Corn, peas, green beans…repeat. Sometimes I feel that’s how my side dishes go. A bit boring and far too routine! So I set out looking for a couple new recipes to add to my menu. These are simple and delicious – tastes special enough to bump up any weekday menu.
These are a twist on a baked potato. They are similar to potato skins. To make them you cut a potato in quarters and place in a muffin cup sprayed with cooking spray. Add a pat of butter in the middle of each potato. I sprayed the outside of the potato with the cooking spray, then sprinkled on coarse salt. Bake for 55 minutes at 350 degrees. I served them with spicy ketchup. Yum!!
If you had a group of people to feed, this would be a great way to bake and serve potatoes. You could set a whole tin of these on the buffet and each person would serve themselves easily.
For a bread/vegetable to go along with Taco Soup, I made this delicious, moist Mexican Cornbread. The recipe starts with Jiffy cornbread mix, but the texture is different than traditional cornbread. It’s very moist, thanks to the creamed corn and sour cream additions. Here’s the whole recipe-
Mexican cornbread
Ingredients
- 8.5 ounce box of Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 cup cream style corn
- ½ cup green chiles
- ¾ cup shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F, and butter an 8” x 8” casserole dish.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk eggs until frothy. Slowly whisk in the melted butter until combined. Add the sour cream, cream style corn and green chiles, and stir with a wooden spoon until combined.
- Stir in Jiffy mix until blended. Fold in the shredded cheese.
- Pour the cornbread batter into the prepared casserole and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until cornbread is set and golden brown on top.Test the cornbread by inserting a knife or toothpick into the center. It should come out clean.
- Allow to cool for 10 minutes before slicing into individual slices. Serve warm or at room temperature.
This is a great side for soups, but would also be a perfect addition to taco salad, or even a plain meat dish like meatloaf.
One last recipe I’ll share isn’t really a side dish, but a topper – Pickled red onions. These are wonderful for tacos, sandwiches, rice bowls, etc. It’s a wonderful condiment! I have shared a recipe in the past but this one is better, so it’s out with the old and in with the new!
Pickled Red Onions
1 cup white vinegar
1 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
Heat these three ingredients in a saucepan until the sugar is dissolved.
Fill a Mason jar with thinly sliced red onions. Add peppercorns ( I used mustard seeds), bay leaf, garlic etc. Pour vinegar mixture over onions. Refrigerate for up to one month.
Refresh up your menu with a few new sides!
RefreshHer 