Bringing Color to the Dinner Table

Whenever I go to the grocery, I always look for the best deals.  Sometimes I have a shopping list all planned out and stick to it from start to finish, other times though I like to find discounted options and use them as inspiration for my meals.  Being just Tim and I, the main goal is to not over buy at the grocery.  A little food can last us for weeks, and I am constantly freezing bread, veggies, meat, cheese, etc. that we can’t get to before it goes bad.  However, dairy products like milk or yogurt, or leafy vegetables like romaine or kale do not work well frozen.  These items we try and eat first and foremost.  Usually when we go to the grocery, we spend between $100 and $150, and we go every couple weeks.  Thankfully neither of us mind leftovers, so we are pretty good about cleaning out our fridge by eating the food instead of throwing it in the trash.

I went to both Kroger and Trader Joe’s on Sunday, because our fridge was getting pretty bare.  Usually I buy pantry staples and a few fun items at Trader Joe’s, and I fill up on fruits and vegetables at Kroger.  When I was roaming the produce aisle, I spotted a new to me bag of veggies called Rainbow Slaw.  It was filled with shredded broccoli, cauliflower, red cabbage, and carrots.  It was also on sale, so I figured what better time to try it than now!

I am really not a huge coleslaw fan and I don’t really care for raw vegetables.  I prefer my broccoli, cauliflower, carrots and cabbage roasted, so I thought that would be the perfect way to prepare this bag.

Roasted Chinese Rainbow Slaw

Set oven to 425 degrees.

Empty bag of Rainbow Slaw onto a roasting pan.

Add:

2 teaspoons Olive Oil

2 tablespoons Soy Sauce (I used low sodium)

1 tablespoon Sesame Seeds

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Mix well!

Bake for 10 minutes until veggies are cooked through, but still have a bite.

I also served it along a couple other new-to-me products:

Black Quinoa!  A purchase made before the 4 lb. bag of quinoa from Costco.  This tasted just like regular quinoa.

Trader Joe’s Sweet Italian Style Chicken Sausage.  This was pretty good, just a tad spicy for my taste.  I am a wimp though when it comes to heat!  The leftovers will be perfect for another dinner I have planned this week.

Somebody let me know if you have a secret to photographing sausage in an attractive way!  Ha ha bonus points to you if you know how..

Questions:

What new to you ingredient/product have you enjoyed lately?  Or didn’t enjoy so much?

Have you ever tried Rainbow Slaw?  How about Black Quinoa?

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