A Roasted Feast

Work at Down Home Design & Glass took off for the month of June.  We were all very excited!  Busy schedules has me looking at recipes that are simple and enjoyable, so I pulled out one I made back in April that everyone enjoyed, full of meat the guys love and the roasted vegetables that I enjoy.  I make this in my electric roaster, set to 400 degrees.  If you do not have an electric roaster, you should look into one.  I'm on my second.  The problem I had purchasing it, though, was they only seem available when the holidays start up in October or November.  It is fantastic for roasting turkeys, hams, cooking brisket, BBQ ribs, and probably any "big" meaty meal you can come up with.  It does tend to heat up the kitchen so I only use it sporadically during the hot summer months.

Back to this roasted feast.  You start with heating the roaster to 400 degrees, removing the rack.  Add your choice of meat.  I have used smoked sausage, hot links, Italian sausage, and bratwurst, but you could throw in boneless chicken or even boneless pork chops.  The juices from the meats give the vegetables a wonderful flavor and your guys will be drooling as it cooks.  Let these cook up while you prepare your vegetables.  I pull out my big stainless steel bowl for this part.  Cut some red potatoes into chunks and put in the bowl with some baby carrots.  It doesn't matter how much or how little you use of any of the vegetables; you add what your family will enjoy.  Drizzle these with canola oil and season with salt, pepper, oregano, garlic powder and thyme.  You can use whatever herbs your family enjoys; these are my favorites.  Add the potato mixture to your meat and stir.  Now cut up in the chunks other vegetables.  I used onions, green bell pepper, squash,  zucchini, and frozen corn on the cob.  Again drizzle canola oil over these and season with the herbs.  Add to your meat and potatoes, stirring lightly.  Your total cooking time will be approximately one hour and you need to stir about every 15 minutes.  You want the meat cooked thoroughly and the vegetables to be blackened in places for best flavor.  At this point, everyone will be wandering into the kitchen wondering what you are cooking up!  At the last 15 to 20 minutes of total cooking, add cherry tomatoes.  If you add them sooner, they will cook up to almost nothing, which is okay too, as my family are not big chunky cooked tomato eaters, but if you want them to turn on primarily intact, add them near the end of total cooking time.  When finished, serve up with rolls if you wish (we got full just on the feast itself!) and sweet tea or your favorite brewsky.

I'd love to hear back from readers about what you are cooking during hot weather or your quick dinner ideas.  It is easy to get into a rut where you use the same favorite recipes a lot, and we could all use some inspiration.  Life here at Down Home as been very busy.  Besides the business doing well, I am tending to three new baby chicks!  I wish I could say we hatched them, but we're not at that stage yet.  We have two new girls, Tia and Tamera, and a roo called Little Man.  These are a beautiful breed called Faverollas, which originated in France.  They are so sweet, and each developing neat personalities!  I'm having a blast with them.

Tia and Tamera, above
Little Man, below