Posts Tagged ‘side dish’

I made this for lunch last week. Simple to make and didn’t take long.

Herb and Garlic Shells with Spinach and Bacon

 
Ingredients:

 
3 slices bacon, chopped
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
1 shallot, minced
2 handfuls baby spinach leaves
2 cups dried medium shell pasta
3 tablespoons herb and garlic spreadable cheese (such as Rondele)
kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste

 
Directions:

 
Start a pot of water for your pasta.

 
In a large skillet, cook bacon over medium heat until it crisps up, about 5-7 minutes. Transfer to
paper towel lined plate and set aside. Reserve 2 teaspoons of pan drippings.

 
Once your pasta water starts boiling, cook pasta according to package directions. Strain.

 
Meanwhile, in the same skillet you cooked the bacon in, add 1 teaspoon olive oil. Stir in garlic
and shallots. Cook just until softened about 3 minutes.

 
Stir in spinach, cook 1 minute. It will wilt slightly.

 
Stir in cooked pasta. Stir in herb and garlic cheese. As the cheese melts, stir to lightly coat the
pasta. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

 
Transfer to serving platter, sprinkle with bacon and serve

Simple and delicious. These are best served warm with butter.

Honey Cornbread

Ingredients:

 
1 cup buttermilk
2/3 cup honey
2 large eggs
4 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1 cup cornmeal
1 ¼ cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp baking soda

 
Directions:

 
Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375. Grease 8 inch square baking pan.
Whisk buttermilk, honey, eggs and butter togetherin bowl until thoroughly combined and no
streaks of honey remain. Whisk flour, cornmeal, salt, baking powder, and baking soda together
in large bowl.

 
Whisk buttermilk mixture into flour mixture until thoroughly combined. Transfer batter to
prepared pan. Bake until golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 30 to
35 minutes. Cool in pan for 5 minutes. Turn cornbread out onto wire rack and cool for 15 to 20
minutes. Serve.

We recently joined South Mountain Veggies. They deliver local and organic fruits and vegetables. Amongst other awesome things (delicious apples, a whole watermelon, fresh corn on the cob, and more!) was a head of broccoli. I knew I wanted to roast it that same night. This is very simple.

Roasted Broccoli with Parmesan Cheese

Ingredients:

1 head of broccoli

1 tbs olive oil

salt to season

1/4 cup of shredded Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375.

Cut up the broccoli into large pieces. Keep the florets whole and leave some of the stem on. Spread evenly onto a baking sheet.

Sprinkle olive oil all over the broccoli, then salt to taste.

Cook for about 20 minutes or when the broccoli begins to turn brown.

Finish by sprinkling Parmesan cheese on top. Serve hot.

You’ll save so much money buying dry beans and cooking them yourself. It’s easy to do and quick to set up the process. I use these most often in bean tacos. I love them! I did the slow cooker method and did not add salt since I add enough spices in my tacos.

How to Cook and Freeze Black Beans

(photo courtesy of Going Nuts as I completely forgot to take a picture. You all know what beans look like though!)

Look over your beans as you pour them into a stock pot. Make sure there are no small twigs or
stones. Soak 2 pounds in a large stock pot overnight. Your beans will absorb the water by
morning.

 
Drain beans in a colander.

 
Cover with clean water and bring to a boil. Simmer covered forty-five minutes to one hour until
tender. Alternately, the soaked beans can cook in a crock pot for four hours on high or six hours
on low.

 
Remove from heat. Add a tablespoon of kosher salt if desired. Uncover and cool the beans for
one hour or longer. Periodically stir to release heat.

 
Once they have cooled down, place them in Ziplock bags or plastic containers. If you measure
out a little less than two cups you will have approximately the same amount as a 14oz can of
beans. Leave just a small amount of liquid in each container or freezer bag.

 
Allow to cool completely. Seal the bags or containers then place in freezer. To save room if
using bags, stack them flat on top of each other.

 
Thaw 24 hours prior to using.

Here is my version of the fritters from Heavenly Homemakers. It needed more spice though, next time I’ll add some cayenne and more cumin.

Taco Corn Fritters

Ingredients:

 
½ pound ground beef
½ Tbsp garlic powder
½ Tbsp onion powder
½ Tbsp cumin
½ Tbsp paprika
2 cups cornmeal
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
2 eggs
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup melted butter
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 cups frozen or canned corn
oil for frying

 
Directions:

 
Brown hamburger meat. Add in garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, and paprika. Mix well. In
separate bowl, mix together the remaining ingredients, then stir in the seasoned meat. Heat oil
in skillet. Scoop 1-2 tablespoons of corn mixture into the hot oil and press down to flatten. Fry
for 5-7 minutes on each side until cooked through. Serve warm.

Budget Bites never does me wrong. I made a version of her fries, without all the toppings. Only cheese and bacon for my hubby. I had it on the side for myself. Subscribe to her site you won’t be disappointed!

Loaded Baked Potato Fries

Ingredients:

 
3-4 pounds potatoes
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp chili Powder
½ tsp smoked paprika
¼ tsp garlic powder
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp cracked pepper
1 ½ Tbsp corn starch
1 cup shredded cheddar
½ bunch green onions
8 oz sour cream

 
Directions:

 
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Wash the potatoes well and peel if desired (I like to leave the
peel on for extra texture and flavor). Cut the potatoes into strips or “fries”, approximate 1/2
inch thick.

 
Place the fries in a bowl and add the olive oil and Worcestershire sauce. Toss to coat. In a small
bowl combine the chili powder, smoked paprika, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and cornstarch.
Stir to combine the spices, then add to the bowl with the fries. Toss to coat once more.

 
Line a baking sheet (or two) with foil and spray lightly with non-stick spray. Spread the fries out
on the baking sheet so that they are in a single layer and not piling up on each other. Use two
baking sheets if needed. Bake for 40 minutes, stirring once halfway through.

 
After 40 minutes, they should be slightly brown and crispy on the edges. If you cut your fries
thicker, they may need more time in the oven. Transfer the fries to an oven safe casserole dish.
Top with the shredded cheese and return to the oven for about 5 minutes more or until the
cheese is fully melted. Chop the onions while the cheese is melting. Top the fries with the green
onions and dollops of sour cream. Serve immediately!

I’ll always be a fan of anything Cleveland, and loving Michael Symon is no exception. This recipe was on his first episode of Symon’s Suppers on the Cooking Channel. My husband does not like anything remotely spicy so I just skipped putting his in the aioli. I cut the sauce recipe in half since it was only my son and I eating it. I used fingerling potatoes instead of the yukons as I have a big bag of them. These are delicious!  I used the leftover sauce to dip my pork chop in.

Fried Potatoes with Spicy Aioli

Ingredients:

 
POTATOES:

 
1 1/2 pounds 1- to 2-inch Yukon gold potatoes (about 16)
Kosher salt

 
SPICY AIOLI:

 
1 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons Sriracha
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 clove garlic, minced
1 lime, zested and juiced
Kosher salt
Favorite fat, for frying (I love saved bacon fat or duck fat)
2 scallions, thinly sliced on a bias, to garnish

 
Directions:

 
For the potatoes: To a small saucepan, add the potatoes and cool water to cover. Salt the water
generously and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-high, and simmer
until the potatoes are just tender when pierced with a fork, 10 to15 minutes. Remove from the
water and let cool. While the potatoes are cooling, make the spicy aioli.

 
For the spicy aioli: In a large bowl, combine the mayonnaise, Sriracha, paprika, garlic lime zest
and juice and a pinch salt. Stir to combine and set aside.

 
To finish the potatoes: Heat a large cast-iron skillet with your favorite fat until it reaches 350
degrees F. The fat should come 1 to 2 inches up the side of the pan.

 
With the heel of your hand, smash the potatoes so they are relatively flat but still holding
together. Add the potatoes to the fat and cook until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Remove
from the fat with a slotted spoon and place in the bowl with the aioli. Add a spoonful of the hot
fat, stir to coat and transfer to a serving platter. Garnish with the scallions and serve
immediately.

These potatoes have a hint of garlic and tons of flavor. You can easily double this recipe for more people. Any cheese is fine.

Cheddar, Bacon and Garlic Potatoes

Ingredients:

2 large russet potatoes

4 cloves of garlic

1/2 cup of sharp cheddar cheese

2 slices of bacon cooked and crumbled

1/3 cup of milk

2 Tbs sour cream

Directions:

Fill a pot with water, salt it, and set it to boil. Peel the garlic cloves and throw them in the water. Peel and cube the potatoes and put them in the water as well. When the water is boiling and everything is in, turn the heat down to medium. Once the potatoes are cooked and soft, about 15 minutes, drain the water from the potatoes and garlic.

Add potatoes and garlic back into the pot and mash with a potato masher. Add in milk and sour cream, mix. Add cheddar and bacon, mix well. Serve warm.

I served these tonight along with bacon cream cheese and chive crescents with our fun appetizer night. Taquitos are a blank canvas. You can add any cheese, meat, veggie…whatever you’d like. I think this would be great to use up leftover chicken with for a family Mexican night.

Easy Cheese Taquitos

Ingredients:

12 corn tortillas
1 cup shredded cheese (whatever you have on hand)
salsa for serving

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Lay tortillas on two baking sheets in a single layer. Depending on your size of baking sheet, you
may need to use 3 sheets.

Sprinkle cheese on tortillas.

Bake for 2-3 minutes or until cheese is starting to melt and tortillas are softened.

Remove from oven and carefully roll each tortilla up. These are hot so be careful.

Return to oven and bake for 6-8 minutes or until crisp.

This is pretty close to what Don Pablo’s serves as their Mexican corn cake. The most important part is the water bath. If you skip that step your corn cake will not be moist.

Sweet Corn Cake

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/3 cup masa harina (very easy to find in your international section of your grocery aisle, not expensive either)
1/4 cup water
1 1/2 cups frozen whole-kernel corn, thawed
1/4 cup cornmeal
1/3 cup white sugar
2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Directions

In a medium bowl beat butter until it is creamy. Add the Mexican corn flour and water and beat
until well mixed.

Using a food processor, process thawed corn, but leave chunky. Stir into the butter mixture.

In a separate bowl, mix cornmeal, sugar, cream, salt, and baking powder. Add to corn flour
mixture and stir to combine. Pour batter into an ungreased 8×8 inch baking pan. Smooth batter
and cover with aluminum foil. Place pan into a 9×13 inch baking dish that is filled a third of the
way with water.

Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven F (175 degrees C) oven for 50 to 60 minutes. Allow to cool
for 10 minutes. Use an ice cream scoop for easy removal from pan.