Colorful Meals = Healthy Meals!

    We love fruits and vegetables in our house but we are consistently trying to eat more and more of them (thus eating less of other things) We have been making an effort to make our meals as colorful as possible, which as long as the colors are natural, makes the meals healthier.

One thing we have been doing for quite some time is roasting vegetables. You can roast just about any veggie and the process completely changes them into something delicious! If you don't care for most vegetables and you have only had them boiled or steamed, try them roasted!

Tips for Roasting Vegetables
1. Higher heat for a shorter time period is the way to go. I roast the veg at a minimum of 415' F for at least    15 min. Stir, and then keep watching about every 7-10 minutes.
2. Try to cut your pieces of similar size to ensure that you don't have some barely done and then others burnt on the same pan.
3. Don't over crowd the pan. Use two if necessary. You want the air to circulate around your vegetables. It's okay to put them very close together as they will shrink, but only have one layer. Pieces that overlap will not brown properly.
4. Don't over season. I always start with Olive Oil, Kosher Salt and Ground Pepper. With something like carrots, I seldom add any other seasoning because they have such a nice sweet taste when roasted!

Here's a photo of one of our recent "Rainbow Meals!"

 Also in the picture, is a recent Pinterest find: Buttermilk Roasted Chicken, we have made this twice and loved it. Since we use chicken legs, they roast in 30 minutes. Fast and delicious!

Okay so this is totally upside down. I've tried fixing it three times and it keeps putting itself upside down. My computer is from my FIRST year of college and it is on it's very last leg. It is about to be thrown out in the back yard, I'm afraid. But, here it is: Buttermilk Roasted Chicken, Roasted Rainbow Carrots and Spinach Salad. See what I mean? Colors! And every bit of it REAL FOOD!

Speaking of Pinterest, I really must do a Pinterest post. 

I have tried so many recipes and loved most of them.

I hardly cook out of my cookbooks anymore. 

Except for last night, we made a Beef and Barley Stew in the Crock Pot and WOW. It was delicious! (recipe to follow) We made it in celebration of the Downton Abbey Finale. After having watched DA, I'm so mad at Julian Fellowes, Dan Stevens and the lot of them that I wish I would have opened a can of beenie weenies instead of making an 8-hour stew. Hmph.