Side Dishes

Pepper Pasta Salad

I saw this in this month’s Cooking Light, and was really intrigued.  I love pasta salad, and this one was different and interesting.  I brought it to the Hunt’s puppy naming party, and it went over pretty well!  I thought it was tasty, but that being said, it WAS a lot of work.  I did use sweet paprika in place of the Aleppo pepper.  Also, the original recipe called for Freso peppers, and I didn’t use them, so though the original recipe was, “Triple-Pepper Pasta Salad,” this was just two peppers for me. 😉  I would make it again for a special occasion, or big picnic etc, despite the work – I think it was worth it. 🙂

pepperpastasalad

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Peas with Prosciutto

Found somewhere in the depths of Pinterest, this was another very simple and pretty Easter size capitalizing on Spring veggies (okay, I had to use frozen peas =/ But still). The salty prosciutto went well with the ham, of course. Definitely a side I would make again for a crowd, quick and attractive.

peasprosciutto

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Roasted Baby Spring Vegetables

This was a very pretty side dish for Easter.  Roasted veggies are always great, and I really liked the touch of white vinegar.  This is a Cooking Light recipe, and the only alteration I made was to use baby purple potatoes instead of fingerlings, and to lower the cooking temp to 400 to accommodate other dishes I had cooking (it was originally 500, which seems pretty high to me).  We enjoyed this and the leftovers also make a nice lunch.

springveg

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Garlic Herb Spaghetti Squash

This isn’t really a recipe, just a tossed together seasoning for spaghetti squash.  I intended this to be a side to zucchini lasgana, so was thinking garlic-y flavors.  I roasted the squash for about 40 minutes, let it cool, scraped it out, and then tossed it with 2 crushed garlic cloves and some basil and parsley.  Topped it off with salt and pepper and it was pretty good (but very garlicky).

garlicherbsquash

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Shawn’s Baked Beans

I’m not gonna lie, I’ve never been a huge fan of baked beans.  And then I had this.  In a hats off to a Full English Breakfast (since it’s been 3 years since our trip to London), Shawn decided to make these today, and they were *awesome.*  The first time I’ve ever really liked baked beans.  They would be good for breakfast, and they also made a great side dish.  Can’t wait until he makes them again!

bakedbeans

 

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Garlic Zucchini Spirals

So I pretty much refuse to refer to veggies cut with a spiral-cutter as “noodles,” but that doesn’t make them any less awesome.  This was a great side dish, and if you were so inclined, you could make a main dish out of it as well.  Standby, we may even be trying this in March. 😉  Anyway, this is a prep method we will definitely continue to use.  This was tossed with garlic, red pepper flakes, and a little bit of parm to go with a main dish.

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Brussels Sprouts with Cranberries and Pecans

This was a festive side dish to go along with a tenderloin roast for our Christmas dinner.  Quick and easy, but it was definitely a hit – my Mom even asked for it at every holiday meal from now on!  As much as we like sprouts, I think we can make that happen. 😉  This is a good old Alton Brown recipe.

brusselscranberries

 

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Cranberry Sauce

Cranberry sauce is shockingly easy to make from scratch, and this is my general go-to for it.  You will have to adjust orange/sugar/etc. to your taste and as you cook – for example, I find the sugar just right on this as someone who doesn’t have a sweet tooth, but you might like more!  This is an easy one to make ahead…one less thing on your plate for the day of.

cranberrysauce

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Sourdough Sausage Stuffing

This is my absolute favorite stuffing recipe, and I don’t know why I’m just now getting around to posting it…I make it every year!  Probably pretty much my favorite thing at the Thanksgiving table.  This is a Cooking Light recipe from eons ago, and the only thing I ever changed about it was to use all chicken stock instead of half stock/half water.  Well, and to change up the sausage…hot Italian is awesome with this, but so are various herb sausages…you really can’t go wrong.  I will say to be careful of the moisture level – it’s very dependent on how large a loaf of bread you use, etc.  I usually find I only need 2 cups, but you can go up to 3…I also like a slightly crisper stuffing.  Can’t say enough good things about this one!

stuffing

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Mixed Beans and Bacon

This was a good, solid side dish for a holiday meal.  I added both green beans and wax beans for some festive color.  Definitely would go to it again for a nice holiday veggie side dish, though too splurgy for our every day. 😉

beansbacon

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