Greetings from the kitchen! It hasn’t been much of a sledding year for this chick, spending most of the winter on my boat by palm trees. So when I did get away up north, I certainly didn’t want to spend precious time in the galley working on recipes with yummy sauces. It’s great when someone else is taking the time to do them, because I love a dish with a decadent sauce, but it wasn’t going to be me this year. Let’s face it: after a day of playing outside, you just want to get a good hearty dinner on the table in the amount of time it takes you to have an adult beverage or two. Hence, I’ve developed my “go to” side dishes.
It’s easy as pie to throw a fine piece of meat on the grill, but chix cannot live on proteins alone. (Well, that’s another discussion…) If you keep a few basic items in the freezer and pantry, you can have side dishes with little effort. You’ll see that I’m big on putting things in the oven and letting them take care of themselves.
Roasted Red Potatoes – This is as simple as it gets. For this you need those cute little red potatoes, or bigger ones if that’s all the small grocery in town happens to have. Figure on about 1/3 lb per person. Give ‘em a scrub and cut into similar size chunks of about 1″ to 1 1/2″. Toss them in a sealable bag with a couple tablespoons of olive oil, or whatever oil you have around. Dump them out on a baking sheet, preferable with a rim so the little guys don’t fall off the side. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and Italian seasoning, then put in a 350 degree oven. If you remember them at some point, you can give ‘em a turn, but don’t worry about it. They’ll be ready in an hour.
Lake Compounce Roasted Potatoes - I learned this trick from an ancient cook at the amusement park restaurant where I worked in the summer after high school. This is for when you have to rely on what’s in your pantry. Spray a roasting pan with oil. Add drained white potatoes from a can. Spray the potatoes with oil as well and sprinkle them with paprika, rosemary and a little salt. Roast at 350 degrees for about an hour as well. If you want to roll them over at some point, good for you.
Creamed Spinach - A little more effort, but worth it. You need a 16oz. bag of frozen chopped spinach. Take it out and let it thaw at some point in the afternoon, or put it in a microwavable bowl and heat up for a few minutes. Mix a rounded tablespoon of flour into one cup of heavy cream and keep it handy. Melt 1 1/2 tablespoons of butter in a large saute pan and add 2 tablespoons of minced shallot. (Again, feel free to improvise: some onion and garlic will work.) Saute over medium-low so the shallot doesn’t turn brown really quick. As it gets softer, add 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg and some salt and pepper. Stir for a couple of minutes. Meanwhile, drain whatever water is sitting in the spinach, then add the spinach to the shallots. When all the extra liquid is gone and all of the spinach thawed, add the cream mixture. Then just cook until thickened, about two minutes.
This creamed spinach is great on its own alongside a steak, but if you really want to up the ante, mix in about 1/4 cup of grated parmesan (yes, Kraft works fine) and put the spinach in a casserole dish. Bake at the trusted 350 degrees for 15 minutes and then top the spinach with a light layer of shredded cheddar. Bake another ten minutes and it’s oh, so yummy!
Cindy Von’s Broccoli Casserole - Yup; I stole this one. But it works like a charm for the stick-in-the-oven-and-forget-about-it side dish. First, cook up a box of frozen chopped broccoli and then drain it. In a large bowl, mix a beaten egg, 1/2 can of cream of mushroom soup, 1/2 cup grated sharp cheese, 1/2 cup mayo and some salt & pepper. Mix it well. Stir in the broccoli and put the whole mess in a casserole dish. Top with bread crumbs and bake at 350 for 45 minutes.
I know, you’re wondering what to do with that extra half can of cream of mushroom soup. Just double the recipe and use it up. There’s always a lot of people to feed around, and it makes a great lunch the next day too. You probably also noticed that I’m cooking everything at 350… so you can cook these recipes at the same time! Now that’s easy.
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