Surprise surprise, veggie surprise for Cinderelly

When Theo and Ida were little I think I was at the peak of my dinner-making powers. Which is weird because wouldn’t you think I would be better at dinner now that I don’t have babies? But no. I’m just defeated. Defeated by years and years of soccer practices and piano lessons and church activities and early mornings and late nights and other things that interfere with a normal dinner. I am pretty sure that I got more sleep and ate better food when I had toddlers than I do now.

But anyway a lot of my favorite recipes back then came from Real Simple. And one classic that could always be trusted—ravioli with zucchini and garlic— has evolved into what we now call Veggie Surprise.

Veggie surprise is always some kind of pasta. Usually some kind of protein (usually broiled sausage but sometimes mozzarella chunks) and always some kind of vegetable (often zucchini, sometimes peppers, green beans, or whatever I have) that’s been oven-roasted on a baking sheet with olive oil, minced garlic, S&P, + whatever else I feel like… usually including chili powder. Lately I’ve been doing black garlic, which is *chef’s kiss.*

Matt does not enjoy this meal, unfortunately. But—fortunately or unfortunately—he does not usually eat dinner with us. It’s so fast to make and clean up—one saucepan for the pasta, one sheet pan for the veggies, one broiler pan for the sausage (and sometimes I broil the veggies too if I really want a shortcut). And the kids love it and they’ll always eat it. With gusto. My work here is done. Veggie surprise every night, from now to eternity! Jk. We do have it about once a week, though… probably have averaged once or twice a month for the past 15 years. That’s a lot of veggie surprise. 😂