Roasted Broccoli

Cheap Eat Challenge, Part 2: Watch as our family of 6 eats on less than $10/day.

Welcome to my new favorite thing: roasted broccoli. It's just so good (and I am not, in general, a broccoli lover). And yet somehow I've managed to make it through my life up to this point without it; I've had it boiled and steamed and raw, in casseroles, soups, and stir-fries. But this, this is different.

Roasting it isn't hard to do and it sweetens the broccoli just a bit. I especially love the little crispy bits at the edges. Yum. And it's a nice thing to eat at this time of year when it seems we're constantly bombarded with sweet.

Roasted Broccoli
Serves 1-2
Prep time: 3 minutes
Cook time: 15-20 minutes
Cost: $.50

Yeah, are you ready for this, um, recipe?

 1 head broccoli, chopped into bite sized pieces
drizzle olive oil
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Drizzle olive oil on your broccoli, toss it. Salt it generously, and add pepper. Roast for 15-20 minutes or until edges are just starting to brown. (If you've chopped your bits kind of small, be sure to cut down on cooking time. Broccoli isn't as forgiving as, say, roast potatoes. Once they're burned, they're definitely burned.)

Eat 'em hot (and, yes, you can throw some other veggies into the mix as you see above. Cauliflower is similar in cooking times and instructions. Baby carrots will come out a bit crispy unless you cut them smaller, but I didn't mind).