picture of every item I bake, boil, steam, fry, etc. etc.

So, if you too like simple recipes that are quick and easy to fix, these recipes definitely fit the bill. And no, they aren’t fancy. But they are doable even if you are a harried working mom or dad that just got home from work and instead of being greeted with “welcome home” or “how was your day”, you are greeted with “I’m hungry”, “what’s for dinner”, or my personal favorites – “I need 2 pieces of poster board and some colored pens for class tomorrow” and “I need a white shirt for the band concert tomorrow night”. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I have been there too!

So, if these two recipes help you get dinner on the table, my work here is done!

And for you parents who wonder “will this ever end”, believe me when I say – yes it will. And one day when you are older, you will realize that you would give almost anything for 1 more day of your kids asking you “what’s for dinner”?

Peace and love to all.   

OVEN ROASTED SWEET POTATO CHUNKS

2 T. extra virgin olive oil, plus more to coat the baking dish or pan

2 lg. sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into ¾-inch chunks

¼ tsp. dried oregano

¼ tsp. kosher salt

freshly ground black pepper

Coat the bottom of a baking pan or dish with just a thin coating of olive oil.

Place the cut sweet potatoes in the baking dish, along with the oregano, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine.

Bake in a pre-heated 350-degree oven until the sweet potato chunks are soft and fork-tender, for about 45 minutes to 1 hour, turning them halfway through the baking process.

Remove from the oven and serve immediately.   

BUTTER LEMON BROCCOLI

1 head broccoli, cut into florets and peeled stems 

2 T. unsalted butter

1 T. fresh lemon juice

1 tsp. lemon zest 

½ tsp. kosher salt

freshly ground black pepper

Steam* the broccoli until crisp tender; remove from pan.

Melt the butter in a non-stick fry pan over medium heat. When the butter melts and starts to foam, add the lemon juice and cook for 30 seconds.

Add the steamed broccoli, lemon zest, salt, and pepper. Toss until the broccoli is well-coated.

Serve immediately.

*Because I have an inquiring mind, I decided to research whether it is nutritionally wiser to steam broccoli (and other veggies) or to cook them in a microwave. And from everything I have read, the best way to retain vitamins and nutrients while they are being cooked is to use short cooking times that limit the exposure to heat and a cooking method that uses as little liquid as possible. This can be achieved with a microwave, although most studies show that the very best way to retain nutrients in vegetables is to steam them.

And even more interesting and enlightening – if your primary goal is to preserve the most nutrients in your vegetables, then steaming is generally considered better than roasting, as steaming retains more vitamins and minerals, especially water-soluble vitamins like vitamin C.

And finally, boiling vegetables is generally considered the least healthy way to cook vegetables because it causes the greatest loss of nutrients.

Now, to be honest, steaming does not retain the color of veggies the way nuking them does. And the fantastic flavor of veggies that have been roasted is incomparable. But for pure nutritional value, steaming is the recommended method.