Veggie Sides

I missed my recipe last week, but in my defense I was out of town for the better part of the week…and that’s my only excuse.  So here’s a recipe to make up for last week, and I'm planning to post another later this week.  In my book, that will still keep me at a recipe a week.  :)  And have you noticed my new white, square plates?!  They were a Xmas gift from mother-in-law, and I think they make my food photos look so much nicer…I love them!

I cooked a bone-in ham a few weeks ago for the first time.  I’m not going to bother with that “recipe,” because I did nothing but follow exactly what the plastic wrap on the ham told me to do (325 degrees F for 10-12 minutes per pound of ham).  But I thought I would share the sides I made to go with the ham.  These are very basic veggie side dishes that you could put with just about any meal, and you can definitely change up all the amounts of ingredients to your own tastes…in fact, I don’t even give measurements here on my mashed potato recipe, because I have no clue what I do (and this time I was just scraping the bottoms of containers for whatever was left in them).

Colorful!

Glazed Carrots

Ingredients

4 large carrots - washed and cut into bite-size pieces

1 tbsp butter

1 tbsp brown sugar

Instructions

1)  Steam carrots to desired softness.

2)  Melt butter and sugar in pan, add carrots and sauté until evenly coated.

Brussel Sprouts with Garlic

Ingredients

1 lb (I think) Brussel sprouts - washed, trimmed and cut in half

2 tbsp olive oil

4 large garlic cloves, minced

Salt & pepper to taste (optional)

Instructions

1)  Heat oil in pan over medium heat, add garlic and sauté for a minute or two. 

2)  Add brussel sprouts cut sides down, also add salt and pepper if desired.  Sauté for a few minutes, until cut side is just starting to brown, then stir sprouts around (not worrying about what side is down).  Cover pan with lid and continue to cook until you reach desired softness (I prefer mine crunchier, Squatch prefers his a bit mushier).

Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients

Potatoes, washed and cut into small pieces

Whole garlic cloves

Milk

Sour cream

Butter

Parmesan cheese

Fresh or dried herbs of your choice (basil, oregano, parsley, chives, etc…)

Salt & pepper

Instructions

1)  Boil potatoes and garlic cloves in large pot of salted water, until potatoes are very soft.

2)  Drain water from pot, then add milk, sour cream, butter and parmesan cheese.  Mash with a potato masher or hand-held electric mixer.  Mix in herbs and salt & pepper.

enjoy!

 ~ j