Recipes to go with meals

I am pretty good at making main courses. Sides are another story. Normally, I make a potato (baked, boiled, mashed or fried) and heat up a frozen veggie. It's getting a little boring. I'm working hard to make different side dishes or spruce up veggies. Here are a couple.

Spanish Rice (way better than out of the box)

I was looking for a recipe to go with enchiladas. This tastes really good. I found it on cafemom.com

1 tsp salt

1 clove garlic, minced

3 Tbsp olive oil

1 cup uncooked rice (I use Jasmine rice)

2 cups chicken broth (I use 14 oz can and add water as needed)

1/2 cup tomato paste

1/4 cup chopped green pepper

1/2 cup chopped onion

1. Heat oil. Add rice and cook until golden.

2. Add & sauté onion, bell pepper, and garlic.

3. Add Salt, tomato and broth in blender.

4. Add to rice, cook until tender and liquid is absorbed.

5. Cooking time is 20 minutes over low heat. I let it sit for about an hour to make sure the rice gets done.

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Golden Sauce

My husband gave me this book for our anniversary. It has lots of interesting health tips. I tried this over broccoli this week. Would be good over pasta or any vegetable. Good alternative to butter.

3/4 cup cooked potato (I used 2 small)

1 medium carrot, cooked

1 1/3 cup water

2 Tbsp cashews (I used raw cashews)

3/4 tsp salt

1 Tbsp lemon juice

1. Boil potato and carrot until cooked.

2. Blend all ingredients in blender.

3. Heat either on stove or microwave. Since I had cooked the potato and carrot it was already hot.

*We received the Vita Mix blender as a gift. Works great!

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Sweet Corn on the Cob

I have used this recipe from Betty Crocker for years and works perfect every time. Granted you get good corn.

4 ears of corn

1 Tbs sugar

1 Tbs lemon juice (optional)

*never add sugar that toughens the corn*

1. Place ears in cold water in large pot.

2. Add sugar and lemon juice.

3. Bring to boil. Boil uncovered for 2 minutes.

4. Remove from heat and let stand uncovered for 10 minutes before serving.