Need a recipe

[GA girl]

We are having the family over this weekend for our Labor Day cookout and my nephew is leaving for military college on Wednesday.
I need a great side dish recipe that I can cook. Any suggestion on a dish that will make everyone say “wow” you made that!
Nothing elaborate, just delicious

[BrerGnat]

hot or cold?

[cer]

It is not a side dish, but a salad.

When I make it, everyone enjoys it and it will feed a small army.

I got the recipe from Taste of Home Magazine a long time ago.

If it doesn't work for this time, use it when you can - a real crowd pleaser and so light, simple and delicious!


That Good Salad Recipe
Prep/Total Time: 20 min.Yield: 14 Servings
Ingredients
•3/4 cup canola oil
•1/4 cup lemon juice
•2 garlic cloves, minced
•1/2 teaspoon salt
•1/2 teaspoon pepper
•2 bunches (1 pound each) romaine, torn
•2 cups chopped tomatoes
•1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Swiss cheese
•2/3 cup slivered almonds, toasted, optional
•1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
•8 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled
•1 cup Caesar salad croutons
Directions
•In a jar with tight-fitting lid, combine the oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper; cover and shake well. Chill.
•In a large serving bowl, toss the romaine, tomatoes, Swiss cheese, almonds if desired, Parmesan cheese and bacon.
•Shake dressing; pour over salad and toss. Add croutons and serve immediately.

[SBETigg]

One of my friends blogged this one today. I like the pesto recipe, but I use tortellini instead of bowties and toasted walnuts instead of pecans. I also like to add halved cherry tomatoes for a little pop of color. It's pretty easy and you can make it ahead of time.

Pesto Pasta Salad
1 lb bowtie pasta (cooked)
1 cup pesto sauce (see recipe below)
1 cup pecan pieces

To make the salad, simply combine the pasta, the pesto and the pecan pieces. Toss together and refrigerate at least an hour for flavors to combine. Can add more pecans if desired and adjust amount of pesto sauce to taste.

Store bought pesto is fine, but it’s also an easy thing to make your own, and the brightness of the homemade far outshines anything you can buy at the store.

Pesto

1 cup (tightly packed) fresh basil

2 cloves garlic

¼ cup pine nuts

½ tsp sea salt (1/4 if regular salt)

¼ cup + olive oil

½ cup parmesan cheese, grated

Add first four ingredients to food processor. Process until paste is formed. Slowly add oil while processor is running. Add cheese and blend with processor briefly. Will store in fridge for a month in freezer even longer.

[Kenny1113]

I have a quinoa recipe with roasted beets, sweet potato and onions that is really good!!!!

Boma has a lentil salad recipe with hearts of palm and tomatoes that is really good too!

I have found some really good potatoes au gratin recipes on foodtv website.

[Disney4us2]

I got this recipe from our recent camping trip. It was cooked in a dutch oven but can be baked in a regular oven. It is now one of our new family favorites.

This is an adaptable recipe and can be made to your taste and group size.

Ingredients: Potatoes, onion, garlic, little bit of salt or pepper optional, shreaded parmesan cheese (not canned), shreaded cheddar cheese, 1 stick butter or margarine.

Sautee chopped onion and minced garlic with 1 stick butter or margarine and set aside.

Slice the potatoes into thin slices. Layer the potatoes in a baking dish. Put the parmesan and cheddar cheese over the first layer and continue until all the potatoes are in the dish. Pour the onion/garlic mixture over the potatoes. The cheese will not be that gooey on the botton and the top layer of cheese will be golden brown and crispy. Bake at 350 for 1 hour.

For the three of us I use about 5 potatoes, 1/4 onion, 1/2 to 1 garlic bulb and 1 stick of margarine. The cheese can be as little or as much as you want to put in. I like it on the heavier side, especially with the parmesan cheese. The cheese I get is in the deli section is pre shreaded and ready to go. I get mine from Fresh and Easy.

The taste is incredible

[GA girl]

Hot and cold are good. I can make more than one.
These all sound so yummy. Now I'm starving.
We are having a rainy day in Georgia, and all I have done at work today is look at recipes on the internet.

[vicster]

Love, love, love Georgia - use to live in Columbus. Here's a good one I got out of Food Network Magazine.

Corn Chowder Salad:

2 tsp. olive oil
3 slices bacon, cut crosswise into 1-inch pcs.
1/2 lb. Yukon gold or red potatoes, peeled and diced
1 red bell pepper, cut into 1/2-inch squares
Salt
3 cups thawed frozen or fresh corn kernels
1 small red onion, halved and thinly sliced
2 tbsp. cider vinegar or rice vinegar
Crushed red pepper flakes

Cook bacon in hot oil in lg. skillet for 5 mins. until crispy. Remove bacon and drain on paper towel. Cook potatoes in 2 tbsp. bacon drippings for 5 mins. or until golden brown. Add red bell pepper and salt to taste; cook 5 mins or until vegetables are tender. Add cornk cook 3 to 5 mins or until hot. Toss corn mixture in a bowl with onion, vinegar, bacon, salt and crushed red pepper to taste. Serve warm or chilled.

Enjoy!

[Janmac]

I made this last spring out of desperation because a certain new family member will only eat carrots. And only cooked carrots. (We love raw carrots - who cooks carrots!?!)

Anyway, I got this from an old Better Homes and Gardens recipe book, like from the 50s. The recipe is deceptively simple- the result is delicious.

Herbed Carrots

2 tablespoons each butter and water
1 teaspoon sugar
4 cups quartered carrots (I used sliced)

Combine in heavy sauscepan, cover tightly, cook over low heat 15 to 20 minutes. Season to taste. Don't drain.
Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon snipped parsely and 1/4 teaspoon dried whole tarragon, crushed.

Not having either of the parsely or tarragon and figuring best to leave them off anyway, I didn't put them in (guess we had UnHerbed Carrots). No matter. The carrots were great. I couldn't believe they were cooked that quickly.

It's a nice side dish that sort of takes care of itself off to the side while you finish up everything else.

Jan

[diz_girl]

One that I like is nothing fancy, just some sauteed vegetables. I julienne some carrots, zucchini and yellow squash, sautee them in olive oil and minced garlic until tender. That's it. You need to cook the carrots by themselves a bit before you add the other veggies, as the carrots take longer to cook. Even my Dad who dislikes most veggies likes this recipe. The recipe seems more sophisticated than it really is, because you julienne the veggies instead of chop them.

[eandrsmom]

This is really easy and I always get rave reviews.

DEATH BY CHOCOLATE

1 large package of instant chocolate pudding prepared according to directions

1 "Family size" box of brownie mix prepared according to directions. Cut the brownies into bite-sized squares

1 Small container of Cool Whip thawed according to directions

8 Heath of Skor candy bars crushed into tiny pieces


In a trifle bowl, layer half of the brownies, half of the pudding, half of the Cool Whip, and half of the candy. Repeat. Cover and refrigerate for two hours. Very easy, pretty, and really good!