roasted veggies!

Let me start this off by saying that I just love to cook for people. It's one of the top things in my life that I truly truly love to do. Generally, it's extremely therapeutic to cook. Something about the chopping, dicing, mixing, sauteeing that really puts me in a good mood. On top of all of that, it's an extremely creative process! You are making something from scratch (most of the time) and creating a dish that you and your loved ones can enjoy together. In my opinion, the colors and presentation of the food is just as important as the taste. Everything has to flow together and come straight from your heart.

Two of my favorite vegetables are sweet potatoes and string beans. They have their own little flavors going on but on the whole, they are like little sponges, completely vulnerable to every flavor you want to add to it. That's when food is fun. The challenge of taking a plain ol' string bean and turning it into something delicious.

For this meal, I needed a side dish for my chicken dish (I wish i took pictures! it was just chicken breasts baked in a homemade lemon-scallion-herb sauce. I will make it again, I promise.) and while carbs are always (ALWAYS) fun, vegetables needed to be dealt with. This is where my little orange & green friends enter the situation. For both, I prepared them with the every-day kind of herbs & spices that can be found easily in almost everyone's kitchens :

Not So Boring String Beans:

What You Will Need:

-A bunch of fresh string beans (prepare the right amount for the size of the crowd you're cooking for)

-2 tbsp of Olive oil

-1/2 cup of Chicken broth

-Juice of one lemon

-Salt & Pepper

-1 tsp Onion flakes

- 1 tsp Cumin

-1/2 tsp Red Pepper Flakes

-1 1/2 tsp Garlic powder

-1 tsp Sesame seeds

-1 tsp Parsley flakes

-1 tsp of Oregano

1. Wash the string beans & cut off both ends on each one.

2. Put the string beans into a medium sized mixing bowl

3. Combine all of the ingredients into a small bowl (note: I used a measuring cup) and mix together til a sauce is made

4. Pour the sauce over the string beans so everything is evenly coated.

5. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and let the beans sit while you take care of the sweet potatoes. (If you're skipping the sweet potatoes, just put the beans on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet & bake them for about 20-30 mins)

Somewhat Spicy Sweet Potatoes

What You Will Need:

-Sweet potatoes (I chopped up three)

-2 tbsp cup of olive oil

-1/2 cup of chicken broth

-Juice of one lemon

-1 tsp of chilli powder

-1/2 tsp of cayenne pepper

-2 tsp of garlic powder

-1 tsp of paprika

-Salt & Pepper

1. Make sure the oven is preheated to 375 degrees

2. Cut up the sweet potatoes, coat them a bit in olive oil and put into a mixing bowl

3. Once they are in the mixing bowl, put them into the microwave for 5 minutes to soften them up

4. While they are softening up in the microwave, combine all of the other ingredients into a small bowl. Wisk together til a sauce is formed

5. Once the 5 minutes are up, remove from microwave and pour sauce over the potatoes

6. Mix together so everything is evenly coated.

7. Transfer potatoes to a parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Leave room for string beans (if you are making them as well) and bake together for 45 minutes.

Enjoy!