Category Archives: Side Dishes

by | November 16, 2012

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Cranberries and Pecans

PinitBrussels sprouts…

You either love ‘em or hate ‘em.

I personally love them, and so does Bill.

I found out that my mom isn’t a fan.  It’s because of the bitterness you get with them sometimes.

If that’s your issue with Brussels sprouts – you’re in luck.  The sweetness of the dried cranberries completely cuts out any bitterness that you might otherwise find on your palette.

I made these to go with a baked ham I prepared for a Food.com assignment.

(YUM)

That’s a flavor combination I could eat over and over again!

This will make the perfect accompaniment to your Thanksgiving turkey, Christmas ham, or anytime you need a healthy and delicious side dish.

Rachael xoxo

Recipe slightly adapted from Whole Foods

Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • 1 pound Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved lengthwise
  • 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon cracked black pepper
  • 1/8 teaspoon granulated garlic
  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 cup dried cranberries
  • 1/4 cup pecans, chopped
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
  2. In a large bowl, toss Brussels sprouts with salt, pepper, granulated garlic, and oil. Place on a rimmed baking sheet and roast for about 30-35 minutes, stirring once or twice. Roast Brussels sprouts until golden brown, crisp on the outside, and tender on the inside. During the last 5-7 minutes of cooking time, stir in cranberries and pecans.
  3. Serve immediately.
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by | August 30, 2012

Cheesy Grilled Foil Potatoes

These potatoes make a great side dish with almost anything you might be cooking on the grill.  Steak, burgers, chicken, ribs- you name it.  The best thing about cooking them on the grill is you don’t need to have your oven going on those hot summer days.

I came up with the recipe several years back when Rachael and I had a grilled foil potatoes “Throwdown” a la Bobby Flay.  Needless to say, mine won, and the rest is history.  We ate them almost every weekend that summer, along with whatever tasty meats I was putting fire to on the grill.  Ahh the memories…

Rachael likes to call these “Most Favorite Summer Potatoes”, as we also have an oven baked scalloped potatoes recipe that we like during the winter months.   We’ll have to share that one sometime as well.  Enjoy and happy grilling!

Bill

5.0 from 3 reviews

Grilled Foil Potatoes
 
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Serves: 4-6

Ingredients
  • 2½ pounds russet potatoes
  • ¼ cup onion, minced
  • 2-3 garlic cloves, minced
  • ½ teaspoon dried oregano
  • ½ teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 1½ tablespoons olive oil
  • 1½ cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
  • ½ teaspoon cracked black pepper
  • 1½ teaspoons kosher salt
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • Foil-18 inch heavy duty works best

Instructions
  1. Peel potatoes; pat dry with paper towel and cut into cubes.
  2. Place potatoes in a large bowl and add onion, garlic, oregano, thyme, paprika, olive oil, and ½ cup of the cheddar cheese. Reserve the remaining cheese for later.
  3. Lay out a piece of foil about 2 feet long and spread potato mixture in the center in a single layer.
  4. Cut butter into small pieces and distribute evenly on top of the potatoes.
  5. Wrap foil up allowing easy access to check the potatoes on the grill.
  6. Prepare grill for indirect cooking.
  7. Place foil pouch on cool side of grill and cover.
  8. Cook for approximately 30 minutes or until potatoes are fork tender, rotating pouch 180 degrees every 10 minutes for even cooking.
  9. Remove from grill. Open pouch and sprinkle the remaining cup of cheese on top. Close pouch to allow cheese to melt.

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by | August 18, 2012

Quick Pickles

Late summer is the time of year where we always seem to find ourselves with a lot of cucumbers on our hands.  This year was no exception and thanks to Rachael’s Mom we had some beautiful Asian cucumbers.

I’ve wanted to make quick pickles again ever since I made them for my Reuben Style French Dip with Spicy Slaw.  This is a quick, easy recipe without the canning.  My Grandma used to can pickles, and I can remember looking at the jars and counting the days until we could try them.  While these aren’t quite the same as a good kosher dill pickle, you won’t be staring at them in your pantry for months before you can eat them.

These are great as a sandwich topping or just serve them as a side dish.

I hope that you like them as much as we do.  Enjoy!

Bill

Recipe Adapted From: Food Network

5.0 from 1 reviews

Quick Pickles
 
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Ingredients
  • ½ cup white wine vinegar
  • 2 rounded teaspoons sugar
  • 1 teaspoon mustard seed
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 clove cracked garlic
  • 1 teaspoon dried dill or 2 tablespoons fresh dill leaves, chopped or snipped
  • 1 bay leaf
  • Half of a small red onion, thinly sliced (optional)
  • 4 cucumbers, thinly sliced on an angle

Instructions
  1. Heat small saucepan over medium high heat. Add vinegar, sugar, mustard seed, salt, and garlic to the pan and cook until it begins to simmer and sugar dissolves. Toss the dill, bay leaf, red onion, and sliced cucumbers together in a heat-proof bowl. Pour the simmering liquid over the cucumbers and stir to evenly coat. Allow to cool to room temperature or chill before serving.

Notes
Stays good in the fridge up to a week. Recipe Adapted From Rachael Ray’s Quick Pickles

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by | May 23, 2012

Mom’s “Healthier” Italian Pasta Salad

What makes this pasta salad “healthier” is the homemade Italian dressing.  I used to loooove making my mom’s pasta salad recipe, but since we started eating healthier I just had to change it up a little.  There were only 3 things I had to adapt in this recipe;  I used whole wheat pasta instead of white, I made my own Italian dressing instead of store-bought, and I omitted the salami.  I chose to keep the provolone cheese, which is the healthier choice of the two proteins that mom uses.  Very easy fixes to make this a healthy pasta salad!

I was a little nervous about making my own dressing, but I got the help of Bill, who is the master dressing maker in our house.  He experiments with his salad dressings more than I do for our lunches, so he helped out a lot with the vinegar to oil ratios.

I hope you enjoy this as much as Bill and I did.  While he was eating it, he kept shaking his head and saying, “Man, this is really good”…  maybe that’ll help in your decision to make this!  :)

 Rachael xoxo

Mom’s “Healthier” Italian Pasta Salad
 
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Recipe type: Side Dish
Serves: 12-14

Ingredients
  • 1 pound whole wheat fusilli, cooked according to package directions, then rinsed under cold water
  • ¼ cup white wine vinegar
  • 3 teaspoons Italian seasoning
  • ½ clove garlic, grated
  • ½ teaspoon honey
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ⅛ teaspoon cracked black pepper
  • ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 pound provolone cheese, cubed into bite-sized pieces
  • 1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes, quartered
  • 1-2 cups green onions, depending on preference, thinly sliced
  • 1 14.5 ounce can black olives, halved
  • 2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 4 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped

Instructions
  1. In a medium bowl add vinegar, Italian seasoning, garlic, honey, salt, and pepper. Add olive oil slowly to the bowl while whisking.
  2. Place cooked, drained, and rinsed pasta in a large bowl and add only half of the vinegar and oil dressing. Cover and refrigerate the remaining half until later. Then, to the bowl add the cheese, tomatoes, green onions, olives, lemon juice, and basil; stir gently until combined. Cover and chill completely. Just before serving, add the remaining dressing mixture.*

Notes
*If you’re planning to have leftovers, save back some of the dressing mixture to add again before each time you serve again.

Nutrition Information
Serving size: 1 Calories: 392.4 Fat: 23.3 g Saturated fat: 8.3 g Carbohydrates: 33.2 g Sugar: 1.3 g Fiber: 4.7 g Protein: 15.9 g Cholesterol: 26.2 mg

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by | May 17, 2012

Potato and Crabmeat Salad with Fresh Tarragon

What a fresh and light dinner for this time of year.  The tarragon dressing is really creamy and divine.  I was so happy to come across this recipe at Oldways.

So yummy!

I’m crazy in love with their mission and everything they are trying to do for the way the world eats.  If I remember correctly, I found almost 40 recipes to print off last year, and I want to make each one of them, like now!

If you haven’t noticed, Bill loves making homemade canola oil mayonnaise, so I had him whip up a small batch for me the night before I made this salad.  If you’re just not into making it yourself, you can buy canola oil mayo in a jar.  We used to purchase it, but found it’s much more cost-effective to make it at home.  Besides the cost, we think it’s waaay yummier.

In general, I used to feel awful about eating mayo, but why would I when I know exactly what’s in it?  There are just 4 ingredients… an egg, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, and canola oil… all healthy.  The only thing you have to be careful of is that you don’t eat too much of it at once (all things in moderation).  Healthy fats are excellent for not only your heart but your waistline too, because they’re filling and can help curb overeating.  Bonus!

Best mayo ever… let me know if you decide to try making it yourself!

 Rachael xoxo

Potato and Crabmeat Salad with Fresh Tarragon
 
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Makes a wonderful light dinner, or serve as a side dish.
Serves: 4

Ingredients
  • 1 ½ pounds new potatoes, rinsed and scrubbed
  • ½ cup canola oil mayonnaise or Greek yogurt
  • 3 tablespoons white vinegar
  • 2 scallions, minced
  • 2 tablespoons fresh chopped tarragon
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for potato water
  • ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 cup grape or cherry tomatoes, cut into quarters
  • 6-8 ounces cooked crabmeat, fresh or canned

Instructions
  1. Cut potatoes in half lengthwise, then cut each half into quarters. Place potatoes in a medium pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil. Generously salt the water, bring to a boil and boil gently for 7-15 minutes (depending on size of potatoes), or until fork tender. Drain. Spread potatoes in a single layer on a baking sheet and set aside to cool.
  2. Whisk together the mayonnaise or yogurt, vinegar, scallions, tarragon, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Add the cooled potatoes, tomatoes, and crabmeat and stir gently to combine. Chill for at least 1 hour before serving.

Notes
Canned tuna can easily be used in place of crab, if desired.

Nutrition Information
Serving size: 1 Calories: 250 Fat: 8 g Carbohydrates: 29 g Protein: 13 g

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