Chili Roasted Potatoes October 29, 2009

I found the following recipe on Real Simple and it was a super easy and tasty side dish. I think it would also be good with sweet potatoes.

 

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs. Yukon gold or new potatoes, cut into 1-inch pieces

3 tbsp. Olive Oil

1 tsp. Chili powder

1 tsp. Kosher salt and 1/4 tsp. black pepper

8 sprigs fresh Thyme

 

Directions

Heat oven to 425 degrees.

Mix all ingredients together in a medium bowl.

Transfer to a roasting pan and cook, stirring once until crisp and golden brown, about 35-40 minutes. I sprinkled with a little more kosher salt after they were cooked.

 

Easy Breezy!

Lemon Pepper Rice w/ Spinach & Feta September 2, 2009

This really isn’t much of a recipe and all the ingredients are listed in the title but I thought I would blog about it anyway since it has been a recent side dish staple for me. I make a large serving double serving of it at the beginning of the week and I use it for my lunches and dinners throughout the week.

Cook 1 serving of brown rice (Usually 1 cup, dry).

Defrost 1 cup of chopped frozen spinach.

Mix the rice and spinach together.

Add 1tbsp. olive oil.

Season liberally with lemon pepper.

When ready to serve I top with a sprinkle of fat free feta cheese (If you are vegetarian, just don’t add the cheese).

Easy! See I told you, not much of a recipe but it sure does spice up what can become the  same ol’ boring brown rice. Plus you get extra vitamin & mineral goodness with the addition of spinach!

Butternut Squash Risotto November 3, 2008

I had some extra pureed butternut squash from a recipe that I made this weekend so I searched online for a recipe that would utilize it. The following recipe came from Rachael Ray magazine and is by no means, vegan… I still thought it sounded yummy. I used vegan margarine instead of butter and I used 1/2 the parmesan cheese that the recipe called for.

 

Notes: I had to cook the risotto a lot longer than 18 minutes and I had to add more water after the warm chicken broth was gone (which also meant adding more seasonings). My mother makes incredible risotto and has always taught me that to make it correctly, you need to be patient and loving with it. You can’t ignore it or it will be undercooked or worse, gummy! After all was said and done… this was a wonderful dish with great fall flavors. I served it with grilled chicken and a fresh garden salad.  

http://www.rachaelraymag.com/recipes/30-minute-meals/butternut-squash-risotto/article.html

Recipe Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Zucchini with Quinoa Stuffing September 5, 2008

Sometimes I actually get a little thrill when a problem presents itself in a recipe and I am forced to be creative while cooking. I found the following recipe in this month’s Real Simple (really good issue by the way). The problem is that after I combined the stuffing part of the recipe together I realized that I had way more stuffing than I had to room to stuff in my medium sized zucchinis. So I decided that instead of stuffing my little courgettes (that’s what my English friends across the pond call them) I would just chop and roast the zucchini then combine them with the stuffing ingredients. It turned out to be a really wonderful and hearty side dish. My beau and I both agreed though that the Cannellini (Italian white) beans were unnecessary. They didn’t ruin the dish or anything but they didn’t really add anything flavor wise. It’s up to you; Next time I am deleting the beans.   

My revisions to the recipe below.

I chopped my zucchini into 1″ chunks, tossed them in a little olive oil, salt and pepper and roasted them uncovered in a 400 degree oven for 10 minutes. 

I combined the quinoa stuffing made per the recipe with the roasted zucchini (with the addition of 1 tsp. Herbs De Provence). I covered with foil and followed the recipe from that point forward. 

Next time, I will try to find larger zucchini so that I can stuff them but I think that the recipe served in this almost casserole style would be a great side dish to take to a potluck. Finally this dish can easily be turned into a vegetarian option by deleting the cheese or by using a soy substitute. And for those vegetarians out there, I would leave the beans in the recipe. You need all the protein you can get!!

http://food.realsimple.com/realsimple/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1834016

Cabbage and Corn Saute’ September 2, 2008

I found the following recipe in this month’s issue of Real Simple. The recipe is actually for Sausage with Cabbage and Corn Saute’ but I really thought that the tangy side dish was the stand out feature and could be served with various types of protein like a veggie burger or grilled chicken if sausage turns you off. I also think it would be really filling by itself topped over brown rice or quinoa. I did use turkey sausage and the whole meal was tasty and boyfriend approved. I had more saute’ than I could use so I just froze it for another time.  I should make a note that you need to like cooked red cabbage and tangy balsamic vinegar; if you don’t this probably isn’t the side dish for you.

http://food.realsimple.com/realsimple/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1834377

Recipe Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

A little note on the benefits of cabbage from Dr. Linda Posh just in case you weren’t convinced that cabbage was good for you!

“Rich in nutrition and fiber, cabbage is an absolutely phenomenal source of Vitamin C. Even more impressive is that cabbage is famous for a specialized, naturally occurring, nitrogenous compound known as indoles. Current research indicates that indoles can lower the risk of various forms of cancer.”