Posts Tagged ‘side dish’

Yet another wonderful find on one of the once a month cooking sites. I didn’t have broccoli on hand so I used a mix of carrots, peas and corn. The little guy loves it. I put most of them away in 8oz containers and froze them. I saved a couple bowls for the weekend. I also added seasoning and herbs. I added garlic and onion powder, fresh cracked pepper, sweet paprika, and some chives and parsley. Another way to save yourself time and headaches. Make it ahead and freeze it to serve whenever your child is hungry.

Homemade Cheesy Rice

Ingredients:

3 cups Broccoli florets (2 cups steamed) or other veggie

2 Tablespoons Butter

2 Tablespoons Flour

2 cups Milk

3 cups Cheddar cheese, shredded

4 cups Rice, cooked (2 cups uncooked)

Directions:
Steam the broccoli in the microwave, steamer or double boiler. Cook rice according to package directions. Set aside broccoli and rice. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Stir in the flour, being sure to combine it with the butter very well. Let cook, stirring the mixture constantly, for about 2 minutes. Do not let it darken. Gradually add the milk, about 1/4 cup at a time, whisking or stirring vigorously. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring often, until thickened and just starting to boil, about 15 to 20 minutes. Add the cheese and stir until melted. Add in cooked broccoli and rice. Serve.

Freezing Directions:
Prepare as above but instead of serving, scoop into 8 oz freezer containers and freeze. To serve: Warm in microwave until heated through, approximately 1-2 minutes.

This was in the latest issue of Food and Wine magazine. In place of the herbs and fresh garlic (I was pressed for time) I used garlic powder, salt, pepper, and parsley. I couldn’t find pecorino cheese at Giant so in place of that I shaved some parmesan reggiano. This recipe is definatly a keeper. They came out so crisp! I served this with chicken fingers.

Oven Fries with Herbs and Pecorino

Ingredients

1. 2 large baking potatoes, cut into 4-by-1/2-inch sticks
2. 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3. 1 large garlic clove, minced
4. 1 teaspoon each of minced sage and rosemary
5. 1/4 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese
6. Salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 425°. In a large bowl, toss the potato sticks with the olive oil until evenly coated. Spread the potato sticks on a rimmed baking sheet in a single layer and bake in the upper third of the oven, turning once or twice with a spatula, until they are golden and crispy, about 30 minutes.

2. Sprinkle the minced garlic and herbs over the fries and toss well. Roast for about 5 minutes longer, until the herbs are fragrant and the garlic is lightly browned. Transfer the fries to a large bowl and toss with the grated Pecorino Romano. Season with salt and pepper and serve.

This is another recipe from the great site Cooking During Stolen Moments. Like all the other recipes I have tried by her, this turned out great. Next time I’ll make a double batch so I have extra to freeze. This came together quickly as well. I made this on a weekday. I dipped these in bbq sauce. Yum!

Cheesy Potato Bites

• 1 1/2 lb. potatoes, peeled and quartered
• 4 T. butter
• 1 c. shredded extra sharp cheddar
• 1/2 c. flour
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 t. salt
• 1/2 t. garlic powder
• 1/2 t. black pepper
• 1 c. breadcrumbs

1. Place the potatoes in a large pot filled with cold water. Bring to a boil and boil until potatoes are fork tender, about 15 minutes. Drain and return potatoes to the pot.

2. Add the butter to the pot and mash with the potatoes. Transfer the mashed
potatoes to a large mixing bowl.

3. Add the cheese, flour, egg and seasonings to the mixing bowl. Stir to combine well.

4. Using 1-2 tablespoons of potato mixture at a time, roll into a ball. Roll the balls into thebreadcrumbs until covered completely and place on a baking sheet. Repeat until done.

5. Drizzle the potato bites with some melted butter.  Bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes, until golden brown and lightly crunchy. This recipe should make about 3 dozen potato bites, depending on the size.

To freeze the potato bites, flash freeze on a large dish or baking sheet until firm, then transfer to a plastic freezer bag.

BBQ’s are an excuse to make pasta salad. I make a ton so I can have leftovers to eat at work the rest of the week. You can easily double this recipe and add any other different soft cheeses or veggies.

Pasta Salad

Ingrediants

1 box mutli-colored pasta

1 red pepper chopped into bite size pieces

1 green pepper chopped into bite size pieces

half a pound of muenster cheese cut into cubes

half a pound of cheddar cut into cubes

Italian dressing to taste

ranch dressing to taste

Directions

Cook pasta according to the directions on the box. Drain while running cold water over the pasta.

Add the veggies and cheese. Mix well. Add the Italian dressing first, usually about a cup or so. To make it tangier add more. Add enough ranch dressing to make the pasta creamy. Refrigerate for a few hours or overnight.

I know these aren’t in season yet but I’ve been dying to have these again. It’s been such a long winter! Another simple side dish to go with any meal.

Zucchini and Squash with Onions

1 yellow summer squash

1 zucchini

1 sweet onion

1-2 green onions

salt and pepper to taste (herbs de Provence optional)

olive oil to saute

Cut the zucchini and squash into thin disks. Chop the onion and green onion roughly. Heat your saute pan to medium and put enough olive oil in the bottom to just cover it. Add the zucchini, squash, and onions. Stir to coat all the veggies with the oil. Add seasonings to taste. Stir occasionally and cook until the veggies begin to brown.

This is a simple side dish that goes well with anything. I add a little Herbs de Provence for more flavor. This is entirely optional. You can season these however you like, I love lots of garlic.

Roasted Baby Red Potatoes

1 pound baby red potatoes, quartered

olive oil to coat potatoes

garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, fresh cracked black pepper, herbs de Provence

Preheat oven to 400.

Cut potatoes into quarters and place on a baking sheet. Add the seasonings in the quantity you desire. Pour on enough olive oil to coat the potatoes. Mix oil and seasonings with your hands to distribute everything evenly.

Cook for about 40 minutes or until the potatoes are turning brown.

This is MUCH better than the boxed version. It is also quick and easy to make. While the macaroni is cooking you make the cheese sauce. I added a bit of cayenne to mine for an extra kick. I used sharp cheddar cheese, but you can use whatever you have on hand.

Home Made Macaroni and Cheese

12-16 ounces uncooked elbow macaroni
½ stick butter
¼ cup all purpose flour
3 cups milk
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 teaspoons salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
2 cups shredded cheddar (Monterey jack or Colby is fine too)
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
Sweet paprika (optional)

Cook macaroni in boiling salted water according to package directions. Drain
and keep warm.

Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add flour
and mix with a wire whisk until smooth. Add milk, whisking as you pour it in
to smoothly incorporate it into flour mixture. Heat until mixture thickens, stirring frequently. (For those of you who don’t cook a lot, what you have at this point is a basic white sauce. If you added celery, you could turn it into cream of celery soup, or mushrooms to make cream of mushroom soup.)

Add mustard, garlic powder, salt, and pepper to white sauce. Let simmer over
medium heat, stirring frequently. Gradually add Cheddar and ½ cup Parmesan. The sauce is done when cheeses are well combined, smooth, and melted.

Add macaroni to sauce and stir until well mixed with sauce. Sprinkle with a
little more Parmesan and a bit of paprika for color, if using.

Daylight savings time is here and my little one has decided to wake up between 5 and 6 am still, but dosn’t go to bed until 8pm. Sheesh! We have to completely rearrange our way of doing things after work now. Juggling Eli time, cooking a good meal, making lunches for work, cleaning up afterward, exercise time, watching a show with the hubby, then jumping in the shower and into bed is proving interesting.  However, it means more time with Eli during the week which is a good thing. I’m glad I had this on the menu earlier in the week. I served these noodles with pork chops and peas. Took about 15 minutes to cook this dinner. Easy! You can substitute any herbs you like. I ended up just reading the recipe and adding things by eye, not measuring. It came out tasty.

Parmesan Herb Noodles
1 1/2 cups wide egg noodles, uncooked
2 Tbs. shredded Parmesan cheese
1 tsp. butter
1 tsp. olive oil
2 tsp. minced fresh basil OR 1/2 tsp. dried basil
1/2 tsp. minced fresh thyme OR 1/8 tsp. dried thyme
1 garlic clove pressed
1/4 tsp. salt
-Cook noodles according to directions, drain.
-Add remaining ingredients and toss to coat.

Another healthy version of a fried recipe. These are baked in the oven. I did this at the same time as the Chicken Fingers. I set the oven at 400 and put them in first while preparing the chicken. It came out perfect. You can double this recipe easily as well if needed.

Garlic Oven Fries

Ingredients
4 medium red potatoes, each cut in 8 wedges
olive oil to coat potatoes
Garlic Powder and pepper seasoned to taste.
Directions
1. Heat oven to 500 degrees.
2. In medium bowl, toss potatoes with oil to coat.
3. Sprinkle with garlic and pepper.
5. Arrange in single layer in pan.
6. Bake uncovered 15 to 18 minutes, stirring once, until potatoes are tender but crisp on outside.

I have wanted to try this recipe for awhile now. Root vegetables are in season now so they are fresh and inexpensive. This was a big experiment on my part since I’ve never tried parsnips or turnips before. I couldn’t find any rutabegas at Safeway but maybe next month I can find some. These came out so tasty. The parsnips tasted like sweet carrots.  My oven tends to run warm so these roasted in about 45 minutes. You can try just about any root vegetable you like. I used carrots, parsnips, turnip, and a whole onion.

Roasted Root Vegetables

Ingredients
2 pounds root vegetables (use potatoes, carrots, parsnips, turnips, rutabagas, beets), peeled andcut into 1-inch pieces

1 medium onion, peeled and cut into 1/3-inch wedges

olive oil to coat the vegetables

fresh cracked pepper, herbs de provence (optional), garlic powder

1 head garlic, separated into cloves and peeled (optional)

Instructions
1. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Place the root vegetables and onion in a roasting pan.

2. Toss the vegetables with the olive oil and season to taste. Do not crowd the vegetables.

3. Roast the mixture for a total of 45-50 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. After 30 minutes, scatter the garlic cloves in with the vegetables. Continue stirring every 15 minutes until the vegetables are tender and evenly browned.