Roasted Veggie and Sausage Pasta

I am not sure if I love roasted veggies or grilled veggies more but I know they both make my mouth water.  This recipe uses a variety of vegetables - feel free to customize it to your tastes or what you have on hand.  Since several of the steps are concurrent (boil and cook pasta while browning sausage and roasting veggies), the time involved isn't too much and the wonderful, deep flavors meld together wonderfully once everything is combined.  My family has never once complained about eating their veggies with this meal!

INGREDIENTS:

• olive oil
• 8 oz mushrooms, quartered
• 2 small bell peppers
• 1 small summer squash or zucchini
• 1 medium red onion
• 1 small sweet yellow onion
• 1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
• 3/4 lb sweet Italian sausage
• 3/4 lb pasta (I used fusili)
• sea salt
• pepper
• optional toppings: fresh basil, oregano, shredded Parmesan (I used all three and it was amazing)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.  Line two baking sheets with foil.  Begin boiling water for pasta.
2. Slice squash lengthwise to quarter and then cut into 1/2 inch pieces. Chop peppers and onions.  Spread on one of the foil-lined sheets, drizzle with about 2 Tbsp olive oil and gently stir to coat.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
3. Place mushrooms on the second foil-lined baking sheet, drizzle with oil and toss to coat.
4. Bake vegetables for 10 minutes, gently stir, and then place back into the oven for another 5-10 minutes longer, or to desired tenderness.  (You may want to leave the mushrooms in longer than the other veggies.)
5. As the veggies are cooking, cook pasta according to package directions and brown and drain sausage.
6. Add the can of diced tomatoes, with juices, to the sausage.  Cook for 5 minutes.
7. Combine sausage, veggies, and pasta.  
8. Serve topped with fresh oregano, basil, and shredded Parmesan cheese.

Difficulty: relatively easy but with some chopping

Time: 30-40 minutes

Source:  This one is my own...and is much loved by my family.

Whole Wheat Banana Nut Muffins

My husband and I teach at a different school than the one that our kids attend.  For the most part, this is a non-issue.  However, the fact that we don't always have the same schedule as our kids can sometimes be a childcare nightmare.  At the beginning of the year, John and I had five days for which we needed someone to watch our kiddos because they hadn't started school yet.  And "someone" really turned out to be a village.  Between family, friends, and neighbors, the outpouring of offers to help was awesome.  When I took my kids to their home for the day, I wanted to bring something that everyone could enjoy as a breakfast treat.  Yet, I didn't want to "sugar up" my kids for someone else to deal with.  (I can be considerate like that.)  I was also interested in using my overripe bananas and the whole-wheat flour that I had on hand.  Enter this recipe, which seems to have a perfect balance of ingredients for a filling treat that is not too sweet for breakfast.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1½ cups whole-wheat flour
• ¾ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon baking powder
• 2 eggs
• ½ cup (1 stick) butter, melted OR 1/2 cup Coconut Oil, melted
• ⅓ cup pure maple syrup
• 2 very ripe bananas, peeled (the riper they are the sweeter they'll be)
• ½ cup chopped walnuts (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin pan with paper or silicone liners and set aside.  (This recipe makes 12 full-sized muffins or 36 mini muffins.)
2. In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt and baking powder. Make a well (hole) in the center of the flour mixture and drop in the eggs, butter, and syrup. Mix with a fork until it just comes together and set aside.
3. In a small bowl mash the two bananas together with the back of a fork. Carefully fold the bananas and walnuts (if using) into the muffin batter and distribute evenly into the 12 muffin cups (or 36 mini muffin cups). Bake until they begin to brown on top and a toothpick comes clean when inserted in the center, about 20 to 22 minutes for regular sized muffins or 12 to 14 minutes for mini muffins.

Difficulty: easy as far as baking goes
Time: 10 min prep and 20-22 min baking
Source: http://www.100daysofrealfood.com