How is it Monday already? Did this weekend fly by for anyone else? Hopefully I’ll make it a little better with this quick and easy recipe for Sheet Pan Parmesan Roasted Green Beans and Baby Potatoes. Cheese makes everything better, right? Especially when the Parmesan is coating charred green beans and crispy potatoes.

I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but I love cooking meals in the oven. I know you’re probably thinking, “oh yeah, oven cooking in the winter is great and cozy,” but I mean I love-love it, like even when it’s 80 degrees in the summertime. Oven cooking is just so easy and even though I love cooking I also love easy cooking.

Plus, the crispy textures and caramelized flavors you get from oven cooking? Delicious!

I do default to our large toaster oven for most oven meals since it preheats so quickly and doesn’t warm up the kitchen, but I will definitely heat up the kitchen if it means I can just throw everything on a sheet pan and have it come out perfect while I work on other stuff like writing this post. Or watching Netflix – getting through all those shows is important work!

If you’ve never had roasted green beans then you will be instantly hooked. It’s difficult to beat crunchy on the outside and fluffy on the inside roasted potatoes, but these green beans come close! Simply tossed with some olive oil, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, ground black pepper and some fresh grated Parmesan, this roasted sheet pan side dish is easy cooking perfection!

Sheet Pan Parmesan Roasted Green Beans and Baby Potatoes

 

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Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

• 16 ounces baby pee wee potatoes, halved (quartered if larger)
• 12 ounces green beans, trimmed
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
• ¼ teaspoon Italian seasoning
• Salt and fresh ground black pepper
• 3 tablespoons fresh grated Parmesan

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
2. Toss the halved potatoes and green beans with the olive oil to coat then toss with the garlic powder and Italian seasoning. Season with salt and pepper. Spread out on a baking sheet lined with nonstick aluminum foil or parchment paper. Roast for 25-30 minutes, tossing the green beans and potatoes after 10 minutes. Immediately top with the Parmesan when out of the oven.

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Are you guys peanut butter fanatics like I am? Most days I just look around the kitchen to see what would be a good vessel for my peanut butter snack. Pretzels? Check. Carrot sticks? Yup. Pancakes? Yes, please. Spoon? Sure, why not?

Sometimes when I’m coming up with recipes I think the same way. I quickly discovered that roasted acorn squash makes an excellent peanut butter vessel. Especially when the peanut butter is combined with coconut milk, lime juice, coconut aminos (or soy sauce) and maple syrup to make a rich, tangy, salty and slightly sweet sauce. Add some chopped crunchy peanuts and savory scallions and you have absolute veggie perfection.

Have you ever used coconut aminos? I bought a bottle at Trader Joe’s and this was my first time using it. Many people use it as a substitute for soy sauce since it tastes similar, although slightly sweeter. Coconut aminos is lower in sodium and contains no soy. If you would rather use low sodium soy sauce because that’s what you already have in your fridge you might need to adjust the sauce to taste a little since it’s not a direct substitution.

I love pretty much all roasted vegetables and acorn squash is no exception. The slices get tender, a little crispy and caramelized. Plus, how fancy do they look all laid out on the platter? You definitely need a very sharp knife to cut through the squash. If you’re finding the squash too difficult to cut through, cut a few slits in the skin of the squash then microwave for three minutes to help soften the skin.

Looking for more peanut vessel inspiration? Check out my Thai Peanut Chicken Tacos, Sesame Peanut Noodles with Chicken or Apple Nachos. Or if you want something a little sweeter, the Chocolate Drizzled Peanut Butter Crunch Chocolate Brownies and the Peanut Butter Apple Bars are both loaded with peanut butter. Yum!

Roasted Acorn Squash with a Thai Peanut Sauce

 

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Yield: 4-6 servings

Ingredients

• 2 acorn squash
• ¼ cup creamy peanut butter (I used Jif)
• 2 tablespoons coconut aminos
• 2 tablespoons light coconut milk
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
• ⅛ teaspoon red pepper flakes, or more to taste
• ¼ cup chopped peanuts
• ¼ cup chopped scallions
• Cooking spray
• Salt and pepper

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil or parchment paper and spray with cooking spray. Set aside.
2. Cut the acorn squashes into ½-inch slices. Use a small round biscuit cutter or a knife to remove the center of each slice to leave you with acorn squash rings. Lay the squash slices in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet. Spray with nonstick cooking spray then season with salt and pepper. Roast until tender, about 25 minutes.
3. While the squash is roasting, make the peanut sauce. Whisk the peanut butter, coconut aminos, light coconut milk, maple syrup, lime juice, ground ginger and red pepper flakes in a small mixing bowl until well combined.
4. When the squash is done, layer on a serving dish. Drizzle the peanut sauce over top then top with the chopped peanuts and scallions. Serve warm.

Notes

Substitutions: If you can’t use coconut aminos, you can try swapping in low sodium soy sauce. You might need to increase the amount of maple syrup. If you can’t use light coconut milk, substitute water.
Leave the acorn squash unpeeled. When you cut the slices you want the squash positioned so the stem end is facing your left hand and the bottom end of the squash is facing your right hand (if you are going to be cutting with your right hand).

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Lauren Uncategorized 0 Comments

I have one final Thanksgiving recipe to share with you! If you are looking for a quick way to sneak some last minute veggies into your Thanksgiving menu then these Lemon Garlic Green Beans are calling your name! We aren’t kidding around with this flavor combination; there’s three cloves of garlic and an entire lemon in this dish so the green beans really live up to their name.

Green beans sauté fairly quickly so I love making them around the holidays so I’m not using oven space. I’ve made these for Christmas and Easter, as well as regular weeknights when I’m looking for an easy green side dish.

Years ago I shared my French Onion Green Beans, which are really tasty, but these Lemon Garlic Green Beans are extra simple. Sautéed green beans are tender, but not mushy, and these burst with lemon acidity and garlic flavor when you bite into them.

Although I love this dish I’m actually not making it for Thanksgiving this year. That’s mostly because I knew I wanted to share these green beans with you months ago, but I just finalized the Thanksgiving menu last week. Below is our menu! It’s the first Thanksgiving I’ve ever hosted and I wanted to keep things light and simple since it’s just five of us. I have a bunch of new dishes I’m making and I’m excited to share those recipes with you later.

What are you making for Thanksgiving?

Appetizers
Matt’s Mom’s antipasto platter
Roasted shrimp cocktail

Main Meal
Fall Spinach and Arugula Salad with Tahini Dressing
Rosemary olive oil bread – love my Breville loaf maker!
Matt’s sous vide turkey breast – I’m the only one that prefers dark meat, plus it comes out so amazing and tender in the sous vide immersion circulator
Cranberry apple roasted beet compote
Pan-seared crispy baby potatoes
Matt’s Mom’s stuffing
Roasted butternut squash
Roasted brussels sprouts with avocado and a honey lime dressing

Dessert
Cherry pie
Apple pie

Lemon Garlic Green Beans

 

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Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients

• 1 pound green beans, trimmed
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 1 small lemon, thinly sliced
• Salt and pepper

Directions

1. Blanch the green beans. Do this by boiling the green beans for 5 minutes then plunging them into ice water. Drain the water.
2. Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the garlic for 1 minute then add the green beans. Season generously to taste with salt and pepper. When the green beans are hot, add the lemon slices and cook for 1 minute before removing from the heat and serving.

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Lauren Uncategorized 0 Comments

I am all about the veggies this Thanksgiving! There’s so many in season vegetables waiting to be made into scrumptious holiday side dishes. Then you can fill up guilt-free and save plenty of room for pie!

I love brussels sprouts for the holidays, but not everyone likes them and they require a fair amount of prep time. Broccoli could not be easier to prep, which is why it’s a weekday go-to at our house, so I figured why not swap it in for the holidays. Usually I steam or steam-sauté broccoli, but when you roast it the broccoli florets get tender and slightly charred.

Let’s not forget that sweet caramelized butternut squash, though! Butternut squash involves a bit more preparation, but most stores sell halved or diced butternut squash bringing you that much closer to vegetable deliciousness. If I buy the pre-diced butternut squash and the cubes are really big I always cut them down a little smaller to even them out. Once we have everything cut down to size, the broccoli florets and diced butternut squash get tossed in some olive oil, salt, garlic powder, ground cumin and black pepper before being roasted until tender and slightly charred. I love using a little ground cumin because it gives the veggies just a hint of nuttiness and earthiness. And yes, I know we discovered with the Autumn Harvest Chili Stuffed Butternut Squash recipe that butternut squash is technically a fruit, but we’re “using it as a vegetable” so let’s all just go with it.

I have another holiday vegetable side dish to share with you next week for even more healthy Thanksgiving inspiration. I know Thanksgiving is next week, but this next one is just as easy, if not easier! What are some of your favorite vegetables to serve (or eat!) for Thanksgiving?

Roasted Butternut Squash and Broccoli

 

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Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

• 1 head broccoli, cut into florets
• 4 cups large diced butternut squash, about 20 ounces cut butternut squash
• 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
• ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
• Few grounds fresh black pepper

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with nonstick aluminum foil and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, toss the broccoli and butternut squash with the olive oil, salt, garlic powder, cumin and some ground black pepper. Spread the broccoli and squash out on the baking sheet and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until tender and slightly charred. Toss once during cooking.

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Lauren Uncategorized 6 Comments

Every time I make a dish with mushrooms in it, it immediately becomes one of Matt’s new favorite dishes. I’m also mushroom obsessed, but Matt is on a whole other level. When I ask him what he wants me to make, his answer is always “that <insert name of food here> with the mushrooms.” This Warm Mushroom Barley Salad was no exception. The reason I’m telling you all this is because I was distracted with getting ready for our Japan trip and I couldn’t think of what to write for this recipe so Matt said, “just tell them that I love it.” Haha! That would be my shortest post ever – Matt loves this dish. The end.

I love cooking with different grains and was excited to discover how much I liked pearled barley a few years ago. It has a nice chewy texture and a slightly nutty taste that pairs really well with the sautéed mixed mushrooms. You can use any mushrooms you want for this, but since it’s the star ingredient I recommend a mix of a few that are maybe a bit different from your usual cremini or white mushrooms. I used a combination of cremini, shiitake and oyster mushrooms.

The Warm Mushroom Barley Salad is a simple dish, but simple is good. Especially around the holidays, then simple is really good. You can make this dish ahead of time and warm it in the microwave or serve it right from the stove-top without using any precious holiday oven space.

Since it’s simple, feel free to jazz it up further with some of your own obsession ingredients. It would taste so good with some caramelized onions, some kale or even some garlicky chicken sausage – yum! Or just keep it as is and enjoy!

Warm Mushroom Barley Salad

 

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Yield: 4-6 servings

Ingredients

• 1 cup pearled barley
• 4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1 pound mixed mushrooms, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

Directions

1. Bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil. Add the pearled barley then cook for 30 minutes, drain.
2. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook half the mushrooms for 5 minutes, until tender, seasoning with salt and pepper while they’re cooking. Then remove the mushrooms to a large mixing bowl. Reheat the skillet over medium-high heat with another tablespoon of olive oil. Add the garlic and the other half of the mushrooms, cook for 5 minutes, until tender, seasoning with salt and pepper while they’re cooking. Remove the mushrooms to a large mixing bowl.
3. To the mushrooms add the drained barley, the lemon juice, parsley and the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Don’t be afraid to salt! Serve warm or room temperature.

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