Tag Archives: sides

Apr 19 2013

Mason Jar Salads

Posted on by

Lunch has been a bit of a problem for me lately. Work’s been busy and by the time I get around to lunch break, I just want to grab something – which has been a lot of fast food or something from the cafeteria at work. Occasionally, I can get myself to pick up something healthy (aka, salad bar), but all of it’s been a little rough on the wallet.

I decided I was going to kick the habit this week and get lunch under control.

The idea of jarred salads have been all over Pinterest – and they seemed a really good option. Prep them at the beginning of the week -dressing goes on the bottom, lettuce on top – and you have fresh, prepared salad all week. I made a Greek-inspired version for lunches this week.

There’s not really a recipe here, just a layering method. You start out with your dressing at the bottom (I used a Greek vinaigrette with feta) followed by your proteins (red beans and grilled chicken, for me). After that comes the “sturdy” vegetables (cucumber and red onion), then the more “delicate” toppings (tomatoes, olives and feta). The rest of the jar is filled up with lettuce.

It cost me just about $15 to get everything to make five days worth of lunch (not including the jars – I already had those). At $3/day, this is much less than I would spend buying lunch. It’s also a pretty balanced, healthy lunch – better than I would pick during a normal lunch rush.

Just dump the contents of the jar into a bowl and you’re good to go.

I was really impressed by how well the salads held up packaged like this. Today’s lettuce is still crisp and nothing is soggy. I wish I had tried this sooner – it’s just what I needed for lunch.

Mar 29 2013

Sweet & Spicy Green Beans

Posted on by

I’ve been on a sides kick lately (have you noticed?) so when I was assigned Nichole’s blog for the latest blogger’s choice swap, I immediatedly went to see what kind of sides she had blogged.

Green beans are a favorite around here, so I knew these would be a big hit. We also always have the ingredients on hand so I’m sure this is a side that will make it into our regular rotation.

Sweet & Spicy Green Beans
(adapted from Cookaholic Wife)
Serves 2 as a side

1/2 lb. fresh green beans, ends trimmed
1 T. olive oil
1 t. reduced-sodium soy sauce
1 t. chile garlic sauce
1 tsp. honey
Pinch of sesame seeds, toasted

In a medium frying pan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add green beans and cook until slightly browned and soft. Stir in soy sauce, chile garlic sauce and honey, tossing to coat.

Once the sauce has heated through, transfer beans to a serving bowl and sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds.

You can check out what the other bloggers in the swap chose to make below. Thanks, Sarah, for hosting!



Mar 27 2013

Slow Cooker Sweet Potatoes with Applesauce

Posted on by

I first tried this recipe out when I wanted a sweet potato casserole but didn’t have the oven room for another dish. Using the slow cooker is the perfect solution. If you’re looking for another side to add to your Easter dinner, but don’t want something that will take a lot of effort, this is the dish to add to your menu. It takes minimal prep and then you just dump everything in the slow cooker – it couldn’t be easier.

This sweet side goes really well with ham.

 

Slow Cooker Sweet Potatoes with Applesauce
(slightly adapted from Betty Crocker)
Serves 6, as a side

2 lbs. sweet potatoes or yams, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 1/2 c. unsweetened applesauce
2/3 c. packed brown sugar
3 T. butter,  melted
1 t. ground cinnamon

Spray slow cooker with non-stick spray and spread sweet potatoes over the bottom.

In a small bowl, mix together the applesauce, brown sugar, butter and cinnamon. Pour evenly over sweet potatoes.

Cook on low for 6-8 hours until potatoes are very tender.

Mar 25 2013

Honey-Glazed Carrots

Posted on by

I love carrots. Mark likes carrots – as long as they’re raw. I almost never make cooked carrots because it’s a lot easier just to put a bowl of raw ones on the table.

I ended up with a lot of leftover carrots from another dish and decided to try out this recipe since I’d had it bookmarked forever. They were awesome and I had to stop myself from eating too many out of the pan before they were done.

Mark wouldn’t touch them but I’m okay with that – more for me.

Honey-Glazed Carrots
(from Martha Stewart)
Serves 6

1 T. vegetable oil
2 pounds carrots, thickly coin sliced
1 c. water
1/2 c. honey
2 T. red-wine vinegar
2 T. unsalted butter
Coarse salt and ground pepper, to taste

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat the oil until shimmering. Add the carrots and cook for 2 minutes, until beginning to brown, turning once.

Add the water, honey and vinegar to the skillet and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cover, cooking for 10 minutes. Remove cover and cook for an additional 8-10 minutes, until the honey mixture is thick and syrupy.

Remove skillet from heat and add butter. Stir until melted. Season with salt and pepper and serve.

Mar 18 2013

Weeknight Mashed Potatoes

Posted on by

Mark loves mashed potatoes. They’re not my favorite and without a lot of butter and cream they seem like a lot more work than they are worth. I used to keep instant mashed potatoes on the pantry so I could make some when he wanted, but in an effort to rid the pantry of processed foods I’ve been on the hunt for a mashed potato recipe that a) I can easily make on a weeknight and b) isn’t loaded with a ton of cream and butter.

This recipe is the winner. It’s made with low-fat milk and 1 tablespoon (or less) of butter per serving. I was also pleasantly surprised that I really liked these. I think it’s the addition of nutmeg – not an ingredient I would have thought to add to mashed potatoes but it seems to make all the difference!

Weeknight Mashed Potatoes
(from Martha Stewart)
Serves 4-6

2 lbs. russet, Yukon gold, or long white potatoes
1 T. salt, plus more to taste
1 c. low-fat milk
4 t. unsalted butter
1/4 t. freshly ground black pepper
1/4 t. freshly grated nutmeg

Peel and cut potatoes into 1 1/2-inch-thick slices. Place the potatoes in a medium saucepan and cover with cold water; add 1 tablespoon salt. Bring the potatoes to a simmer and cook until a knife slips in and out easily. Drain potatoes in a colander.

Place milk in the small saucepan over medium-high heat.

Transfer the hot, drained potatoes to bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium-low speed, until most of the lumps have disappeared, about 1 minute. Add in the butter and mix until blended. On low speed, add hot milk in a slow stream, then add pepper, nutmeg, and salt to taste. Mix to combine.

Mar 1 2013

Roasted Sweet Potato Salad with Citrus-Curry Dressing

Posted on by

Today is recipe swap day! For the latest blogger’s choice swap, I had Jaida’s blog, Sweet Beginnings. I knew I wanted to make a meatless meal since today’s another Lenten Friday and Jaida had lots of great options to pick from.

I settled on this salad because I knew it’d be perfect as a dinner and also as an easy-to-pack lunch for work. Gosh, was this good. I’ve never been so happy that my husband doesn’t really like sweet potatoes – more for me!

 Roasted Sweet Potato Salad with Citrus-Curry Dressing
(as seen on Sweet Beginnings, originally from Pampered Chef – Spin on Salads)
Serves 4 as a main dish

3 large sweet potatoes, peeled
1 T. olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste
1/4 c. mayo
1/4 c. fresh orange juice
1 T. Dijon mustard
1 t. curry powder
1 t. orange zest
1 medium Red Delicious apple, cored and diced
1/2 c. diced celery
1/4 c. thinly sliced green onions, with tops
1 package fresh baby greens

Preheat the oven to 450F degrees. Line a large backing sheet with foil.

Cut the sweet potatoes into large cubes and toss with olive oil to coat. Spread them in a single layer on the baking dish and roast for 22 minutes, turning halfway through. After roasting, set aside to cool.

In a small bowl, whisk together the mayo, orange juice, mustard, curry powder and orange zest to make dressing. Set aside.

Combine cool sweet potatoes, apple, celery, green onions with 1/3 c. of the dressing and toss to coat.

Serve over baby greens.

You can check out what the other blogger chose to make below. Thanks to Sarah at A Taste of Home Cooking for hosting!

 


Feb 15 2013

Bloody Mary Steak with White Cheddar Horseradish Mashed Potatoes

Posted on by

The latest recipe swap hosted by A Taste of Home Cooking was themed “special occasion”, which naturally meant I was going to make it for Valentine’s Day. Obviously, it was a bit more time intensive than our usual Thursday dinners but, hey, hubby deserves a nice dinner for dealing with all of my crazy!

This recipe comes from Cheese Curd in Paradise.  She also has a mushroom topping for the steak – since we’re not mushroom fans I skipped it, but if that’s your thing it’d be a great addition. We were especially fond of the mashed potatoes!

 

Bloody Mary Steak with White Cheddar Horseradish Mashed Potatoes
(from Cheese Curd in Paradise)

Bloody Mary Steaks
3 stalks celery, chopped
1/2 white onion, diced
2 T. sliced green olives
3 T. chopped pickles
1 T. pickle juice
2 T. Worcestershire sauce
1 T. hot sauce
5.5 oz tomato juice
1/4 c. olive oil
1/2 t. salt
1 t. black pepper
1/2 t. cumin
1 T. celery salt
1/2 t. dill seed
2 lb. beef tenderloin, cut into individual steaks

 

Whisk together all ingredients besides steak. Place the steaks in a large ziplock bag and pour in the marinate. Allow the steaks to marinate 2 1/2 – 3 hours. Flip the bag at the halfway through.
 
Pre-heat your grill. Remove the steaks from the bag and discard the marinate.  Grill steaks over medium heat until the reach desired temperature.
 
Horseradish & White Cheddar Mashed Potatoes
3 lbs. russet potatoes, peeled and quartered
1 stick butter, at room temperature
2 T. prepared horseradish
3/4 c. grated sharp white cheddar
2/3 c. milk
3 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
1 t. black pepper
1 T. salt
 
Bring large pot of water to a boil. Once boiling, add potatoes and cook until they are easily pierced with a fork. Drain water and move the potatoes to a mixing bowl. Add milk, butter, cream cheese, horseradish, cheese salt and pepper. Mash together until well combined.

Check out the other dishes featured in the Special Occasion Swap in the linkup below!



Jan 2 2013

Green Beans with Bacon and Brown Sugar

Posted on by

Happy New Year!  With the holiday season officially over, I’m just now realizing I got off easy. I didn’t have to host, and my contribution to the meals was minimal. Actually, this was the only non-dessert dish I made.

I had originally planned to make those fun green bean bundles that keep popping up on Pinterest, but once I started cooking I decided making the bundles was too much work. I modified the recipe just a little to make it easier to prep (and easier for people to take more or less, depending on their mood). 

Green Beans with Bacon and Brown Sugar
(adapted from Williams Sonoma)
Serves 8-10

1 1/2 lb. green beans
4 slices of bacon
1/4 c. firmly packed light brown sugar
6 T. unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 t. kosher salt
3/4 t. garlic powder

Preheat the oven to 350F degrees.

Trim the ends off the green beans and cut in half. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Boil green beans for 3 minutes, and then plunge into ice water. Set aside.

In a skillet, cook the bacon just until the edges begin to brown, then remove to a paper towel. When cook enough to handle, snip into pieces with kitchen shears.

Place the green beans in a casserole dish. Top with bacon pieces. Sprinkle brown sugar evenly over the beans and bacon.

Stir together the melted butter, salt and garlic powder. Pour evenly over the green beans.

Bake for 20-25 minutes. Let sit for 5 minutes before serving.

Linked up with Eat at Home’s Bacon-Fest.

Dec 14 2012

Refried Beans

Posted on by

The latest recipe swap theme was side dishes – which is an area I often struggle with. Salad and raw veggies are our go-tos. After working out a main dish, I never have the drive to round out the meal with much more.

I was super excited when I got assigned this recipe, since Tex-Mex meals are increasingly common around here. I was even more excited when I realized the recipe originated from Elly Says Opa. Elly’s Black Beans are one of the few sides I do make regularly, so I knew this would be a hit.

The recipe calls for cooking up two strips of bacon so you can use the grease as flavoring. I always save the grease when I cook bacon so I just used 1 T. of the reserved fat. Either works fine

Not only are these delicious, but they’re super quick which makes them a great side dish option. This is absolutely a new staple in our rotation!

Refried Beans
(as seen on A Taste of Home Cooking, adapted from Elly Says Opa)
Serves 4 as a side

2 strips of bacon (or 1 T. bacon fat)
1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 t. ground cumin
Pinch cayenne pepper
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 (15 oz.) can pinto beans, drained and rinsed (or 1½ cups cooked pinto beans)
1 c. chicken or veggie broth, divided
1/4 cup salsa
Shredded cheese and sliced scallions, for garnish (optional)

If using bacon, heat a medium skillet over medium-high heat and cook until crisp, being careful not to burn. Remove the bacon pieces to a paper towel-lined plate with a slotted spoon, leaving the grease in the pan. (Reserve the bacon for another use.)

If using bacon fat, heat fat in a medium skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering.

Add the onion to the pan and cook until just tender, about 4-5 minutes. Add in the garlic, cumin, cayenne and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Add the beans to the pan. Pour in about 2/3 cup of the broth, bring to a boil, and reduce to a light simmer. Let simmer for about 10 minutes or until the beans are soft enough to mash easily.

Remove the pan from the heat, stir in the salsa, and mash the bean mixture as desired. For a chunkier texture, use a fork or potato masher. For a smoother texture, pulse the mixture in a food processor. Add additional broth for a lighter texture if needed. Top with shredded cheese and sliced scallions and serve.

Here are the side dishes swap participants made:



Aug 31 2012

Roasted Vidalia Onions

Posted on by

I’m lucky to have coworkers who love food as much as I do. They’re always happy to munch on treats when I bring them in and they pass along recipes they’ve tried and liked. This was passed on to me by my coworker, Dawn.

It’s a great, easy side that we’ve been enjoying with steaks this summer. On days it’s too hot to turn on the oven, I put them on the grill over indirect heat.

Roasted Vidalia Onions
(slightly adapted from AllRecipes)
Serves 2 as a side

1 large Vidalia onion
1 T. butter
1 beef bouillon cube
Pinches of salt, pepper and paprika

Preheat oven to 400F degrees.

Peel and core the onion. Slice halfway through, into eighths.

Place onion on a large sheet of foil. Place the bouillon cube into the center of the onion. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and paprika. Top with butter.

Wrap up and place on a baking sheet. Roast for 45 minutes.

Once done, discard bouillon and cut onion in half.