roasted brussels sprouts and sweet potato salad

For the past 3 years or so, I've been living without a decent oven. Besides being a bit of an eyesore, the oven in our house heated unevenly and the temperature fluctuated. Plus it was too small to fit my pans.
*cue sad music*

I managed to make do with a pretty badass little toaster oven, but things like frozen pizzas and anything larger than 6 inches were impossible.

However, recently I purchased a new, gorgeous, modern, DOUBLE oven. I can make a turkey and a cheesecake at the same time, nbd.
*cue angels singing*

What's the first thing I did? I roasted some brussels sprouts and sweet potatoes. They turned out absolutely beautiful. Then I used them to trick out my salad.

[How to roast them? Cut into smallish pieces, then coat with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Spread out on a cookie sheet and bake at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes, giving them a bit of a stir/shake every 10-15 minutes.]

I forsee a bit of a salad series on the horizon, since this former salad-hater is actually digging salads lately. They're an easy way to get veggies, and my body needs them after this particularly pudgy holiday season. Plus I started to like them more when I realized I could do more than the standard 'lettuce-cucumber-tomato' routine.

My salad motto is: More substance. Less lettuce. I can add Mexican rice if I want and call it a burrito bowl. Nice.

This salad includes:

Iceberg lettuce chunks
Shredded carrot
Cubed squash
Cucumber
Tomato
Roasted brussels sprouts and sweet potatoes
A dollup of a chickpea + olive oil puree
Balsamic vinegar dressing

NOM.