Roasted Carrots with Honey Drizzle

Hello 2015!! Goodbye holiday treats!!

That's it folks, the indulgence of the holidays has passed and the Nation's obsession with health and weight loss begins. I am definitely all for a healthy lifestyle, but not the biggest fan of the influx of new members at the gym in January! 

This year I have even more reasons to stay healthy though, I am drug-free! Late last year I decided to stop taking a medication for my Crohn's. I felt good enough to try managing the disease through food, exercise and low stress. So far, so good...although the low stress part is hard to accomplish, but I am trying. 

The best way for me to maintain a healthy diet is by keeping a ton of vegetables in the kitchen. The more I have in the fridge, the more inclined I am to eat them. The tough part about having Crohn's is that I can't always eat raw vegetables as they can be hard to digest. Over the past year, I have been playing around with vegetable side dishes, adding flavors and testing different cooking techniques. Thank goodness I have a patient Hubby who likes vegetables!!

Carrots are my current favorite veggie to cook up, especially the cute little sweet gems from Color Fields Farm. 

Raw carrots have always been a favorite snack of mine. Not only is the crunch one of the best ways to reduce stress, but they are naturally sweet and help bite those mid-afternoon cravings for candy. The thought of cooked carrots wasn't high on my list considering most of the time they are way over cooked, mushy and bland. It wasn't until Moms roasted them one night for a family dinner that I became intrigued. The honey was just a lucky addition resulting in me standing in front of the pantry searching for a finishing touch for the carrots.

I have made this side dish dozens of times now and hope you will enjoy it. If you can find the smaller whole carrots, they are perfect for roasting and really pack a punch of flavor.  

Roasted Carrots with Honey Drizzle

Yields: 4 servings
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes

1 pound small whole carrots, ends trimmed and halved
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon Herbs de Provence
Salt and pepper
1 teaspoon honey

Preheat oven to 400F and place the rack in the middle of the oven. Line a large roasting pan or baking sheet with parchment paper and lay the halved carrots on the sheet. Drizzle the olive oil, herbs, salt and pepper on the carrots and mix around with your hands until well coated. Roast in the oven for 30 minutes, stirring half way. For more cooked/charred carrots, continue to cook for 10 minutes longer, otherwise remove from the oven. 

Drizzle the honey evenly over the carrots and serve. Don't do too much honey since the carrots themselves will be sweet. A little goes a long way with this dish!

Roasted Vegetable Couscous with Tomatoes and Mozzarella

A friend of mine recently posted one of my recipes on her website, The Nana Network. Jorj Morgan, a wonderful chef and entertainer, is also a loving Nana and welcomes guest bloggers on her site. The post is one of my favorite recipes, so I wanted to share with my readers also. You can read the story here and the full recipe is below. 

I came up with this recipe by "accident" when trying to come up with a veggie-filled dish that Ryan would like as well. This instantly made it onto our "R list" (which means repeat list).

Roasted Vegetable Couscous with Marinated Tomatoes

Yields: 2-4 servings
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes

2 Portabella mushroom caps, gills removed, cut into ¼-inch pieces, about 2 cups
1 red bell pepper, cut into ¼-inch pieces, about 1 cup
1 medium zucchini, cut into ¼-inch pieces, about 1 cup
1 medium yellow squash, cut into ¼-inch pieces, about 1 cup
1/2 red onion, cut into ¼-inch pieces, about ½ cup
4 tablespoons olive oil
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1 pint cherry tomatoes, quartered, about 1 cup
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper (optional)
1 cup plain whole wheat couscous
1 cup home made vegetable broth, or prepared low sodium vegetable broth
4 ounces fresh mozzarella, cubed, about ½ cup
1 bunch fresh arugula leaves, about 3 cups
1 tablespoon chopped, fresh basil

Preheat the oven to 400º

Mix the cherry tomatoes, balsamic vinegar and 1 tablespoon olive oil into a small bowl. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt, pepper and crushed red pepper. Stir until all the tomatoes are covered and set aside, stirring every 5 minutes.

Place the vegetables onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and coated with cooking oil spray. Drizzle 2 tablespoon olive oil over the vegetables. Sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt, pepper and dried basil. Toss to coat. Roast for 30 minutes.

In a medium pot mix vegetable broth, the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Bring this to a boil, add in the couscous and cover the pot and remove from heat. Let this sit for about 5 minutes and fluff with a fork to break up any clumps.

To assemble the dish, place a handful of arugula on a plate. Top with couscous and roasted vegetables. Top with mozzarella chunks and the cherry tomato mixture. Drizzle with additional oil.