Archive for the ‘Sides’ Category

My Review

I found this recipe through the a neat site called foodily.com. It basically searches food blogs and sites for recipes and then you search there site by ingredients etc. This recipe came from seriouseats.com. I had never stumbled upon this site before but I bookmarked it! 

I really like scallop potatoes but I have not found a recipe that is both relatively easy as well as tasty.

What I changed

I followed the original recipe pretty close. I used bottled garlic and dried thyme. I also doubled the recipe.

What I liked

Cooking the potatoes first on the stovetop and then in the oven resulted in perfectly cooked potatoes. This also allowed for the recipe to be started later in the meal preparations. I did cut the potatoes up then let them sit in water until I was ready to start the recipe.

What I didn’t like

The flavor was kind of bland. The thyme was okay but it needs something else as well. Also for me it did not thicken up as much as I would have liked and was a complaint of my husbands as well.

Overall

As is I probably would not make this recipe again. I do like how simple it is though and plan to play around with it maybe add some sour cream or other cheeses to the mix.

My Rating

Has potential

One last note. I hope to add pictures as I go. My camera is not a high end device so I struggle with taking pictures of my recipes. I hope to get a better camera soon. So for now I will add them when I can or use the original picture from the site I get the recipe. Also bear with me as I figure out a good format for writing my reviews. Happy Cooking!

Do you have a great Scalloped Potato recipe? Did you try this recipe, how did you like it? Feel free to share your feedback in the comments!

To some this might seem like a boring side dish but its one of my favorites. Its super easy and my son likes it as well. This is a recipe my mom used to make when I was a kid.

Source: My Mom

Prep/Cook Time 15 minutes

• 2 cups water
• 2 cups uncooked instant rice
• 1 can(10 3/4 oz) Cream of mushroom soup undiluted
• Salt and pepper to taste

Boil water and add rice. Remove from heat(follow package instructions basically) and let stand 5 minutes. Once rice is done add the can of mushroom soup undiluted and stir well. Cook on stove on low till warm. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve.

Yield: 4 servings

Like I said this is really easy and my son loves it. You can always add more or less soup for your taste and its also easy to double. I love it on the nights I don’t know what to have as a side and don’t have a lot of time.

These biscuits rock! Just seeing this picture makes me want to go into the fridge and grab one! I have tried a few recipes that claim to taste like the ones from Red Lobster and these come very very close!

Source:  E-cookbooks.net

Prep time; 10 minutes Cook time: 10-12 minutes

Dough:

• 1 1/4 lbs. Bisquick (4 cups)
  
• 3 Oz. freshly shredded cheddar cheese (1-1/4 cup)
  
• 11 Oz. cold water (1-1/3 cup)

Garlic Spread:

• 1/2 cup melted butter
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp onion powder
• 1/8 tsp dried parsley

To cold water, add Bisquick and cheese, blending in a mixing bowl.
Mix until dough is firm.

Using a small scoop, place the dough on a baking pan lined with
baking paper. Bake in 375 degree oven for 10 to 12 minutes or until
golden brown. While biscuits bake, combine spread ingredients.
Brush baked biscuits with the garlic topping.

Yield: Depends on how big your biscuits are. I got around 14 I believe.

All I can say is YUMMY!!

I will also add if your not a huge fan of garlic you can add less of the garlic powder to suit your taste.

This is another recipe that is a favorite of mine at holiday meals. I make it now almost every time I make mashed potatoes. Its also another one I had to think about how much of what I was using so I could write it down here.

Source: Family

Prep time: 20 min Cook time: 45 min

• 10-12 medium size russet potatoes
• 1-1/2 to 2 cups sour cream
• 8 oz cream cheese softened
• 1-2 tsp salt
• 1/2 -1 tsp pepper
• 1/2 tsp paprika

Peal potatoes; cut potatoes into quarters. Cook potatoes in water for 15-20 minutes or till potatoes or tender. Drain and mash. Add sour cream, and cream cheese mix well. Add salt and pepper. Put mashed potatoes into a greased cooking dish and sprinkle paprika on top. Cook at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Yields: 6 servings

Baking the mash potatoes brings out the flavor of this dish. I always use my kitchen aid mixture to mash and mix this as well. You can also make this dish in the slow cooker. Just cook on low for 1-2hrs.

Okay I just named my first recipe. Not something anyone really cares about but for me its pretty cool. This recipe is one my mom used to make. I don’t even know if there ever was a written recipe or if she just came up with it. Either way I have always liked it. So when I made them the other night I attempted to figure out how much of what I used so I could share it here.

Source: Family

Prep/cook time: 1 hour

• 2 medium or 1 large zucchini cut into wedges
  
• 1 cup Parmesan cheese
• 1 cup bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup (8 tbsp) butter melted

Mix the bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese together and place on a plate or in a bowl. Dip the wedges in the melted butter and coat with the cheese and bread crumb mixture. Place on a cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes or until the zucchini is fully cooked.

Yield: 4 servings

Is this healthy? No not really but man I enjoy it. My mom brought with her when my parents came to visit last week a convection oven that sits on my counter(LOVE IT! Will post about it soon I promise!) and so I used it to make these and they turned out better then ever before.

Every one has that one favorite holiday dish that they look forward to every year. Mine is homemade bread stuffing. I love the stuff and I eat way to much of it every year. Of course now I don’t have to wait for a holiday to enjoy this dish but I still tend to save it for special meals. My parents are up for the weekend so I wanted to do Thanksgiving  now. I will say my mom made the stuffing because I had to go grocery shopping. This recipe is my great-grandma’s and its really not hard to make. You can stuff the bird with it or you can put it in the slow cooker. I used the slow cooker because I used the rotisserie for the Turkey and you can’t stuff it when you cook it that way.

Source: Family

This is for a 15lb turkey

• 2 1/2 loaves of bread(rip bread into small pieces) or bread cubes ( it takes a little less than 2 bags)

• 1 tbsp – sage

• 1 tbsp – salt

• dash of pepper

• 1 cup onion

• 3 cups of celery

• 3 eggs

• 1/2 cup of butter (melt the butter)

• 4 cups milk

Mix all ingredients except the bread cubes – together.  In a large pan mix the wet ingredients into the bread cubes. Don’t add it all at once – add a cup full at a time.  Sometimes there is a little extra left – but for a moister dressing I usually add it all.  I always end up mixing it with my hands – just seems to work better.

Grandma would start her turkey in a 400 degree oven for 2 hrs. – then turn it back to 350 for 3 hours.  I usually just put it in at 350.
12 to 16 lb turkey – 4 to 5 hours
16 to 20 lb  – 4 1/2 to 5 hours
20 to 25 lb – 5 to 6 hours
Add 30 to 45  minutes more to time for stuffed bird.

Yield: A crowd

For the slow cooker put stuffing into a 5 quart cooker and cook on low for 6-8 hours.

We halved the recipe and made it in a 3 quart slow cooker. We only used one loaf of bread not 1-1/2. I also think its better with bread not bread cubes. You may also have to add more milk as your mixing. My mom added another 3/4 cup.

This was a favorite of mine growing up. I don’t make it as much as I should but I enjoy it when I do.

Source: A mix of a few online recipes

Prep/cook time : 25 minutes

• 1-2 lbs red potatoes
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/8-1/4 cup minced parsley
• 1 tbsp lemon juice

Scrub or scrape new potatoes. Cook in boiling salted water just until tender, 15-20 minutes. Melt butter in saucepan; stir in parsley and lemon juice. Pour sauce over potatoes.

Yield: 4 servings

Our Zucchini plants did well this year. So I have a nice big pile sitting on my counter right now. One can only make so much zucchini bread. I have frozen quite a bit as well but the pile is still growing. So yesterday I went looking for something to make to go with supper.  I settled on this one. I found some others I hope to try soon.

Source: allrecipes.com

Prep Time: 1 hour 15 minutes     Cook Time 45 Minutes

• 4 cups shredded zucchini
• 1 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp melted butter
• 4 eggs
• 1/8 tsp pepper
• 1/8 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp dried parsley
• 1 cup shredded Monterrey Jack cheese(I used cheddar)
• 1/4 cup all-purpose biscuit baking mix(Bisquick)

1. Toss the zucchini and salt together and place into a colander set in the sink. Allow to drain for 1 hour, then squeeze the liquid out of the zucchini, and set aside.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F(175 degrees C). Prepare a 1-1/2 quart casserole dish with the melted butter.
3. Whisk the eggs in a mixing bowl with the pepper, garlic powder, and parsley. Stir in the zucchini, shredded cheese and baking mix until combined. Pour into the prepared casserole dish.
4. Bake, uncovered, in the preheated oven until set and golden brown on top. 45 minutes to 1 hour. The souffle is done when a knife insert into the center comes out clean.

Yield: 6 servings

Over all I liked it and my son ate some as well.

Red beet eggs have always been a favorite of mine and my daughter who is a super picky eater will eat some of these when I make them. They are really easy to make. The only down fall is waiting the three or four days for them to complete.

Source: Internet

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup vinegar
• 2 cans whole beets or 6-10 garden beets,cooked tender( with saved juice).
• 1 to 2 dozen hard boiled eggs

Cooking the red beets is easy and I think makes a better egg then the canned. You can get red beets at the grocery store all year round. How I do it is wash them and cut off the stem. I then bring them to a boil and then reduce heat so they are simmering and let them cook for a hour or so(depends on how many your cooking). Once they are tender I take the beets out of the juice and let them cool a little. I then peel the skins which is much much easier once they are cooked. I also cut them into quarters. While the juice is still hot add the sugar and vinegar. I sometimes add a little more vinegar. It just depends on your tastes which after making them a few times you get a feel for what works best for you. Boil the mixture for one minute. Put the red beets in the bottom of a gallon pitcher. Put the hard boiled eggs(peeled!!) on top. Add enough juice to cover the eggs and discard any extra juice. Refrigerate for 3 days. The longer you refrigerate the darker the eggs will get. Enjoy.