ISO Easy vegetable sides

[ewatkins]

By the time I follow a nice CL recipe for our main course, I'm out of ideas and energy to come up with a vegetable. About all we eat is steamed broccoli, green beans and frozen peas -- boring! I see a lot of squash in the market now, but isn't that really a carbo -- like rice or potato?

[gertdog]

I have the same problem. The main dish exhausts me most nights... forget about a whole separate vegetable recipe!

Here are a few things that I rely on:

Steamed baby carrots tossed with 1 tsp. butter and sprinkled with a little ground cumin.

Carrot slices, steamed and drizzled with a little maple syrup or honey that you've mixed a tiny bit of dried mustard into. Add a sprinkle of salt.

Asparagus is a favorite at our house:
Drizzled with a little olive oil and roasted at 450 degrees for about 10-12 minutes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
OR
Same as above but squeeze some lemon juice over after the asparagus comes out of the oven. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and toasted pine nuts if desired.
OR
The olive oil drizzle plus a little balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper before roasting.
OR
Roast the asparagus, then sprinkle with a little seasoned rice wine vinegar and salt afterwards. Fat-free!

I also like steamed broccoli with olive oil and lemon.

Lightly steamed broccoli or cauliflower, sauteed in a little olive oil along with some garlic and red pepper (also good over pasta for a quick meal). Or use sliced zucchini and skip the steaming step.

Steamed or boiled green beans, tossed with a vinagrette of raspberry vinegar and olive oil (use about 1/3 vinegar, 2/3 oil) and sprinkled with salt, pepper, and toasted pine nuts. Sprinkle with fresh herbs too if available. (This is a take-off on the Not Your Mother's Green Beans recipe from Moosewood Cooks At Home).

Peppers sauteed in olive oil with garlic are good, especially when you throw some chopped tomato in too.

Salads of cucumber and tomato work well for us too. Usually we just sprinkle with rice wine vinegar and salt and pepper.

Finally, when I'm really in a pinch, leftover salad dressing is great on lots of different vegetables. Italian dressing is especially good on cauliflower, broccoli, and green beans. Honey mustard on carrots. The feta dressing I posted on another thread turned out to be great served on cold cooked asparagus.

BTW, winter squash does have more carbohydrates than green veggies, but it's super-nutritious too. Definitely worth a try.

Good luck!

[Kelli Kerrigan]

Broiled Tomatoes, glazed carrots, sauteed summer squash with red pepper strips, califlower steamed over water with herbs de Provence added and a little browned butter drizzled over it are quick sides that would add nice color and some variety.

[Deanna]

One of my faves, especially when serving pasta, Italian, or even Meat Loaf (I'm a closet meat loaf lover!) is this:

Sautee onion and garlic in a little olive oil
When soft, add sliced zucchini and yellow squash
Cook to the degree of doneness you like (a little crisp, perhaps?)
add salt, pepper, basil
stir and serve!

Yummm...

[KathrynY]

(the kind without butter sauce) and cook as directed on the package, then drain. In the meantime, mix together a tablespoon of melted margarine or butter, a tablespoon of honey, and 2-3 tablespoons of chopped toasted pecans. Pour honey-butter-pecan mixture over peas, toss and serve. Very tasty and not at all time consuming! :)

I got this from the side of a Green Giant package. Their web site has some more creative side dish ideas using frozen veggies if you're interested: http://www.greengiant.com/recipe/side.asp.

[KelLeg]

I make sweet potatoes a lot. Tonight I mixed some butternut squash and sweet potatoes together. They are really good for you, so try them. Another thing I do, is roast potatoes or sweet potatoes (or both) with peppers and onion. Yes, this includes carbos, but also gets the peppers in there.

I tend to put a lot of my veggies into a salad. I always use spinach (because it is so good for you) and often add at least some of these: peppers, broccoli, carrots, onions, edamame beans, broccoli slaw, asparagus, etc. To me, it is the easiest way to get a lot of veggies in one sitting.

Another thing I do a lot is serve a fruit salad. I usually include things like: fresh pineapple, mango, kiwi, bananas, or in the winter: grapefruit, oranges, bananas, pineapple, apple, etc. Yum. I eat a lot of veggies on my sandwiches for lunch, so fruit is a nice change for me.

I also second the person above about asparagus. This is an easy one, prepared lots of ways!

[jjsooner73]

Originally posted by Deanna
One of my faves, especially when serving pasta, Italian, or even Meat Loaf (I'm a closet meat loaf lover!) is this:

Sautee onion and garlic in a little olive oil
When soft, add sliced zucchini and yellow squash
Cook to the degree of doneness you like (a little crisp, perhaps?)
add salt, pepper, basil
stir and serve!
Yummm...

That's one of my favorites as well. I will also add diced jalapeno and/or crushed red pepper flakes. I love spicy food. The veggies tossed with pasta and a bit of fresh parmesan was a staple for me when I was in college.

[sneezles]

In answer to your question about squash being a carb, yes it is and so are green peas for that matter.

Try roasting the broccoli like the asparagus , very yummy! Or saute it with cajun spices and a bit of olive oil.

[mightyh]

Well, if you're open to a new veggie, try this one that Grace posted a while back and I use about once a week now.

I quarter smallish brussel sprouts and saute them with shredded carrots for about 5 minutes... then I toss on probably 1 TB of brown sugar and cook for another minute or two. You can also add slivered almonds for some crunch.

It's yummy--DH "hated" brussel sprouts (I'm not sure he had ever tried them) before this recipe.

[LesleyD]

I love preparing zucchini this way:

You thinly slice a couple of zucchinis, putting the slices into a skillet with melted butter over medium heat. Cover. Stir occasionally for about five minutes. If you need to add additional butter, do so.

Sprinkle parmesan cheese on top of mixture in skillet and cover and cook for an additional five minutes. Stirring occasionally. You do this until the zucchini is cooked to the doneness you enjoy. It is very, very good.

[DmOrtega]

Any vegetables are good roasted in the oven. This week it was acorn squash last week green beans and so on. Drizzle a little olive oil on, sprinkle with salt and pepper, cook at 350 - 400 degrees for 25-40 minutes. The squash takes longer than green beans. Make enough for leftovers.

[Leanne]

We love zucchini, asparagus, broccoli, sliced tomatoes, green beans...

One way to cook squash so it's like a squash casserole, but without the work:

Slice in half lengthwise.
Score the soft fleshy part a couple of times. Spread on a little butter & sprinkle with Mrs Dash or other spices of choice.
Cook in the toaster oven at 400 until soft to touch with fork. Sprinkle on a little shredded cheddar & heat until melted.

[michelern]

My DH and I have cooked spagetti squash several times. After it is cooked, and the squash is scraped out of the skin, we drizzle butter and sprinkle it with garlic!!! It is really good and definitely a change from the same old veggie.

[aggie94]

Another vote for roasted veggies! They're so easy and delicious. I use the "recipe" that went with one of the Dinner Tonight menus in September - it was for roasted green beans, but it's also great for asparagus, cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, squash, zucchini, etc. I don't recall the exact quantities, but it's just olive oil, salt, pepper, and a touch of garlic powder.