Roasted Brussels Sprouts

We've been roasting vegetables like crazy lately and roasted brussels sprouts are one of our new favourite side dishes. At the grocery store, T bought enough to feed an army, and they were gone within a week. Not a bad thing though because they're ridiculously healthy -- they have the same chemicals as broccoli which are believed to have potent anti-cancer properties. But you know what? We just think they taste good! 

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Serves 2

Ingredients

• 18-20 brussels sprouts, washed and cut lengthwise
• scant 1/4 cup olive oil
• kosher salt and pepper

Directions

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees
• In a bowl, toss cut brussels sprouts with olive oil and season with salt and pepper
• Pour coated brussel sprouts onto a baking sheet and bake for 25-30 minutes until sprouts are soft and starting to turn brown
• Serve immediately

Yorkshire Puddings

Yorkshire puddings originated in Yorkshire, England -- just 100 miles away from the town my maiden name originates from -- so I have a minor personal attachment. It doesn't hurt that I grew up with these for those good ol' meat and potatoes dinners on Sunday nights.


These were the perfect tool to slop up the shallot gravy I served on roast beef. In fact, these were so good, T and I couldn't stop eating them, so if you're serving more than two, you might want to make a double batch!

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil    
• 1 cup unsifted all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil 

Directions

• Preheat oven to 450 F. Into each cup of the  muffin pan pour enough vegetable oil to cover the bottom, and heat pan in oven. It is critical that the oil be really hot (it will take 2 to 3 minutes and will be on the border of smoking), otherwise the Yorkshire puddings will not rise: you will have Yorkshire Pucks.
• Sift flour and salt into a bowl.
• Beat eggs well; then stir in milk and vegetable oil.
• Make well in flour, pour in egg mixture and beat until smooth.
• Pour batter into hot pan, filling the cups 1/2 full; the oil should be sizzling at the edges of the batter.
• Bake at 450 for 20 minutes until Yorkshire puddings rise and are golden brown.

Makes 6 - 8.

Roasted Asparagus with Parmesan

My mom grew up on an asparagus farm and has always had an affinity towards asparagus as a side dish. My dad, on the other hand, has a general rule about not eating any green vegetables. How to please them both? Serve roasted asparagus with an garlic olive oil and parmesan cheese. Pleases even the fussiest pallets and takes your side up a notch. 

Ingredients

• 1 bunch asparagus spears, trimmed
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 1/2 tsp grated parmesan 
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 tsp ground pepper

Directions

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees
• In a small bowl, mix the olive oil, garlic, sea salt and pepper together
• On a baking sheet, lay out the asparagus in a single layer and brush with the olive oil mixture to coat and sprinkle parmesan cheese over top
• Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until tender, depending on thickness
• Serve hot

Roasted Fingerling Potatoes

Fingerling potatoes are small, knobby and thin potatoes that apparently resemble fingers. While normally that kind of description would turn me off, I am glad I forged ahead with these little gems. They'd been sitting in the back of the fridge for a few weeks and in a fit of desperation the day before our weekly grocery shop when nothing else was to be had, I chopped them, poured some vegetable oil on them (we were even out of olive oil!), tossed them in some salt and pepper and roasted them. 


When they came out they had a light crisp outside while having a warm, creamy and sweet inside. They literally burst in your mouth and for some reason, I found that they smelled like an amusement park. A great way to end the summer.


Ingredients

• About a pound of fingerling potatoes, quartered
• olive oil to coat
• salt and pepper

Directions

• Toss the quartered potatoes lightly in olive oil and salt and pepper
• Pour onto cookie sheet and bake in oven preheated to 350 degrees for about 45 minutes
• Serve with sour cream

Zucchini Pancakes with Roasted Garlic Mayonnaise

I eat a lot of zucchini. It's one of my favourite vegetables, and while I mostly eat it raw in salads, it is wonderful to cook with. Zucchini has a really high water content -- which not only makes it low in calories, it helps make foods incredibly and unbelievably moist. I learned this when I made zucchini and chocolate chip muffins.

Looking for new ways to explore this vegetable, I turned back to Ina Garten and discovered zucchini pancakes. My mother's immediate question was: "Do you put maple syrup on them?" Well, no. They're not those kind of pancakes -- more like crab cakes or the asiago crumpets I made.

I made these one night for dinner with a garlic mayonnaise and they were a hit. These could easily be served as a side dish with steak or meat, or as a part of a brunch buffett. And I have no doubt that kids would love them and wouldn't even think they were full of folate, potassium and Vitamin A!

Ingredients

Zucchini Pancakes:

• 2 cups shredded zucchini
• 2 eggs, slightly beaten
• 6-8 tbsp flour
• salt and pepper
• 2 tbsp olive oil

Roasted Garlic Mayo:

• 1 head roasted garlic
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise

Directions

• Wash and shred the zucchini with a cheese grater.
• In a bowl, whisk two eggs. Add 6 tbsp flour.
• Add zucchini and salt and pepper and toss.
• If batter is too runny, add the other 2 tbsp of flour. Note that this will be more zucchini than "batter," but it should be coated in the flour and egg mixture.
• Heat olive oil in a frying pan and turn down to medium. Ladel batter into silver dollar-sized pancakes.
• Cook each side for 3-4 minutes, until browned.
• Serve with garlic mayonnaise.

To make the roasted garlic mayo, simply add one head of roasted garlic (squeezed and mashed) to 1/2 cup of mayonnaise and stir. You may want to do this in advance so the flavours melt together better.

From Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa at Home

Orzo with Parmesan and Basil

This simple dish is a cross between risotto and macaroni and cheese. It was a super easy weeknight meal and you could enjoy it like we did as a main, but it would also be great as a side dish. This is also one of those great flexible dishes where you can really just add anything you want. For example, I didn't have enough parmesan, so I tossed in some herb and garlic cream cheese. I love those dishes where anything goes!

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 cup uncooked orzo pasta
• 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

• Melt butter in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat 
• Stir in orzo pasta and saute until lightly browned
• Stir in chicken stock and bring to a boil
• Reduce heat and simmer until orzo is tender and liquid is absorbed, about 15-20 minutes
• Mix in parmesan cheese and basil
• Season with salt and pepper to taste

Recipe from www.allrecipes.com

Download the printable recipe for Orzo with Parmesan and Basil

Rosemary Roasted Potatoes

I love a good potato -- mashed, baked, scalloped, for me, potatoes are often the highlight of a meal. These rosemary roasted potatoes are simple to make and pretty much go with anything. They're crisp on the outside but are soft and moist on the inside.

They're also a fix it and forget it side. I do them as a side for both dinners and brunches and they turn out great every time. 

Ingredients

• any kind of potatoes, cubed
• oil to coat
• dried rosemary
• salt and pepper to taste

**quantity of ingredients are dependent on amount of potatoes


Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

In a bowl, place cubed potatoes and coat with oil, shake on rosemary, salt and pepper and mix to cover 

Pour onto baking sheet and bake for about 45 minutes until soft on the inside with a crispy outside.

Perfect Salad Dressing

I love salad. We eat it all the time and often as a side for our dinners for a light alternative -- plus, it's the easiest side to make.

For Christmas, I got a salad dressing mixer along with my aunt's favourite recipe for a delicious, go-with-everything vinaigrette.

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup white balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 cup oil
• 2 cloves crushed garlic
• 1 tbsp dijon mustard
• 1 tsp basil
• 1 tsp oregano
• pinch of sugar

Directions:

• Mix!

Our favourite salad is this dressing with mixed greens, craisins, pecans, goat cheese and sliced pear or apple. Fancy enough for company but easy to make for two. Mmm!

Three Cheese and Garlic Scalloped Potatoes

Do you like cheesy, garlicky, creamy, heavenly carbohydrates like I do?

If so, these three cheese and garlic scalloped potatoes are for you! I served these with ham at Easter and they were the perfect side dish.

Ingredients (this made enough to fill my lasagna pan)

• about 10 potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
• 3 cups of old cheddar cheese
• 6 slices of provolone
• 1/3 cup parmesan cheese
• 2 cups of cream (I used 2/3 10% cream mixed with 1/3 skim milk)
• 4 cloves of garlic, chopped (I used jarred garlic and used one heaping tablespoon -- mmm...garlic)

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees

Grease a casserole dish (note that I used a lasagna pan, so adjust the recipe accordingly for your size of container)

Layer 1/3 of the potatoes slices at the bottom of the dish. Pour 1/3 of the cream mixture over the potatoes. Drop garlic over the layer. Sprinkle 1/3 of the cheddar cheese over the layer and then add salt and pepper.

Repeat two more times (three layers in total)

On top, place the sliced provolone.

Cover with tinfoil and bake for an hour.

Then sprinkle parmesan cheese over top and bake for another 30 minutes until cheese is bubbled and brown and it's easy to stick a knife through the potatoes.

When you take these out, you may want to use a paper towel to seep up some of the oil from the cheese.

I forgot to take a final picture, but trust me, they were oozing with deliciousness!!! And the whole pan was eaten by only 10 people! That's the sign of a good side.

Turkey Meatballs

We've had this twice in the past two weeks which is the sign of a good, easy dish!

We don't eat a lot of meat, so when we do, I don't want something too overwhelming and these turkey meatballs are the perfect thing. Not too light and not too heavy and amazing with homemade pasta!

Ingredients

• 1-1 1/2 pounds of ground turkey
• 3/4 cup of rolled oats
• one cup of milk
• 1 small onion
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp crushed garlic
• pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup flour (to coat meatballs)
• 1/3 cup oil (to cook meatballs in)

Directions

1. Finely dice onion 

2. Mix the ground meat, onion, oats, bread crumbs, milk, garlic and salt and pepper together -- don't be scared to get your hands in!

3. Make balls about the size of timbits and line them up on a cookie sheet

4. Put in the freezer for about 5 minutes. This will help them keep their shape

5. Dredge each of them through flour

6. Brown each meatball for a couple of minutes in oil on the stove

7. Once browned on each side, put in a pan with tomato sauce and bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees

8. Serve with fresh pasta

Recipe adapted from The Pioneer Woman

Homemade Croutons

I love a good, toasty, chewy crouton. These are so simple to make and a really impressive addition to any dinner.

Ingredients

• really good french stick, cubed
• lots of butter
• lots of garlic

Directions

• Cut the bread into cubes and leave out for a few hours to dry out slightly (the longer you leave them, the less chewy they will be). I estimate about 3-4 croutons per person

• For about 20 croutons, I use about 3 tbsp of butter. Melt it in a skillet

• Add chopped garlic and mix well with butter. Keep on low-medium heat
• Add bread, stir often and cook until browned on all sides

• Pour into plate lined with paper towel and add to salad. You'll never go back to store-bought croutons again!