mmmmm . . . veggies

        Wish you ate more vegetables? Wishing there was a quick easy solution for   those perfect vegetables that everyone loves?  This is something I learned while working at Outback all those years ago.  Not all restaurants do this, but sometimes I wish more would because this method gives you perfectly steamed vegetables that still have a nice crunch to them.  I actually kind of forgot about it for a few years and just thought to do it this morning.  Decided that I am going to just make up a bunch of baggies of different veggies to have available all the time.  Hopefully this means eating more vegetables instead of chips or something, because the biggest problem with cooking them for me is just washing the dishes. 
      Very simply cut your veggies into bite size pieces, broccoli, slices of squash or zucchini, beans, sliced carrots etc.  Put about a cup of veggies into a plastic bag.  I usually use just a fold over sandwich bag, but a zip-lock bag is fine too, just be sure if you use the sandwich bag that you get a good twist on it so that it steams well.  You can cook them at this point if you'd like a salt free and fat free version, but I am of the opinion that a little flavor won't hurt a thing, so I put in mine about 1 tsp of butter or olive oil and a pinch of salt.  If you'd like a little different flavor maybe some seasoned salt, Greek seasoning, Cajun seasoning, a pinch of basil or some popcorn sprinkle, basically, your imagination is the limit!  Then just pop them in the microwave for 1:15 min for a single portion, 2:00 for two portions and another 30 seconds a piece after that.  Allow them to sit in the bags for about a min before opening and serving them.  Just remember that denser things like baby carrots or cauliflower will need to go a little longer, maybe 30 seconds more, unless you like them really crispy. 
      One of the really great things about this is that if you have picky eaters making a different vegetable for everyone isn't that big of a deal, maybe even make it fun for the kids and have them make their own bags before dinner, just be sure that an adult is opening up the bags because you have to be careful that you don't get burnt by the steam.   Or you can do like me and just make a bunch up in advance to have to pop in the microwave for whenever you need a quick snack.