Side Dishes
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Simply the Best 5-Layer Bean Dip
It’s incredibly easy—no cooking required. Because it’s so simple, use only top-quality ingredients, and trust me, people will taste the difference. Whether you bring this appetizer to a party or potluck, it always steals the show. Nothing else compares when this is around. Everyone is drawn to it and happily devours it until it’s all gone! The dip comes in many versions and became a favorite party food in the 1970s and 1980s, thanks to easy…
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The Best Spiced Lemon Roasted Cauliflower Bites Ever
Tasty and guilt-free, this vegan recipe is so easy to prepare that it’s likely to become your favorite go-to appetizer or light snack, whether you’re relaxing at home or entertaining friends. At just over 100 calories and without breading, they are light and crispy, with minimal prep before going into the oven. They are a great source of vitamin C, K, potassium, and folate. It’s a flavorful treat you can feel good about enjoying anytime!
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Roasted Rainbow Baby Potatoes With Fresh Garlic And Rosemary
A savory complement to almost any dish. These English roasted potatoes have a crunchy exterior and a fluffy inside. Made by roasting in oil with garlic and herbs, they are simply irresistible.
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A Better Maroulosalata (Greek Lettuce Salad)
Gilly has put a delicious spin on the classic Greek lettuce salad by adding Kalamata olives and finishing it with a red wine vinegar dressing. This salad has finely chopped romaine lettuce, fresh dill, creamy feta cheese, Kalamata olives, and a red wine vinegar dressing. Although the recipe is simple, the salad is bright, flavorful, and crunchy.
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The Most Amazing, Crispy Onion Rings
This recipe is simple and delicious. The onion rings come out very crunchy and light. I love love love onion rings, but I do not love the thick breading on most onion rings. I’m constantly sliding the onion out and only eating a tiny bite of the coating just to get the crunch. Finally, after many years, I thought, ‘how hard can it be to make them myself?’ The answer is – not hard. The first time I…
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Classic and Sensational Caesar Salad
This Caesar is one of those “simple” recipes I’ve been trying to get perfect for years. I finally did. Now I make it a lot. I worked hard to reverse engineer it from both the famous Musso & Frank Grill in Hollywood and the original Mexican Caesar recipe.
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Ultimate Spicy Vegetable Soup: Tomato, Potato, Zucchini, Spinach, Jalapeño
I came up with this Spicy Vegetable Soup recipe one day when I was craving a healthy, hot soup, and I couldn’t find a recipe with the herbs and vegetables I was craving. I have been perfecting it for many months, and now I have it just right. Tomatoes, potatoes, zucchini, spinach, onions, carrots, celery, garlic, jalapeños, Worcestershire, and various spices. CAUTION: Highly Addictive!
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The Secret to the Perfect Grilled Cheese Sandwich
My secret to the perfect grilled cheese is to use freshly sliced sourdough with organic mayonnaise, spread on one side of each slice. Six to eight pieces of good sharp cheddar cheese. Cook in a cast-iron skillet and use a cast-iron cooking weight. Toast each side until it’s nice and crispy (if the cheese isn’t quite melted – put it on a plate and cook in the microwave for five seconds). Serve immediately with a side…
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Easy and Addictive Baked Brussels Sprouts
I make this recipe often – the way many people make popcorn, but Brussels sprouts are much healthier and yummier, in my opinion. I like to make it simple, with olive oil, salt, pepper, and grated parmesan. You can also fancy it up with drizzled aged balsamic vinegar (bacon or prosciutto, crumbled cheese). Brussels sprouts are a cruciferous vegetable in the cabbage family and are very high in vitamin C, and have anti-inflammatory properties. It is…
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Healthy Little Red Potato Salad to Die For
Light, creamy, healthy, and delicious. Fresh celery and celery seeds add crunch and flavor. The red skins on the potatoes add color and texture. Serve on a bed of mixed baby lettuces for any spring or summer dish or as a side to cold chicken or roast beef. Potato salad originated in Germany in the 16th century, where its recipe is vinegar-based and served warm. The American potato salad is usually mayonnaise-based and served cold.
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Flavorful and Easy Artichoke Recipe
Easy to make, delicious to eat. Artichokes can be roasted, steamed, boiled, fried, or grilled. This healthy, tasty veggie is packed with protein, antioxidants, fiber, and only 73 calories per serving, including the dipping sauce. I usually boil my artichokes with spices, and a dipping sauce (not always grilled) because it is easier to prepare. Serve with a simple pasta or garlic toast for a lovely lunch or dinner without much effort. Peak artichoke season is…
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Refreshing and Spectacular Caprese Salad
A true classic for a reason, the Caprese salad is over 100 years old—the origin story for the Caprese salad dates back to post-World War I Italy. Like many Italian dishes, the Caprese salad is also famous because it is effortless to prepare. I recommend using only high-quality ingredients for this dish. Because the dish is so simple, the flavor of the ingredients is where it’s at! Heirloom tomatoes and fresh mozzarella or burrata cheese. *Shown…
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Quick, Crispy Quesadilla With Guacamole
Literally meaning “little cheesy thing,” quesadillas originated in northern and central Mexico in the 16th century. I make mine with fresh-made flour tortillas, Monterey jack cheese, and pickled jalapeños. Light and delicious quick and simple – quesadilla with guacamole. Perfect for a healthy lunch or easy snack. Pairs great with an ice-cold Coca-Cola or a frosty beer.
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Great Foil-Wrapped Corn on the Cob Camping-Style
Succulent and tender corn on the cob with a butter cilantro dressing cooked in foil on the grill. Easy as can be and so delicious! For a touch of heat, add a dash of paprika. The perfect simple side for any camping dinner.
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Simple Crispy Onion Rosemary Skillet Breakfast Potatoes
Crispy, tender, flavorful, and easy to make, these breakfast potatoes are perfectly crisp on the outside and soft on the inside. Cooked to perfection in a cast-iron skillet with onions and rosemary. Add in paprika and bell peppers if you like, and serve with eggs and bacon, and you’ve got the classic American breakfast. The story goes that Breakfast Potatoes were created in the early 1900s by a New York City restaurant owner named Beefstew O’Brien,…
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Easy and Delicious Sautéed Mushrooms
Mushrooms sautéed with garlic and garnished with fresh parsley. Perfect as a side or an addition to many recipes. Great with a steak and baked potato.
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Flavorful and Simple Grass-Fed Ribeye Steak With Sautéed Mushrooms
Pan-seared grass-fed ribeye steak with olive oil and butter, finished in the oven, topped with mushrooms sautéed in garlic butter, and garnished with fresh parsley. Great with a baked potato on the side.
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Best Ever Little Red Garlic Mashed Potatoes With Chives
Garlic Mashed potatoes made with little red potatoes, half & half, butter and fresh chives are always the right choice: with steak, chicken or fish. Some Potato History. During the Seven Years War of the mid-1700s, the Prussians captured a French army pharmacist Antoine-Augustin Parmentier. As a prisoner, he was forced to live only on rations of potatoes. At that time in France, no one ate potatoes. They were considered to be just fed for livestock…
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Best Arugula and Shaved Parmesan Salad With Lemon Vinaigrette
A refreshing and light, easy to prepare classic Italian salad and one of my favorites: if you love Arugula and I do, you love lemon, and I do, you love parmesan, and I do – then, in less than five minutes, you can create this delicious, sophisticated salad which pairs beautifully with many dishes.
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The Best Ever Cobb Salad
This salad is vibrant and nutritious with a beautiful balance of flavors, and it’s simple to make. It tastes so good you might feel guilty about eating it, but don’t. It’s low-carb and gluten-free, with many nutrients, lots of protein, and healthy fats. It’s a salad that eats like a meal. I make my Cobb salad without chicken, but you can certainly add it if you prefer. It makes a lovely and delicious choice for a…
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Crispy and Amazing Baked Potato Wedges With 3 Aioli Sauces
These crispy wedges are a perfect side dish for almost any meal, always mouth-watering and delicious, made yummier still with organic catsup or one of my three aioli sauces: Roasted garlic aioli, sriracha aioli, or avocado aioli. These recipes for Aioli include vegan ingredient choices.
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Best Easy Garbanzo Bean Salad
I love this simple, low-calorie, high-protein Mediterranean salad. It is very healthy and vegan. Packed with bright, crisp vegetables like garbanzo beans, cucumber, tomato, red onion, garlic, spices, and parsley, all in an oil and vinegar dressing. It’s undeniably amazing because of its delicious simplicity. I reverse-engineered the recipe from a Mediterranean food stand at my local Farmers Market. I made it multiple times until I got it just right.
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Best Authentic Guacamole Recipe
I prepare my guacamole the traditional Mexican way, using avocados, tomatoes, garlic, lime juice, jalapeños, cilantro, and red onions. Serve this guacamole chilled with organic tortilla chips. You can also use this recipe to make a variety of dishes. Spread it on toast or a quesadilla, fill a warm pita pocket with cheese, top homemade nachos, add it to a juicy burger, and more. All of these other dishes are available on this website in the…
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Simple Sauteed Spinach With Garlic
Simple sautéed spinach with garlic is a quick, delicious, and healthy side dish that I absolutely love. Spinach is low in calories and high in fiber, vitamin C, provitamin A carotenoids, folate, manganese, and vitamin K. Garlic is low in calories and rich in vitamin C, vitamin B6, and manganese. What’s not to love?
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Simple and Delicious Garlic Toast
This is a simple and delicious side dish that adds tons of flavor and a satisfying crunch to almost any meal.
