Side Dishes
September 2000 – When I was growing up, the usual dinner was meat, potatoes and a vegetable – maybe peas or carrots. Nutritious but not too exciting. Well, forget about just meat and potatoes. Side dishes – whether a vegetable, a bread, rice or other grain – can make a meal memorable.
It doesn’t even take much – the addition of a bit of Parmesan cheese, garlic or some herbs takes a vegetable from everyday to great. Included here are some of my favorite vegetable and other side dish recipes.
Make any dinner a special occasion.
Cornbread
Butternut and Apple Soup
Sweet & Sour Red Cabbage
A simple and tasty way to make red cabbage into a special occasion dish.
Sweet Potato Crumble
A great special occasion vegetable side dish, featuring creamy sweet potatoes topped with apples and cranberries and a crumble topping.
Slow Cooker Baked Beans
Homemade “baked” beans are so easy to make in the slow cooker.
Barbecue Baked Beans
Tasty bean dish made with canned baked beans with bacon and barbecue sauce, with the secret ingredient: a can of apple pie filling.
Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Sweet roasted garlic is a great flavor addition to mashed potatoes.
Oven Roasted Potatoes
Oven roasting gives potatoes a great tasty crispy golden brown crust.
Apple Rutabaga Casserole
Apples go really well with rutabagas in this tasty mash.
Carrot and Parsnip Gratin
An excellent special occasion vegetable recipe that can be prepared the day before and then baked before serving.
Parmesan Brussels Sprouts
This is a quick and easy way to add a little flair to brussels sprouts.
Broccoli Orientale
Tasty recipe for broccoli with a ginger-garlic sauce topped with sesame seeds.
Baked Beans
Some tasty additions make a can of pork and beans company ready.
Barley Casserole
A tasty combination of pearl barley, onions and pine nuts in this different side dish.
Coconut Rice
Tasty tropical flavored rice with coconut and mango, makes a great summertime accompaniment to grilled fish.
Buttermilk Biscuits
A cross between a bun and a biscuit (a bunsquit??) leavened with yeast and baking powder, these are very light and very tasty.
Corn Muffins
Savory corn muffins are made with cornmeal and corn niblets, cheese and diced red pepper.
Garlic Bread
Crusty bread with broiled topping of butter, garlic, Parmesan cheese and seasonings, goes great with lasagna and other pasta dishes.
Polenta
Creamy cornmeal and Parmesan pudding, excellent served with thick meaty pasta sauce.
Yorkshire Pudding
When we went to Grandma’s for roast beef dinner, there was always Yorkshire Pudding to go along with it – smothered in beef gravy.
Creamy Mashed Potatoes
Mashed potatoes with cream cheese and sour cream, can be made the day before and reheated before serving.
Rutabaga and Pear Puree
Tasty side dish we like to serve for Christmas or Thanksgiving, but it is great anytime in the fall or winter when root vegetables are plentiful.
Sweet Potato Casserole
A great special occasion side dish with mashed sweet potatoes baked with a crunchy pecan topping.
Cranberry Sauce
I don’t think we ever saw a fresh cranberry when I was a kid, but fresh (or frozen) cranberries are now readily available to be able to make this tasty accompaniment to the holiday turkey.
Johnny Cake
Corn bread turns into dessert when topped with butter and corn syrup.
Scalloped Potatoes
Scalloped potatoes made with a can of mushroom soup.