Another Original Single Sista Dish - The RRVP (Roasted Root Veggie Pot)

I have to admit, I am VERY proud of this dish. It's very hearty, healthy and super easy to make. I got the inspiration because I had some celery and onions leftover from my post-Thanksgiving meal and I randomly decided to pick up some turnips from the grocery store. Turnips are very inexpensive by the way. I immediately knew I wanted to roast the turnip and something said, throw some other root veggies in there and see what happens.

I actually made this dish twice in one week. The first time I use turnips, potatoes, celery, garlic and shallots. Preheated the oven to 400 degrees. I cut up all the ingredients into large chunks, put everything in a dutch oven, and covered it all generously with extra virgin olive oil (roughly 1/4 - 1/3 cup). I honestly did not measure out set amounts of each ingredient, but I cut up 3 small/medium turnips, 2 celery stalks, 1 whole large shallot, 1/2 one small bag of multicolored potatoes (I cut up the potatoes into halves and thirds), and about 2 tablespoons of garlic. I didn't add a lot of potatoes to minimize the starch. I also did not put any stock or water in the pot. I made sure all the ingredients were covered in the extra virgin olive oil by stirring things around in the pot. Lastly, I added some fresh ground pepper, roughly 1 tablespoon of salt, roughly 1 tablespoon of fresh thyme, and 1.5 tablespoons of Earth Balance (I use Earth Balance in place of butter in almost all of my recipes).

Since that turned out WONDERFULLY, I decided to kick things up and add Brussels sprouts and carrots to mix the second time. I added 3 small/medium turnips, half a bag of fingerling potatoes, half a bag of baby carrots, 2 tablespoons of garlic, 1/3 of an onion (or 1 whole large shallot), one bag of Brussels sprouts (wash, remove outer layer, cut off the stem, and cut into thirds), 1 tablespoon of salt, fresh ground pepper, and 2 tablespoons of thyme (you can also just add the thyme to the pot without pulling off the thyme leaves).

I had to roast things a little longer this time to make sure the carrots cooked all the way through (total cooking time was 1 hour) but it was even better than the first time.

Last night for dinner, I cut up and browned some sausage, and added that on top of the veggies. INCREDIBLE!!! A few people have asked if you can add meat while cooking it, OF COURSE. I recommend browning the meat first a little in the pot and adding a little stock or water before you add the veggies. You will also have to cut down on the amount of veggies you can add obviously. But I am still calling this my RRVP and I will continue to make it meatless :) I will probably make this at least two more times before the end of the year because it is that good and easy to make. It's also very affordable. For roughly $15 for all the ingredients, I made 6 meals. Well if you make this please let me know how you like it since it is one of my creations. Hope you enjoy!

Seasons Greetings and Salud!!!