What's On The Side??

SERVED ON THE SIDE

I am ALWAYS looking for new, yummy side dishes all year long.  I have my tried & trues, the holiday sides, the summer sides, etc but I like to discover new ideas along the way too.  And if they are easy to assemble or can be prepared ahead...EVEN BETTER right?

Southern Living & Pinterest seem to be the two places I most often find yummy recipes that my family will love.  The past issue of Southern Living (1 of my fave magazines) had some very yummy looking side dishes that I wanted to try out.  So I did this past weekend & thought I'd share them with you too...in case you missed this last issue.  

HOWEVER I did add or change a few things to each to my liking...soooo if you want the original recipes you will have to buy the issue or look on their website. 

 I promise my versions were REALLY GOOD!!  

Both of them work perfectly during the summer months and with fresh produce!

 Zucchini-Potato Casserole

(yes I altered the recipe a bit, because that's just what I do)

4 TBS Butter

2 medium onions sliced

2 medium potatoes sliced THINLY

1 zucchini sliced THINLY

4 tomatoes sliced

kosher salt

black pepper

1 clove of crushed/diced garlic

1/2 cup shredded/fine Parmesan Cheese

1/2 cup of shredded Mozzarella Cheese

Instructions:

**I used a mandolin to cut my potatoes & zucchini slices thinly & quickly

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Cook onions with 2 TBS butter until tender & starting to caramelize.

Grease a round/oval dish and layer cooked onions on bottom.

Slice zucchini, potatoes & tomatoes thinly and start arranging them around your pan on top of the onions, alternating as you go.

Sprinkle everything with kosher salt & ground black pepper, then drizzle 2 TBS of melted butter on top. COVER WITH FOIL!

BAKE AT 375 degs for 35 mins

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REMOVE FOIL and sprinkle with cheeses.

Bake again for 35 mins UNCOVERED this time at 375 degs.

Let stand for 5-10 mins before serving!

YUMMMMM!

Looks so yummy right? It was really good!

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Caprese Salad with Warm Bacon Dressing
(again I added/changed a few things to the original recipe)

2-3 large tomatoes 

(I used a yellow heirloom as well)

16 oz fresh mozzarella cut into 1/2 inch slices

fresh basil leaves

6 bacon slices, cooked & coarsely chopped

3 TBS balsamic vinegar

2 TBS rice vinegar

2 TBS Olive Oil

kosher salt

ground black pepper

INSTRUCTIONS:

Slice tomatoes and cheese; then arrange in a circular pattern on your platter/dish.

Place basil leaves in and around as desired.

Sprinkle with salt & pepper to your liking.

Cook bacon until crispy, remove bacon from pan and let stand for a minute.

Reserve drippings in pan and add vinegars and oils, scraping brown bits from bottom of pan while mixing. Add in salt and pepper.

Drizzle warm bacon dressing over tomatoes and cheese.

Serve, Eat & Enjoy!

Aren't the colors just gorgeous?  I used some local fresh mozzarella and LORDY-BE was it good...so flavorful!!  Basil is from my herb garden so it was super fresh :)

Look at those yummy layers and bits of crispy bacon (I used thick sliced maple bacon for mine)!

Perfect side dish for summer I tell ya!

BON APPETIT!

Love French Onion Soup?

Then you'd love this French Onion Bake!  

It has quickly become a family favorite of ours and I've made it three times already.  I have doctored up the original recipe a bit from what I originally pinned because that's how I roll when I cook :)

{via}

But its super easy to put together and lemme tell ya it tastes even better the next day. 

If you make it a day ahead of your event or dinner do NOT put the bread or last layer of cheese on it....leave that off until you are ready to bake. You don't want soggy bread...yucky.

Ingredients:

- 3-4 lg/med yellow onions

- 3-4 TBS butter

- 2 cloves of diced/crushed garlic

-a splash of red wine or sherry (optional)

- 1 can of Cream of Chicken Soup

- 1 bag of shredded Swiss Cheese

- 2/3 cup milk

- 3 TBS Worcestershire Sauce

-1 TBS Soy Sauce

- Salt & Pepper to taste

- Sliced French Bread Slices

Instructions:

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees

- Slice onions thinly and sautee in pan with butter till onions are clear...slightly brown is fine too

-In sauce pan heat up milk, soup, Worcestershire Sauce, Soy Sauce, and salt/pepper till heated and mixed well.

-In square or oval baking/casserole pan add your cooked onions in an even layer

-Then pour your heated soup mixture over the onions

-Add half a bag of shredded Swiss Cheese over the onions

-Take your bread slices and lay over your mixture

-Cook at 350 degs for 15 mins uncovered to toast the bread

-After that pull out & flip over your bread & add rest of cheese to top of bread

-Cook for 15-20 minutes more or until cheese and sauce is warm & bubbly

(if you make ahead and refrigerate make sure to set out until its room temperature before cooking)

Its so good I want some more right now :)

Let me know if you try it and love it!

Southern Fried!

Corn done the SOUTHERN Way!!

Southern Fried Corn...you heard of it?

Nooo? Well you need to try it!!

Most people here in Virginia or my friends out west look at me oddly when I say 

I'm cooking this for dinner.  It is one of my FAVORITE ways to eat day old corn or cooked corn from the night before.  

YUMMO-licious!  

I grew up eating it and have NO idea where it originated but we love it!

I had a lot of of leftover cooked corn but you could use fresh corn as well in your dish.

You want to cut the corn off the cob as cleanly as possible.  Get every tasty kernel that you can!

I love this kitchen gadget from the Pampered Chef that scales the kernels off of corn quickly & easily.

Mine is quite a few years old so not sure if they still sell it...but if you find one and you eat a lot of corn...you need it ;)  Makes the job quick for ya!

Then gather your many supplies...lol!

Ingredients:

Ground Pepper

Butter 

(the real stuff if you are like me)

Kosher Salt

Optional: any other ingredients you choose

I like to keep it simple...nothing that over powers the sweet flavor of the corn.

Get all those kernels of corn in a saute pan, add 2 TBS of butter (to start),

sprinkle some Kosher Salt and Ground Pepper to taste and start cooking on Med/High Heat.

Your goal is to get the corn slightly crispy and brown...mmmmm all those little bits of goodness scraped from the pan.  Add more butter as needed.  I don't like to cook it too fast or on too high of heat...a slower cooking is better.  Scrape the corn from bottom of pan as needed and keep cooking!

Its a yummy side dish especially good with Barbecue Dishes!

So go on...get your Southern Fried apron on and try it!!
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I'm entering this into the following Linky Parties:

A Bowl Full of Lemons

Home Stories A to Z

Give Me The Goods Monday

Making the World Cuter

A Lil' Bit of Everything!

Quick and Easy Side Dish

VEGGIE SAUTE

I'm always trying to figure out healthy & easy side dishes to serve with dinner that my family will eat.

This dish I make is something my mom used to throw together growing up and I've just tweaked it a bit.  The best thing about it is you can include whatever you want or like!

I call it Veggie Saute and its soooo good.  If you have leftovers of this, the 2nd day is even better after those flavors really marinate together...mmmm!  

This is great if you have a bunch of veggies laying around that you need to use up or only have a few of each...chop them up and add them to the mix.  That way the veggies don't go to waste!

Ingredients that I use:

*Remember you can add whatever veggies you choose

*any amount of veggies that you want, its up to you

-zucchini

-yellow squash

-onion

-tomatoes

-mushrooms

-any peppers you choose

-Olive Oil

-3-4 garlic cloves pressed/diced

-salt/pepper

-red pepper flakes

-shredded mozzarella

Add your Olive Oil to a saute pan and cook your garlic for a few mins.

Then add all your veggies (chopped) and seasonings...I love a kick so I add a good amount

of red pepper flakes.  

Cook over medium heat until veggies soften up to your liking, stirring well every few minutes.

If you are in a rush put a lid on the pan so the veggies cook down faster.

You can do this with fresh or store bought veggies....here's the secret though (shhhh ok)?  No matter whether you use fresh or store bought you cannot really tell because you are sauteing it down with flavorful seasonings.  So what's that mean?  

You can make this all year long and its super healthy for you and EASY!!!!

Ta Da!  Yum Yum...now here is the kicker...listen closely ok??

CHEESE

If you like cheese...sprinkle a bit of shredded mozzarella on the mixture while warm so it melts a bit and then serve.  YUMMO!  Course you don't have to use cheese, but it adds a special sumpin' to the mix!

Easy to make, cooks up quickly and its healthy!  Yum Yum!

Steak Me!

Steak Salad my Way!

 One of my favorite meals to make in the Spring and Summer is steak salad with potato crisps and crostini...YUMM-O-LICIOUS and not too heavy too.  And even better when the produce is fresh from the garden.

First I marinate my flank steak with salt, pepper, garlic and balsamic vinegar. I put it in a large ziploc bag for at least an hour to marinate and then its good to go.  I like to grill it outside and we like it medium rare...I like it more rare than most LOL but the center is ALWAYS warm!

Then you need some yummy parmesan cheese, lettuce and a lemon.  The lettuce is fresh from my garden and so sweet and crispy.  I buy chunks of parmesan cheese and shave it myself with my mandolin easily.  The lemon I will slice in half and just add a squirt over each salad.  So wash & spin your lettuce, shave enough parmesan for each person and slice a lemon in half.

You can find my Balsamic Dressing Recipe HERE!

Then you prepare your Crostini!  I don't make my own bread...the horrors I know...but I do buy fresh bread from my Wegman's bakery that is just as good.  I slice it into thin slices and lay them on my baking pan.   I use EVOO...that's extra virgin olive oil to brush on each slice nicely.  I use a silcone basting brush because there is NOTHING worse than brush hairs in or on your food...YUCK!

Then I sprinkle Sea Salt on each slice...just a bit...not too much though!  I also add a bit of cracked pepper to each slice as well.  Then its ready for the oven..I broil it for about 3-6 mins depending on how brown and crispy you like it.

I like the edges crispy and brown but the middle a bit soft!

Potato Crisps are super easy too:  

I slice my potatoes in thin slices on my mandolin, toss them with some Tastefully Simple Garlic Garlic and Extra-Virgin Olive oil...and then bake for 45-50 mins turning them over halfway in between until they are nice and crispy. That's my lower fat version.  Some people toss them in flour, cheese and butter which is good I'm sure but this way is too and you save on the fat and calories.

Put it all together and YUM I tell ya!  Makes my heart sing!

Now that the tomatoes from the garden are ripe I will add them in next time!