One thing I hear from people all the time is, “I hate vegetables” or “I don’t know how to cook vegetables so I don’t eat them.” I am here to say, I hear ya and I can help. I used to detest vegetables and the only vegetable I would eat was Cesar salad which doesn’t really count!

My husband and I have perfected these veggies and we can eat them like candy. For real. The other night I was dipping them in warm marinara sauce and eating them like bread sticks. They are heavenly. We love putting them in our eggs for breakfast even!

We like them best cooked on the grill. I invested in a stainless steel grill pan which I now use for grilling vegetable, potatoes and fish. It works great on the grill but I also use it in the oven. I just place a silicone baking mat on top so stuff doesn’t drip out of the bottom of the pan.

How to Grill Vegetables that you will actually want to eat

-2-3 zucchini
-1-2 yellow squash/crookneck squash/summer squash (all the same thing)
-optional: cherry tomatoes cut in half
-optional: red onions, sliced
-optional: crushed garlic
-optional: asparagus cut into 1 inch long pieces
-1-2 tablespoons olive oil (or whatever oil floats your boat)
-4-6 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
-oregano
-thyme
-salt
-pepper

First, slice the zucchini and squash. I find the “thick” setting on my mandolin is the perfect thickness which is probably about 1/8th of an inch. Place the sliced vegetables in a large bowl as you go. Add whatever other vegetables you want to roast to the bowl.
Next, drizzle a small bit of oil on the vegetables. Just enough to keep them from sticking to the pan. Not too much or they will turn out soggy. Next drizzle on balsamic vinegar. I don’t worry about having too much vinegar because it just cooks off. This gives the veggies a sweet taste! Then sprinkle with salt, pepper, oregano and thyme as desired.
Use your hands to mix everything up and then spread the vegetables out on a baking sheet prepared with parchment/silicone baking mat if baking in the oven or on a grill sheet if cooking on the grill (do not use parchment or silicone baking mat if using a grill).
For Grilling: Grill at 450˚F for 8-12 minutes flipping/rearranging every 4 minutes. It could take longer if the vegetables are really heaped on though.
For Baking: Bake at 450˚F for 30 minutes, flipping/rearranging after 15 minutes.
Either way, cook until browned and tender.

Here are the veggies sliced and seasoned, ready to go on the pan!

Here they are hot off the grill. Some will be almost crispy and others not so much. They are all good!

I finally got a standing workstation for my computer at work! I wanted to do this a year ago but a year ago I was in a boot and couldn’t stand! I’m really excited about this and I’ll do a post on it soon! Look how excited I am (it is too tall for me in this photo):

Rocco is so good. He’s really into burying things these days. Outside in the dirt. He’s actually really good at it now. He has this little scrap of fur (formerly a stuffed frog) and it is his #1 prized possession at the moment. It is so prized it frequently buries it in the garden. And then he digs it up, brings it in the house and shakes all the dirt off. It would upset me if I wasn’t laughing so hard at how cute and funny he is!
He has graduated to big rawhide chews. Here he is chewing a new rawhide (made in the USA of course) in a sea of toys. He is truly king of (his) toys! You can follow Rocco on Instagram. His username is Rocco_the_minpin (Rocco James).

Have a great rest of the week!
Laura