side dish
As you know having a family member that has to be gluten free and dairy free can be difficult. This is more difficult during the holidays when the food is a little more extravagant. More filled with heavy cream, cheese and so much more. The usual potatoes I make are filled with butter, heavy cream and cream cheese! Robby cannot have any of that so I wanted to find a mashed potato recipe that not only he could eat but also taste really good. I found a couple of recipes on Pinterest and combined both things I liked with the two recipes and the outcome was delicious. Not just for Robby, but for us too and not filled with all the fat my usual holiday potatoes have! I use a potato ricer to get the potatoes super creamy, no lumps in my potatoes!
INGREDIENTS
3 pounds of yellow flesh potatoes, peeled and cut into two-inch pieces
1 cup of potato cooking water- don’t forget to save it before you drain potatoes.
2 teaspoon salt
Fresh ground pepper to taste
A drizzle of garlic infused olive oil
DIRECTIONS
Place peeled and cut potatoes in a large pot and cover with cold water by a couple inches. Add two teaspoons of salt to the water. Bring to a boil and cook for 12-15 minutes or until potatoes are tender enough for a knife to easily slide in and out.
Save a cup of the cooking water before draining. Drain potatoes and return them to the cooking pot over medium heat tossing them for a minute or so until they are dry. Mash the potatoes or remove them from the heat and use a potato ricer. Add 6 tablespoons of good olive oil and stir through. Thin potatoes with water a little bit at a time until you are happy with the consistency. Season to taste with salt and pepper and lightly drizzle with garlic infused olive oil. Use this sparingly as it packs a lot of flavors. Serve warm.
Enjoy!
I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Time seems to be going much too fast these days. We had a really nice Thanksgiving at our house with family, friends and some delicious food from start to finish. Needless to say, I went to bed tired and stuffed from the day but that was okay with me as I could take the next couple days off! No Black Friday shopping for me but watch out cyber Monday!
So this is another Taste of Home recipe that has been gaining a lot of attention and I can see why! Although this recipe calls for steaming the fresh green beans I turned it into a one-pot dish by using the frozen green beans in the steam bags and putting my microwave into action. I did not put the bourbon in just because I did not have any. This is a simple tasty dish, great for any holiday side dish. It will be making a second presence on my table at Christmas. This dish is perfect to make while the turkey rests!
INGREDIENTS
3 cups fresh green beans or 2 bags of frozen green beans in the steamable bags
1 large onion chopped
4 bacon strips cut into 1-inch strips
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 Tablespoon bourbon-optional
DIRECTIONS
In a large saucepan, place steamer basket over 1 inch of water. Place beans in the basket. Bring water to a boil. Reduce heat to maintain a low boil, steam, covered until crisp-tender. 4-5 minutes. Or do what I did and buy the frozen bags, steam according to the package.
Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook onion and bacon over medium heat until the bacon has crisped through. Drain bacon fat if necessary. Add the cranberries, syrup, salt, pepper, and bourbon, if desired. Add beans to the bacon-onion mixture heating through and tossing to combine. Remove from heat and serve warm.
Enjoy!
Are you looking for something different to try with your tomatoes? This is a fast delicious side dish or even just an afternoon snack. You can make the dressing in advance and keep in the refrigerator until you are ready to eat. This is a dish that will really brighten up your dinner plate with all the herbs.
INGREDIENTS
6 medium tomatoes, cut into wedges
2/3 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1/4 cup snipped fresh parsley
1/2 cup sliced green onions
1 clove of garlic, minced
2 Tablespoons mayonnaise
1 teaspoon dill weed
1 teaspoon dried basil
Salt
Pepper
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
DIRECTIONS
Place the tomato wedges in a large bowl. Place the remaining ingredients in a blender. Cover and process until blended. Pour over tomatoes and gently toss.
Enjoy!
I told you about the Lobster Rangoon’s we ate while in Old Orchard Beach Maine a couple weeks ago, well I knew I had to make them when I got home. Although I did air fry them you can certainly deep fry them or bake them as well. The lobster in Rangoon’s in Maine were diced up fairly thin but although I too diced my lobster I tried to keep it as chunky as I could but still being able to fit in in the wrapper. Jim took a bite of one and said the entire inside was one big chunk of lobster. I’m not toatally sure if that’s good or bad but I do know they were really good. I served these with the option on sauce. Either a sweet chili sauce to add a little bit of heat to the dish or a sweet duck sauce. I preferred the duck sauce but Jim liked the sweet chili sauce. These would be great in the summer as an appetizer or for a holiday party!
INGREDIENTS
Makes 20 Rangoon’s
6-8 ounces of cream cheese, room temperature
The meatbof 2 lobster tails, cooked through and chopped
1 teaspoon Worcester sauce
1 Tablspoon scallions, chopped and using just the green part
1 teaspoon lemon zest
Rangoon wrappers
Water
Olive oil
Sweet chili sauce for serving-optional
Duck sauce for serving – optional
DIRECTIONS
In a medium bowl mix the cream cheese, cooked lobster, Worcester sauce, scallions and lemon zest well to combine. Using one Rangoon wrapper at a time place about 1 Tablspoon of the filling in the center of the wrapper. Using your finger wet two of the sides of the wrapper with water to help the side stick together.
Press the sides of the wrapper together forming a triangle and press firmly to close the entire Rangoon as you don’t want the filling to come out when frying. Do this for each wrapper.
When you are ready to fry pre heat your air fryer to 400 degrees, place the Rangoon’s in the fryer not overlapping them, spritz with olive oil and cook for 4 minutes, turn them over , spritz again and cook for an additional 3-4 minutes. Remove from fryer and continue frying the rest in batches.
Serve with sweet chili sauce or duck sauce.
To Bake- pre heat oven to four hundred. Spritz Rangoon’s with olive oil and bake for 4 minutes, turn them over, spritz and bake until your desired crispness, about 3-4 more minutes.
Enjoy!
I found this recipe on Food Network and have made it multiple times as it has quickly become a family favorite. I made them in the air fryer but will give the directions for oven roasted as well. This is a great gluten-free side dish for all of your gluten-free friends or in my case, our son Robby. Robby has been known to take seconds and even thirds of this dish so I always make plenty!
INGREDIENTS
2 pounds potatoes, diced- I used the small gold potatoes
1 cup of mayonnaise
1/4 cup white vinegar
1 Tablespoon paprika
2 teaspoons sugar
Salt
Pepper
Olive oil
for garnish-optional
FOR THE OVEN METHOD YOU WILL NEED
2 Tablespoons unsalted Butter
(Second picture are the potatoes before sauce went on)
DIRECTIONS
Place the diced potatoes in a bowl and drizzle with enough olive oil to coat them. Transfer them to the air fryer and fry at 400 degrees for 18 minutes stirring half way through. Keep in mind air fryers vary in size and temp. While the potatoes are frying you can make the sauce by combining the mayonnaise, white vinegar, paprika, and sugar in a small bowl and mix well. When the potatoes are done transfer them to a serving dish, season with salt and pepper and stir. Add the sauce and stir again until well combined. Add chives if desired. Serve immediately.
BAKED VERSION
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil, add the potatoes until slightly tender 4-6 minutes depending on the size of potatoes. Drain and pat dry.
Scatter the potatoes on a baking sheet, season with salt and pepper, drizzle with melted butter and toss to coat using tongs. Roast until dark brown and crispy 30 -45 minutes stirring half way through.
Make the dressing as directed as above and add to the potatoes when they are done roasting in the oven and transfer to a serving bowl.
Enjoy!
