Vegetables for dinner -- sweet!

Aaron and I have talked often about trying to adopt more of a vegetarian diet. We both realize it won't completely happen, but once or twice a week we try go eliminate meat for a meal. It's really easy nowadays, especially if you plan for it.

One way we've been preparing vegetables to make them more palatable is to roast them in the oven. For years, we have favored carrots and potatoes. But in the past year or so, we have sought -- and largely enjoyed -- several more. For instance, we have been enjoying brussels sprouts several times a week. We also love butternut squash.

We had a great vegetarian meal tonight. Aaron planned for it a few days ago, and it was relatively easy to make. We had a delicious salad some roasted vegetables. This time, however, the veggies were roasted on the stovetop. The meal was filling, delicious -- and healthy. All tops in my book!

This is the recipe for the roasted vegetables. I'll include the salad recipe next week. Both are from the Barefoot Contessa's cookbook "Back to Basics."

Pan-roasted root vegetables

4 tbsp. unsalted butter
1 white turnip, unpeeled and 1-inch diced
2 carrots, 1-inch diced (preferably from carrots with greens attached)
2 small parsnips, peeled and 1-inch diced
1/2 celery root, peeled and 1-inch diced
8 brussels sprouts, halved if large
4 fresh thyme sprigs
1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
2 celery stalks, 1-inch diced

Melt the butter in a large (12-inch) saute pan that has a tight-fitting lid. When the butter is melted, add the turnip, carrots, parsnips, celery root, brussels sprouts, thyme, salt and pepper and toss with the butter. Cover the pan and cook over low heat for 10 minutes. Add the celery and stir the vegetables. Cover the pan again and continue to cook for another 5 minutes, until all the vegetables are tender. If they're too dry, add a few tablespoons of water. Taste for seasonings, and serve hot.

Cook's notes: We reduced the butter to 2 tablespoons, and they still turned out delicious. I'm just OK with parsnips, so I substituted a few extra carrots. If you like, you could substitute rutabaga for turnips. We also used about a teaspoon of dried thyme instead of the sprigs, and the flavor of the herb was pronounced but not overwhelming.