Category: Side Dishes


Aug
2016

Sweet Potato Stuffed Peaches

categories: Gluten Free, Healthy, Side Dishes, Vegan

Sweet Potato Stuffed Peaches - Great served with grilled chicken or pork. Gluten-free and vegan. Only 4 ingredients! | QueenofMyKitchen.com

The popularity of sweet potatoes in the U.S. continues to rise as more and more people discover the variety of delicious ways to use this versatile vegetable.  Once thought of as a Thanksgiving or winter side dish, sweet potatoes are now served all year-long. My family loves sweet potatoes and I serve them often – roasted with coconut oil, in salads, and in appetizers too as in my recent Sweet Potato Black Bean Avocado Salsa post.  And now that peach season has arrived I’ve combined sweet potatoes and peaches to create a delicious, nutritious side dish that is fantastic served alongside grilled chicken or pork.  Sweet Potato Stuffed Peaches are tender, creamy, and full of sweet, savory, peachy flavor. (more…)


Jul
2016

Crispy Oven Baked Eggplant Flowers

categories: Appetizers, Side Dishes, Vegetarian

Crispy Oven Baked Eggplant Flowers are golden brown and deliciously crispy on the outside, yet tender on the inside. Fun, festive, and full of parmesan flavor! This recipe can be adapted to make easy eggplant parmesan too - with no messy stove-top frying! | QueenofMyKitchen.com

For this month’s Recipe Redux challenge (creative cuts – fruits and vegetables) I chose to highlight one of summer’s most abundant vegetables – eggplant. The humble eggplant is among the most versatile of vegetables. It can be grilled, roasted, baked, fried, diced, stuffed, and rolled. You can put it on pasta or pizza, make a sandwich or dip with it, and use it in soups and stews. Eggplant takes center stage in a variety of classic dishes from divergent cultures such as Italian (eggplant parmesan), French (ratatouille), Mediterranean (moussaka), and Asian (stir-frys). And even as I’m writing this I know that I’m barely scratching the surface of the many uses and recipes for which eggplant is well suited. Since eggplant is so delicious and so plentiful this time of year, I’m sure no one will mind that I am adding to the unending list of uses for eggplant with this fun and festive recipe that’s perfect for summer – Crispy Oven Baked Eggplant Flowers. Flower shaped eggplant slices are dipped into a savory egg and olive oil mixture, then breaded and oven baked. The result is golden brown and deliciously crispy-on-the-outside, tender-on-the-inside, pieces of eggplant that will knock your socks off! (more…)


Jun
2016

Blue Cheese Broccoli Slaw

categories: Gluten Free, Salads, Side Dishes

Blue Cheese Broccoli Slaw with Figs, Walnuts, and Crispy Prosciutto - A fantastic make ahead dish that’s great with steak and chicken. | QueenofMyKitchen.com

Blue Cheese Broccoli Slaw with Figs, Walnuts, and Crispy Prosciutto was inspired by the popular Blue Cheese Cole Slaw recipe by Ina Garten, a/k/a The Barefoot Contessa. Initially I planned to do a version of this recipe using homemade avocado mayonnaise but when I did a search on Google and Pinterest, I saw that there were already tons of recipes out there for blue cheese cole slaw so I decided to create a broccoli slaw instead and compliment the wonderfully distinct flavor of blue cheese with dried mission figs, toasted walnuts, and crispy prosciutto. There’s no mayonnaise is this slaw; the dressing is made from olive oil, greek yogurt, blue cheese, and parmesan cheese. If you’re a fan of blue cheese you will love this dish! (more…)


May
2016

Bistro Carrot Salad

categories: Gluten Free, Healthy, Salads, Side Dishes, Vegan

Bistro Carrot Salad is a mainstay at bistros all over France. Grated carrots and parsley in a lemon vinaigrette. Delicious and very French! Gluten-free and vegan. | QueenofMyKitchen.com

The French have an uncanny ability to make ordinary food taste sublime.  Nothing illustrates this point better than Bistro Carrot Salad – a dish of raw carrots that have been grated into short delicate strands, dotted with flecks of fresh chopped parsley, and then tossed in a basic lemon vinaigrette.  Grated carrot salads (carottes râpées) are a mainstay at bistros everywhere in France and are so prevalent that French home cooks probably don’t even reference a recipe when making them. (more…)


May
2016

Oven Roasted Vegetable Platter

categories: Gluten Free, Healthy, Side Dishes, Vegan

Oven Roasted Vegetable Platter - A great alternative to grilled vegetables and so much easier. Just 15 minutes of roasting time. | QueenofMyKitchen.com

This Oven Roasted Vegetable Platter is the answer to some of the difficulties you may have encountered if you’ve ever tried to cook a large quantity of vegetables on the grill.  I think everyone would agree that the perfect accompaniment to any type of meat or fish is a platter of grilled vegetables.  Grilled vegetables are heavenly with their gorgeous sear marks and slightly charred smoky taste, but cooking a variety of vegetables on the grill can be very time consuming.  You have to laboriously thread a zillion individual vegetable pieces onto skewers, or stand at the grill and flip that same number of vegetable pieces over for even cooking.  It’s certainly worth the effort if you have the time but if you’re busy preparing other dishes, this might not be the most practical cooking method.  Oven roasting is much easier.  You can use smaller vegetables if you want (i.e. grape tomatoes), and cut them into more manageable, bite size pieces, and you won’t have to stand patiently over an outdoor grill or get your kitchen all smoked up using a stove top grill pan. (more…)


May
2016

Spinach Parmesan Quinoa

categories: Gluten Free, Healthy, Side Dishes

Spinach Parmesan Quinoa is a delicious gluten-free side dish that requires only 5 ingredients, takes just minutes to prepare, and checks the box for both “starch” and “vegetable”. | QueenofMyKitchen.com

Spinach Parmesan Quinoa is a simple, delicious side dish requiring just 5 ingredients. I came up with this recipe on the fly one night when I needed something to go with our dinner entrée that I could prepare quickly. The nice thing about Spinach Parmesan Quinoa is that it checks both the “vegetable” and “starch” box. With only a handful of ingredients, it is perfect for busy weeknight dinners. The sun-dried tomatoes are a delicious, savory addition to the quinoa and spinach, and provide a welcome pop of color, while the parmesan cheese adds a creamy quality and eliminates the need for any additional seasoning. This is a real winner of a side dish! (more…)


May
2016

Potato Skins Pizza

categories: Appetizers, Gluten Free, Side Dishes

Smashed, roasted baby potatoes masquerade as pizza crust in this seriously addictive rendition of loaded potato skins. You’ll find all of the signature ingredients you associate with classic potato skins in this delicious pizza – cheddar cheese, crispy bacon, and chive infused sour cream. | QueenofMyKitchen.com

Potato Skins Pizza is my newest recipe remix and I’m so pleased with the results! Smashed, roasted baby potatoes masquerade as pizza crust in this seriously addictive rendition of loaded potato skins. In addition to the potato/potato skin base, you’ll find all of the signature ingredients you associate with classic potato skins – cheddar cheese, crispy bacon, and chive infused sour cream. I’m not kidding when I say that Potato Skins Pizza takes “delicious” to a whole new level. (more…)


Apr
2016

Panko Parmesan Crusted Asparagus

categories: Side Dishes

Panko Parmesan Crusted Asparagus - Asparagus is encased in a crispy coating of panko-parmesan crumbs resulting is a vegetable that tastes more like a treat. | QueenofMyKitchen.com

We all need to eat our vegetables, right?  The USDA recommends that adults eat 2-3 cups of vegetables daily for maximum health benefits, but let’s face it – sometimes vegetables are boring.    Sure, super fresh veggies that are perfectly cooked are delicious, but even then, we’re not likely to consider them a treat.  That’s why Panko Parmesan Crusted Asparagus is such an awesome recipe. It turns ordinary asparagus into something of a vegetable treat!  A delicate, golden brown crispy coating of panko-parmesan breadcrumbs encases each spear, highlighting and accentuating all that is right about this wonderful spring-time vegetable.  One taste and you’ll be hooked! (more…)


Apr
2016

Lentil Salad with Sherry Vinaigrette

categories: Gluten Free, Healthy, Side Dishes, Vegan

Lentil Salad with Sherry Vinaigrette is vegan and gluten-free. With 13g of protein and 15g of fiber per serving, it will keep you nourished and satisfied.| QueenofMyKitchen.com

Lentil Salad with Sherry Vinaigrette is a wonderfully simple salad that makes a great side dish but is nutrient dense enough to be served as a main meal. It’s vegan and gluten-free, and with 13 grams of protein and a whopping 15 grams of fiber per serving, it will leave you feeling nourished and satisfied. (more…)


Apr
2016

Maple Mustard Roasted Green Beans with Toasted Almonds

categories: Gluten Free, Side Dishes, Vegan

 

A delicious maple mustard marinade makes a subtle, sweet, and savory coating for roasted green beans that are topped with toasted almonds. | QueenofMyKitchen.com

I’m always on the lookout for fast, easy, and tasty side dishes. I don’t mind spending extra time on a main dishes and desserts, but when it comes to side dishes I want to get them on the table quickly, without too much effort. Maple Mustard Roasted Green Beans with Toasted Almonds definitely qualifies as no-fuss yet it’s impressive in both appearance and taste.

(more…)

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