Side dishes are sometimes as important as the main dish, and should always be tied in with flavor or contrasting texture. Vegetables are always a great option for side dishes, but if you want a well balanced meal, you should have a main dish-protien, vegetables and a starch.
German Potato Salad
One of the many recipes that I cherish from my childhood. (and the beginnings of my love for bacon)
Tip: these are far from healthy. I will include a low fat version later.
Ingredients:
1 1/2 lb boiled and cubed red Potatoes with skin still on
1/2 cup cooked and crumbled Bacon
1/4 cup diced Kosher Dill Pickles
1/4 cup diced white Onions
1/4 cup diced celery
1/2 cup Mayonaise
2 Tsp Extra Virgin Olive oil( or use drippings from Bacon)
1/4 cup white Vinegar(or juice from pickle jar)
salt and pepper to taste
Method:
In a large mixing bowl combine potatoes, oil, mayo and vinegar and mix by hand.
Once well blended, add remaining ingredients and continue to mix by hand until thoroughly blended.
This side dish goes great with pinics-burgers-pot luck dinner parties.
Asparagus & Zucchini
Ok, probably my two most absolute favorite vegetables...seriously.
This is strictly a vegetarian dish, but either one could be added as a side dish for any meal.
Ingredients:
4 good sized Zucchini Squash(about 1 1/2 " in dia by about 6-8" long)
1 lb(or bunch) Asparagus
1 tsp fresh ground black pepper
a dash of salt(literally a pinch between your fingers)
1/2 Tbsp Olive Oil
4 tbsp grated light parmesan cheese
1 tsp Mrs. Dash Garlic & Herb Blend
Method:
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
Slice the Zucchinis in half long ways. Trim the asparagus to have no white on the stalks, just the most tender parts.
In a 9X12 glass baking dish, arrange the asparagus on one end, to take up about one fourth of the baking dish. First, sprinkle the olive oil over the asparagus, then dash of salt, then fresh black pepper. Work the asparagus so that all stalks are slightly coated with oil, salt and pepper.
Arrange the Zucchini to fill the other 3/4 of the baking dish. Sprinkle the Zucchini with the parmesan cheese, then sprinkle the Mrs. Dash over the entire baking dish.
Cover the dish with aluminum foil to trap heat, which will steam the veggies. Place in pre-heated oven for not more than 15 minutes. Remove foil, and change oven to broil for 5 minutes or until parmesan cheese is golden brown.
Makes 4 generous servings.
I did not calculate nutritional info on this dish because, frankly, no additives, no preservatives, fresh vegetables, and seasonings is pretty healthy.
Tip:
Make sure you use the 'light' parmesan cheese to keep the fat down. 1Tbsp has 85 mg of sodium, so if you break that out into 4 servings, you get 21.25mg of sodium from the cheese, and the dash of salt is fairly negligible, but we'll call it 40mg...which brings us to 31.25 mg of sodium per serving...well below Dr. recommended intake of 140 mg per serving.
Also, remember, some vegetables have natural sodium, like tomatoes, and asparagus, and corn, so when you are working on a low sodium meal, take those veggies into account as well.
One more thing; If you are on a "six small meals a day" type of diet, this will go great as a mid afternoon snack.
Tasty Rice
Ingredients:
1 cup Jasmine White Rice
3 cups water
1 cube Chicken Boullion
1 Pinch Chinese 5 Spice
Juice from 1/2 medium Lemon
Method:
In a 3 qt. sauce pan bring the water, boullion, Lemon juice and 5 spice to a boil using medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low, add the Rice to the water and cover. Jasmine Rice requires frequent stirring or the rice on the bottem will burn, and the rice on top will be uncooked. Continue to cook and stir until all water is absorbed and Rice has reached desired consistency.
Tip:
Chinese 5 spice is very pungeunt and powerful, so a pinch is really all you need.
This side dish accompanies Fish, Pork and Chicken extremely well.
