I shared my extremely quick and easy (for cooking and cleaning up) roasted veggie and sausage recipe back in July and the dish has become my partner’s and my favorite weeknight dinner! I love having a mixture of cooked vegetables in the fridge for eating on its own or adding to omelettes, salads, and rice bowls and these perfectly softened, sweet veggies are the most delicious. Aidells chicken sausage give the dish protein and an extra hint of caramelized chew when the sugars cook down in the oven. I love eating these veggies and sausages over rice or potatoes, but my new favorite pairing is with spicy tomato orzo that comes together in around 15 minutes while the oven does its job! Orzo is a perfect meal addition with its small shape mixing in with all of the vegetable bites. I initially added a little too much red pepper flakes to the tomato orzo, but the spice blew me away in combination with the rest of the dish. I hope you love how the dinner comes out as well!
Ingredients:
- For veggies and sausage:
- One pack of chicken or turkey sausages (My choice was the Aidells Italian Style chicken sausages)
- Veggies of choice (I used broccoli, red bell pepper, orange bell pepper, red onion, zucchini, and carrots)
- Olive oil
- Salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, Italian seasoning to taste
- For tomato orzo:
- One cup of orzo
- Water
- One 28 oz can of Italian diced tomatoes
- One cup of cherry tomatoes
- One tablespoon of olive oil
- Salt, pepper, oregano, basil, sugar, red pepper to taste
Instructions:
- For veggies and sausage:
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees
- Chop veggies of choice into bite sized pieces, making sure they’re all of similar size so they roast evenly
- Cover one large sheet pan or two medium sized ones in aluminum foil for easier clean up
- Cut one pack of sausages (my pack had four in their casings) into 1/2 inch slices
- Lay veggies and sausage on pans in an even layer
- Cover meat and vegetables in olive oil and season with seasonings of choice or the ones I listed above
- When oven is preheated, put pans in oven and roast for 40-ish minutes, flipping pieces halfway through
- Serve on top of tomato orzo, rice, quinoa, couscous, or spring mix
- Store in fridge and use throughout the week to add more veggies to your meals
- For tomato orzo:
- Boil small pot of water, generously salting when water comes to a rapid boil
- Cook orzo according to package instructions
- While pasta cooks, slice cherry tomatoes in half
- Empty can of diced tomatoes in a saucepan on medium heat
- Toss in cherry tomatoes
- Season tomato mixture with seasonings mentioned, paying special attention to extra red pepper flakes for heat
- Simmer sauce and add orzo with two spoonfuls of pasta water
- Mix and serve on its own or with veggies and sausage on top
