Category: Side Dishes (Page 2 of 15)
Cheese and Rice Soup
Cheesy Rice Soup! It’s still soup season and this one is sure to warm you. Not only that, but you already have the ingredients … well most! It’s an easy recipe with few ingredients. The secret is in the caramelizing of the onion. This will involve most of your prep time. The rest comes together quickly. Yep, I can’t deny this is a very rich soup but Oh So Good. A cup will do!
Cornbread Salad
Just a great change-up salad! Goes great with jambalaya, gumbo, chili beans, pot roast and all by itself!
First, make your favorite cornbread. I prefer from scratch with a less sweet version. Mixes tend to be sweeter and more cake like. Cornbread is an easy quick bread. Try this recipe, here. For a fewer ingredient recipe try this.
London Broil Dinner
Perfect for the Holidays

When turkey no longer gets everyone’s attention try this simple but elegant meal. Portions can be done days ahead. And just think … there’s no crazy clean up! Best of all this is not a budget buster!
Vegetarian Enchilada Casserole

Little different from our cheese enchiladas and a quicker prep. Worth a try for those who find enchiladas irresistible. We do! Happy 50th Birthday Stephen!
Sunday Dinners are Back
… And this is one of our favorite dishes. Be sure everyone likes cheese … This is not a dish where you can get around it. It’s a favorite of my oldest who put this together. I believe it was requested as a main dish for one of his milestone birthdays. Yes, one of the guests was not a cheese lover but the wine helped save the evening & the apple pie (for her). Crunchy bread, salad and this five cheese mac and cheese is all you need for a delicious dinner.
This recipe is one of Ina Garten’s Family Style, sorta. She gives credit to George Germon & Johanne Killeen, a recipe from their cookbook Cucina Simpatico. We often find we need to do substituting with different comparable cheeses that can be found more easily at our grocer’s. Be sure and take your phone with you when shopping in case you need a quick look up for cheese substitutes.
Enjoy! For my perfect apple pie, here!
Bacon Chutney
When cooking for the family vegetarians here’s a side that keeps the meat eaters happy. Great on pot beans & green beans, eggs, waffles & pancakes, hot dogs & hamburgers and maybe a crostini. Ice cream, not so much. Honestly, you can use this chutney on just about anything. Few ingredients and simply made this recipe keeps in the refrigerator for a good week. Let’s get to it!
Turkey and Stuffing Made Easy

Thanksgiving dinner Turkey and Stuffing has been on my menu for decades. Over time I’ve tried many different roasting methods and stuffing recipes. The meal has always turned out well but most compliments come with these following recipes. First, buy the best turkey … quality does make a difference. Fresh is preferred. It need not be processed with injections or other treatments … prefer it not be, actually. Using the popup, if present, to check doneness is up to you but I suggest a meat thermometer for true accuracy. What is the biggest complaint about roasted turkey? The breast meat is too dry. This is why I love Martha Stewart’s butter/wine roasting method. I cut the corners a bit but the result is moist and tender. As for the stuffing, I’ve often made my own bread cubes using whatever bread I might have saved in the freezer over several months … you know, the crust no one wants, end pieces, leftover corn bread … always quality breads, no crackers. (When my mother-in-law, an admitted poor cook, made her turkey stuffing with saltines … I don’t know what I expected, yes I do! … but it turned out well. I’m still amazed to this day but then I was very hungry and appreciative. We did a lot of fasting that trip.)
When my daughter became a vegetarian (progressed to vegan) I knew I had to find a different dressing recipe, one cooked separately from the turkey that maintained a great taste. I tried Rachel Ray’s Cranberry Pecan Dressing recipe … converting it to vegetarian and later to vegan. It worked beautifully baked separately, and stuffed loosely into the turkey cavities as well. There are some short cuts I take today when preparing Thanksgiving I wouldn’t have taken years ago. I will never give up homemade pie crusts … these often take a pie from good to amazingly delicious. So, what have I given up? Making the bread cubes. I now find myself buying William Sonoma’s … Even pre-seasoned. Yep, WS brand does make a difference.
Now, let’s jump into these recipes. Great recipes for the beginner as well as experienced!
30 Minute Baked Beans
If you haven’t the hours needed to cook one of these three Baked Beans Recipes 1. Portuguese Baked White Beans 2. Grandma Rose’s Baked Beans 3. Portuguese Pork and Beans you do have the time for this 30 Minute Recipe.
Try this 30 Minute Recipe. Your family will love it!
Tomato Harvest
They all ripen at once! So we’re having Gazpacho and Dad’s favorite sauce. Gazpacho is a great hot season meal … fresh … cool … light and jam-packed with this great fruit.
Our Favorite Gazpacho. Or try this richer version.
Here’s the first sauce I learned to make as a child. Not traditional to be sure but still a family favorite.




