|
Holiday side dishes:
Dips:
- Warm Bacon Cheese
spread- mix together the spread using 8 oz. Cream cheese, 12 oz sour cream,
8 oz shredded cheddar cheese, 1½ tsp Worcestershire sauce, ¾ pound bacon,
cooked and crumbled and ½ c chopped green onion. Cut the top ¼ off the loaf
of 1 round Hawaiian bread and carefully hollow out the loaf, leaving a 1”
shell. Cut the removed bread and top into cubes. Spoon the spread into the
bread shell. Wrap in foil and bake at 325° F for 1 hour. Serve with bread
cubes, crackers and raw veggies.
- Spicy Chili Cheese dip-
in a 3 cup ovenproof dish combine the following: ¾ c mayo, ¼ c plain yogurt,
1 c shredded Monterey Jack cheese, 1 can chopped green chilies, Tabasco to
taste, 2 T chopped scallion. Bake for 20 minutes at 350°F oven. Serve with
chips and raw veggies. Low fat mayo and yogurt can be substituted. You can
also microwave this dip to melt the cheese.
Vegetables:
- Garlic green beans with
frizzled onions-blanch 1 # fresh green beans for 3 minutes, strain, rinse to
cool. You can use frozen green beans, but I don’t recommend canned for this
dish. Thinly slice 1 onion and sauté in 1 T olive oil until they are golden
brown and crisp. These 2 steps can be done 2 days ahead. Just refrigerate
until needed. When ready to prepare, heat 2 T olive oil in a skillet and
lightly sauté 1 tsp garlic with the green beans to the texture you want the
beans to be- al dente (with a bite or crunch) 3-4 minutes. Add the frizzled
onions and heat thoroughly.
- Substitute broccoli for
the green beans in the green bean casserole, topping with cheddar cheese.
- Roasted winter squash-
mix peeled and cubed raw winter squash with olive oil, salt, pepper and
poultry seasoning to taste. Spread on a cookie sheet and bake for 45-50
minutes at 345°F, gently stirring every 15 minutes. Works great with cubed
potatoes, too.
Potatoes:
- Replace russet or red
potatoes with Yukon gold potatoes in your dishes for a creamier textured
dish
- Add 2/3 c buttermilk
and 6 T butter to every 2 pounds of potatoes for extra flavored mashed
potatoes
- Ranch mashed potatoes-
to the above ingredients add 1 clove crushed garlic, 3 chopped scallions
(including the green parts) and 1/3 c sour cream
- Instead of marshmallows
on top of your sweet potatoes, toss sweet potatoes with brown sugar or maple
syrup, melted butter and pecans (or walnuts). Top with a sprinkling of
brown sugar, chopped fresh cranberries and more nuts.
Pasta:
- Pesto pasta- toss hot
cooked pasta with pesto, chopped roasted red peppers and heavy cream.
Pesto: in a food processor puree to a paste the following: 2 c fresh basil
leaves, 1/3 c pine nuts or walnuts (I use walnuts toasted for 10 min. at
350°F) 2 cloves garlic, ½ c parmesan cheese, ½ c olive oil.
- Tex-Mex pasta- whisk 2½
T flour, 2 c milk and ½ tsp salt together in a sauce pan. Cook over
medium-high heat until boiling. Simmer 5 minutes, remove from heat and add 8
oz shredded Monterey Jack cheese, 1 can chopped green chilies, 1 cup corn, ½
c chopped onion and pepper mix (found in the frozen vegetable section at the
grocery) and chopped fresh cilantro to taste. Add 1# cooked pasta of
choice. Pour into a 13X9” pan, top with extra cheese and bake for 25-30
minutes at 350°F.
- Cheese tortellini toss-
toss broccoli flowerettes, chopped onion, and 1 clove chopped garlic with
olive oil in a skillet until the onion is cooked. Add ½ c chicken stock, 1#
cooked tortellini (use the kind in the freezer section) and salt and pepper
to taste. Finish with ¼ c heavy cream and 3 T grated parmesan cheese.
|
