Category: Side dish

Make-Ahead · Side dish

Easter Dinner Recap

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Wow! What a special Easter week this was! Good Friday’s service was such a blessing as we were reminded of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross in our place. Then Sunday we rejoiced and worshiped and sang and had sweet fellowship with our church family as well as our physical family.

After our morning service we gathered in our home with our girls and their families, and also some dear friends. My daughters and I collaborated on the meal, and it was so much fun to work together and put out a spread we all enjoyed. Here’s the menu:

Glazed Ham
Gourmet Potatoes
Corn Saute’
Green Salad with peaches and Craisins
Deviled Eggs
Cheddar Biscuits
Coconut Cake ~ Chocolate Fudge Pie

My contribution was the cake, ham and potatoes. These Gourmet potatoes have a long history in our family. They are perfect for a busy meal because they are all made up ahead of time and then just slid into the oven to bake for 30 minutes.

Gourmet Potatoes
6 medium potatoes
2 C shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 C butter
1 1/2 C sour cream (I used light)
1/3 C chopped onion
1 t. salt
paprika

Peel the potatoes. Leave them whole. Cook in boiling water ’til tender. Cool.
Shred potatoes coarsely. In medium-sized saucepan, melt butter and cheese. Stir ’til melted. Remove from heat; blend in sour cream, onions and salt. Fold in potatoes and pour into a 2 qt. casserole dish.
Sprinkle with paprika on top. Refrigerate overnight. Bake @ 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

The meal was all so good, and it was such a blessing having help with the meal. What fun it was to work together in the kitchen with my girls.

Teach your daughters to cook! It is so rewarding! Do you enjoy having help while you’re cooking? Have you taught your daughters to cook, too? I’d love ot hear!

My pictures on my site here are still an issue, so please go to my Instagram ~ Refreshherblog and you’ll find pictures of our Easter dinner and celebration. If you’re not following me on Instagram, what are you waiting for? It’s where I post most often! You can click to Instagram by scrolling all the way down to the bottom of the page if you are reading on your phone. Look for the camera icon for Instagram.


Around our Table
Appetizer · Brunch · entertaining · main dish · Sandwich · Side dish

Around our Table

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We are traditionalists on most holidays. The same foods are usually served each year on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. But you know what? Sometimes it’s really fun to break out of that “mold” and do something completely different! That’s what happened this year.

My daughter hosted us for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day and she and her sister did all the food. Not only did I not contribute to the meal, I wasn’t allowed to lift a finger. That was a gift in itself. They are the sweetest.

Here are the meals they planned and prepared.

Christmas Eve night, they had all appetizers. (BTW, This would make a great menu for New Year’s Eve, too!)

From Monte Cristo Sliders, Chicken sliders (something like these), Cocktail Wieners and Pizza Dip it was a delicious spread.

We had a mid-morning brunch on Christmas morning. The egg casserole Whitney made was a.maz.ing! It had all the brunchy feels to it and balanced out the sweetness of the Pioneer Woman Cinnamon Rolls that Alli and her husband made! What a way to start the day!

Here was the menu for supper
Steak with Texas Roadhouse seasoning, and Crispy Onion Straws
Roasted potatoes with Blue Cheese
Caesar Salad

Learn from a 5-year old how to eat a cookie. Fill your plate with your favorites. Look carefully at the cookie to decide which corner to attack first. Then go in and nibble away until completely devoured!

After church yesterday we were blessed to host everyone for Sunday dinner. It was very impromptu, but I made a simple meal everyone loves – Soup beans and cornbread. I used the simple recipe I’ve shared here. This is such a great meal for ease and for comfort. I served it with roasted potatoes, cornbread, and cooked apples. Even our little guys love this meal.

All these meals were great, yes, but the best part was sitting around the table as a family, thanking the Lord, chatting, laughing, listening, watching, loving, caring and serving. That’s what mealtime is all about.

Plan something simple this week and invite others to join around your table. Eat slowly. Make conversation. Serve them. Love them. There’s nothing that tastes any better!

What kind of foods did your family share over Chrismtas?

Green Beans with Caramelized Onions
Side dish

Green Beans with Caramelized Onions

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I am a Southern green bean girl! That means I like my green beans cooked through so they’re soft with a little of the fat hugging each bean, meaning there’s great flavor with each bite!

When I saw a recipe on Weight Watchers for green beans, I was a little skeptical, but thought it was worth a try. The result? A.Maz.Ing side dish!! The caramelized onions give this dish tremendous flavor! I did cook my green beans a little longer than the recipe says, because I didn’t want them to be crispy-tender – I wanted them cooked through. You can choose your cooking time to suit your liking, of course!

But whatever you do, you need to give these a try! You’ll feel like you pulled out one of your “special event” recipes! We’ve had them several times since I discovered them, and I truly think I could eat them every week and not mind it all!

Green Beans with Caramelized Onions

1 tsp Olive oil

1 Tbl. Sugar

16 oz. Frozen pearl onion(s)

16 oz, or whole green beans Frozen cut green beans

2 Tbsp, fresh, chopped Dill

1/2 tsp able salt

1/4 tsp Black pepper

Instructions

  1. Heat oil and sugar together in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and sauté until tender and golden brown, stirring frequently, about 10 minutes.
  2. Add green beans and cook until crisp-tender, stirring frequently, about 3 minutes.
  3. Remove from heat and stir in dill, salt and pepper. Yields about 1/2 cup per serving.

These are only 1 point on all WW plans! By the way, I’d encourage you, if you’re seeking to lose some weight, check Weight Watchers out! They offer free starts all the time. It’s such a great plan to follow because it’s a change of eating that becomes a habit and way of life. You eat normal foods and can eat all the good things! It’s been one year now since my husband and I started the plan and we have maintained our weight, even with some indulgences for special celebrations! I get no kick-back – I just want to help you! You can join for as little as just under $4 a month!

I’m curious – are you a Southern green bean girl, too? Or do you like the beans just warmed up a little?

The Fastest Way to Make Oven-Roasted Potatoes
Fast meal · Side dish

The Fastest Way to Make Oven-Roasted Potatoes

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See those crispy brown potatoes at the top of the picture? Read on!

I love discovering helpful tricks in the kitchen. I don’t mean like putting a rubber band around the spray nozzle and soaking the next user, I mean tricks that help me get a delicious homemade meal on the table in record time! When potatoes are on the supper menu, it can be tricky to get them cooked if you are pressed for time.

My husband and I love oven-roasted potatoes, but they can take 25-30 minutes to get done. I recently discovered a super-fast way to make them. We all know the microwave cooks things faster, but I don’t always love the texture of foods cooked that way. The technique I’m going to share starts off with the microwave, but ends in the oven.

Here’s how to make these crispy, golden potatoes in record time ~

  1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Prep a baking sheet with cooking spray.
  2. Cut your potatoes to whatever shape you’re wanting – diced, wedges or into fries.
  3. Place the potatoes into a dish that allows you to steam. I have a pot from Pampered Chef that works perfectly. Don’t over-crowd the potatoes. Using a dish big enough to let them cook. The more potatoes, obviously the longer they’ll take to cook.
  4. I don’t add any liquid at all!
  5. I place my 1 quart size container in the microwave and cook on high for 5 minutes. Potatoes should be soft, but not mushy.
  6. Put potatoes on the baking sheet, Season potatoes as desired. Place in oven and roast for about 10 minutes, or until golden and tender. Or you can cook them on the stovetop in a skillet coated with cooking spray and/or a little olive oil.
This is the updated version of the pot I have and love.

Crispy, delicious potatoes can be on the table much faster with this 2-step method of microwaving and browning. I hope this trick is as helpful to you as it has been for me!

If you need mashed potatoes done easily here’s my best tip for those!

Appetizer · Side dish

Creamy Homemade Hummus

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Creamy hummus. I learned to love it when we went to Israel. Not only does it taste great as a dip, it actually has lots of good health benefits. I had only purchased it in the store until I recently watched Girl meets Farm on Discovery plus. She made the process look easy…and it really is! It’s a little time consuming, but most of that time is just letting the Chick peas soak overnight! There is very little hands-on time! (I have some lovely pictures of my hummus that I hope I’ll get to finally upload for you to see how creamy this recipe turned out!. In the meantime you can go to my Instagram and see my pictures there. You’ll find me at RefreshHerblog.)

Like any recipe, one benefit of making it yourself is that you can control all the ingredients, adding what you like. The other blessing is the cost. As I figured it, it was at least half the cost of purchasing it, and maybe even a third! This recipe cost me about $3 total and it made a huge bowl of hummus!

My notes: The recipe calls for one cup of chickpeas – I went ahead and cooked the whole bag at one time, then I froze the other half so the next time I need hummus, the chick peas will be ready to process!
This is a basic recipe that needs a little flavor. Adding a sprinkling of paprika on top is good, or adding in sun-dried tomatoes or roasted red peppers would also be good additions!

Here’s the recipe from Girl Meets Farm ~

Creamy Homemade Hummus

Ingredients

1 cup dried chickpeas

1/2 teaspoon baking soda 

3/4 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste 

1 tablespoon lemon juice 

1/2 cup tahini 

2 cloves garlic, optional 

1/4 cup cold water 

Olive oil, for serving 

Finely chopped onion (for topping) or onion wedges (for dipping) 

Chopped fresh parsley, for serving

Fresh pita, for serving

Directions

  1. In a medium bowl, cover the chickpeas with enough water to reach 2 inches above the height of the chickpeas and soak them for 12 hours.
  2. Drain and rinse the chickpeas and place them in a large saucepan with the baking soda and 1/2 teaspoon of the salt. Cover them with 1 to 2 inches water and bring the water to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low, cover the pot and simmer until the chickpeas are very soft, about 2 hours. Drain them, let them cool slightly and then transfer to a food processor.

Add the lemon juice, tahini, 1/4 teaspoon salt and the garlic, if using, and blend until very smooth, about 1 minute. With the motor running, drizzle in the water and continue to blend for 1 more minute. Taste and add additional salt to taste. Transfer to a serving dish and top with a drizzle of olive oil and some chopped onion and parsley. Serve with fresh pita and onion wedges and enjoy

You can serve hummus with vegetables or dip pita bread in it. I found lots of recipes using hummus here. If you haven’t tried it, I encourage you to try it with the veggies and then branch out.

Are you a hummus lover?