Non-Dog Related

Re: Side Dish Ideas (mrstjohnson)

Sunshinegirl — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 03:01:03 GMT

I make a salad with most of the above ingredients, but also add bow-tie pasta, pine nuts and balsamic vinegar. So good..........

Re: Side Dish Ideas (mrstjohnson)

fuzzy_dogs_mom — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 23:43:12 GMT

I know for this particular event tomatoes would be an issue, but one of my favorite things to toss together is a couple of cartons of grape tomatoes, an equal amount of mozarella balls, some pitted calamata olives, snipped basil and olive oil.

Joyce

Re: Side Dish Ideas (mrstjohnson)

RidgebackGermansShep — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 04:56:44 GMT

I love grilled zucchini and squash with burgers. I normally just slice them, put them in tin foil with a little butter and pepper and put them on the grill for about 45 minutes.

Re: Side Dish Ideas (mrstjohnson)

Sunshinegirl — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 04:05:46 GMT

Sorry - I ended up working all day and just saw this. Here is the recipe, the amounts are approximate, so use your judgement and taste:

Fresh roasted garlic - 2 - 3 heads depending on how much you like garlic. Preheat oven to 400. Remove most of the papery covering from each head of garlic. Cut just the top off of each (head) of garlic, place cut side up on a piece of foil. Drizzle lightly w/olive oil over each bulb. Pull foil up around garlic and twist tightly. Place on cookie sheet in oven for 35-40 minutes. You don't want the garlic to be too mushy for this recipe. *You can cook longer for a paste for spreading on bread, etc. Remove from oven and cool. It will keep in the fridge for up to a month. I usually make mine in advance, but you don't have to. Ingredients:

1 box orzo pasta - use about 3/4 of the box, this makes a lot

1 large (normal sized - 14 oz??) can black olives (slice them to your liking)

1 large can green peas drained

1 8 oz. pkg julienned sun dried tomatoes cut into smaller pieces, not too small, you want to really taste this in each bite

1 bunch green onion chopped (green only) use less if you like less onion, the taste strengthens over night

Olive oil (extra virgin preferrably)

pepper (I like fresh cracked)

salt

Cook orzo as directed - I have a special sieve to drain it or else it goes down the drain - put the sieve in a strainer, pour cooked pasta in and rinse w/cold water while gently stirring. Transfer rinsed orzo to a large bowl (leaving room for the other ingredients). Depending on the size of your sieve, you may have to do it in a couple of batches, like I do.

Add all other ingredients, (stirring as you go) saving olive oil, salt & pepper for last.

**To remove roasted garlic bulbs you can squeeze them out or use a knife to help get them out, mainly using your fingers. You can cut up the bulbs,but I prefer them whole like they do at Harry's Continental Kitchen. If you love garlic, this is the way to go. MMMMMMM!! Toss all garlic bulbs in.

Lastly, add olive oil - I never measure this because I think it is a personal taste. I use quite a bit, the tomatoes will absorb some of the oil and you may need to add a little more the next day. Just start out slow, gently stirring after each addition and keep tasting - that's the best part!! Same w/salt and pepper - it just depends on how much you like.

This is one of my favorite salads ever. I've thought about adding cooked shrimp just before serving, you could also add chicken or whatever you like. Next time I make it I may try a little balsamic viniagrette and baby mozzarella balls.

Enjoy! If any of you make this let me know how you like it!!

Re: Side Dish Ideas (mrstjohnson)

mrstjohnson — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 03:05:04 GMT

cakana:

Lisa - I promise that I'm not trying to be a pain but when my dad had diverticulitis, tomatoes were off limits unless they were seeded AND peeled. Hopefully that isn't an issue for your mom but it just popped into my head. The salad sounds delicious.

Cathy - Good point and yep I peeled them!

Re: Side Dish Ideas (mrstjohnson)

cakana — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 02:46:19 GMT

Lisa - I promise that I'm not trying to be a pain but when my dad had diverticulitis, tomatoes were off limits unless they were seeded AND peeled. Hopefully that isn't an issue for your mom but it just popped into my head. The salad sounds delicious.

Re: Side Dish Ideas (mrstjohnson)

mrstjohnson — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 01:45:12 GMT

Well, I ended up making an orzo pasta salad with fresh mozzarella, basil, and roasted tomatoes (seeds cleaned out). It's sitting in the fridge soaking up the vinegar and olive oil salad dressing I made. I will probably have to add more salad dressing tomorrow. I haven't added the basil yet since it will get brown and yucky by tomorrow so I will add it right before.

Thanks for the suggestions, they got by brain working!

Re: Side Dish Ideas (mrstjohnson)

Cita — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 16:37:16 GMT

You can make a pesto without the pine nuts - IMO it's not quite as good, but you can always have finely-ground pine nuts on the side for people to put on top, if they so desire! Especially if you add some good cheese, like a parmesean or romano, it's still quite tasty nut-free.

Re: Side Dish Ideas (mrstjohnson)

the_gopher — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 13:25:48 GMT

I make potato salad with a package of ranch dressing dry mix, red potatoes, cooked scallions, black pepper, paprika and if I'm not bringing this dish where there will be vegetarians I'll added crumbled cooked bacon.

It's always a big hit and easy to make.

Re: Side Dish Ideas (mrstjohnson)

mrstjohnson — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 11:40:55 GMT

alieliza:
I would love to see the recipe for the orzo salad!

Me too! I love orzo!!!

Re: Side Dish Ideas (mrstjohnson)

alieliza — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 02:10:17 GMT

I would love to see the recipe for the orzo salad!

Re: Side Dish Ideas (mrstjohnson)

Sunshinegirl — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 01:51:53 GMT

I have a fantastic recipe for orzo salad that comes from Harry's Continental Kitchen, a restaurant on Longboat Key Florida. The salad is so delicious, you can eat it alone or as a side dish. I make it and take it to the beach with me. It's not too difficult to make and if you like garlic, it's the dish for you. If you want the recipe let me know and I'll post it here.

Re: Side Dish Ideas (mrstjohnson)

mrstjohnson — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 00:42:26 GMT

I love the pesto pasta salad idea; however, pesto has pine nuts and she can't have nuts either (I keep telling her she's being a PITA - don't worry she knows I am kidding and we joke about it all the time). I might make my taco dip as an appetizer - just have to figure out or find flour chips (she can't have corn chps). Normally I would just make some from scratch, but for a dip I don't think they would hold up.

I was thinking potato salad...if anyone has a recipe for a good one without eggs (hardboiled) I would love it! DH hates hard boiled eggs in his potato salad...at this rate I am just going to open a bag of Lays and dip and call it a day! LOL

Re: Side Dish Ideas (mrstjohnson)

fuzzy_dogs_mom — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 23:55:03 GMT

I love Callie's idea since pesto sauce is one of my all time faves. Pasta salad doesn't require raw fruits or veggies unless you choose to put some in there. Not being particularly handy in the kitchen *ahem* I buy the big jars of pesto (22 oz. for about $7 at Costco) and just put it into smaller containers to freeze.

Joyce

Re: Side Dish Ideas (mrstjohnson)

NicoleS — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 22:43:46 GMT

Taco dip!

I make a taco dip with cream cheese, sour cream and taco seasoning, layered with salsa, tomatoes, cheese, lettuce, etc and served with tortilla chips. Pretty easy to make (though sometimes the ingredients are a wee bit pricy for a simple dish) but everyone loves it.

If you want the "real" recipe you can PM me but I think I used two bricks cream cheese, half a container of sour cream and maybe 1/4 cup taco seasoning or so.... but if you're good at cooking you should be fine :)