Quinoa Pesto Bowl with Roasted Veggies

Lemon garlic roasted vegetables, toothsome quinoa and a tangy pesto sauce. What's not to love about Meatless Mondays? This is a recipe inspired by a healthy "fast-food" restaurant Ryan and I used to frequent when we lived back in Michigan. The kind of place where you can customize your rice or quinoa bowl ingredients and leave lunch feeling full but good about the healthy choices you just made. This quinoa bowl is all of my favorite choices from that lunch spot, but in my own kitchen!

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees and line a baking sheet with foil. Start by roasting the vegetables. You can choose anything you like, but this is a pretty good mix. Dice two red bell peppers, one medium head of broccoli, 6-8 button or crimini mushrooms, one red onion, and a medium zucchini into an even dice. Vegetables that are diced the same size will cook more evenly when roasting. Combine diced vegetables in a large bowl.

In a small bowl, combine 2 cloves of minced garlic, the zest and juice of one lemon, and 2 tablespoons of oil. Season with salt and pepper and whisk together.

Drizzle the lemon garlic oil evenly over the vegetables, tossing to coat. Spread out evenly on the prepared baking sheet.

In a medium sized saucepan, combine two cups of water with one cup of rinsed quinoa. Bring to a boil over medium heat, reduce to low, cover, and simmer until the water has absorbed and the quinoa is tender. Quinoa will retain a "toothsome" quality even when cooked, similar to a very al dente pasta.

Roast vegetables for 10 minutes at 425 degrees or until they are just starting to soften. Brush two ears of corn with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Add the corn to the baking sheet and continue to cook 5-7 minutes longer or until the vegetables are beginning to char around the edges and the corn is tender. Remove roasted vegetables and cover with foil to keep warm. Before serving, cut corn kernels from the cob.

In a food processor, combine 1 cup of fresh basil leaves, 2 cloves of fresh garlic, 2 tablespoons of pine nuts, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Pulse to chop well. With the food processor running, drizzle in 1/4 cup of olive oil until a smooth sauce forms. Stir prepared pesto into 1/4 cup of plain greek yogurt and set aside.

To assemble the veggie bowls, layer quinoa, roasted vegetables, and crumbled goat cheese. Drizzle with pesto sauce and season with fresh cracked black pepper.