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Top 5 Sides for the Holidays

Jaren — Mon, 21 Nov 2022 12:00:55 +0000

Top 5 Sides for the Holidays -These side dish recipes are perfect for all your holiday gatherings!

I get asked all the time what are my go-to side dishes for the holidays. Well, folks these 5 recipes are the tried and true around here. They are the dishes that I can’t wait to make all year, so a lot of times they make another appearance!

Up first is this Layered Salad. It’s first for a reason folks. It is pretty much a no-brainer that I will be making it for Thanksgiving. I love it because I make it the night before, which cuts down on stress. I use all green vegetables in mine too: iceberg, green bell pepper, green onions, cucumber, celery, and frozen green peas. These are all topped with an easy ranch dressing I make, shredded cheese, and bacon pieces.

Up next, I love this Baked Potato Casserole. It’s not just a perfect holiday side, it makes a wonderful side for steak night and barbecue. It’s truly a winning recipe. The recipe doesn’t exactly have traditional baked potato ingredients, but I promise all you baked potato lovers will love it! I also have a slow cooker version as well!

We are corn people in my family, so it is no wonder I’ve included this Corn and Zucchini Casserole. Corn side dishes will always make an appearance. This recipe is one of my favorites because it has a little zucchini in there too! It’s a cornbread stuffed with all kinds of buttery goodness! I have an Instagram Reel making this one here!

Love this cheesy oniony recipe! This Vidalia Onion Cornbread is great as muffins, but also makes a great 9 x 9 dish. It’s got a few special touches like sautéed onions and sour cream that make this recipe so great! If you are feeding a crowd, I would double the recipe. I have little reel of this one too!

Okay, now these Cranberry Cups are perfect for all those that have not really been fans of the can stuff in the past. I promise this recipe is so much better!! It has strawberry jello folks! Plus, we add in a little pineapple and use the whole berry sauce. It’s not the holidays without them!

I’ll be back tomorrow with my Top 5 Desserts!!!

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Easy Creole Coleslaw

Jaren — Sun, 05 Sep 2021 18:01:42 +0000

Easy Creole Coleslaw – This quick and easy coleslaw is packed with Cajun Creole flavors and only takes a few ingredients to make!

Y’all know I love sharing family recipes with you, and this Easy Creole Coleslaw comes from my momma. She always made a quick coleslaw like this that we would eat with fried fish, fried shrimp, and grilled meats.

I always have just about everything to make it and usually just grab a head of cabbage or pre-shredded cabbage if I’m short on time…or just don’t feel like exerting too much energy in the kitchen. It’s only 5 ingredients that really pack a punch of flavor too!

What do you need to make this Easy Creole Coleslaw?

cabbage (green and purple, or just green if you’d like)
shredded carrots
creole seasoning
Italian dressing
mayo

Let me know if you give it a try!! Find the recipe below!

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Easy Creole Coleslaw

Easy Creole Coleslaw - This quick and easy coleslaw is packed with Cajun Creole flavors and only takes a few ingredients to make!

Ingredients

1 head of green cabbage, thinly sliced and chopped
1/4 head of purple cabbage, thinly sliced and chopped
1 cup shredded carrots
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup Italian salad dressing
1 tsp creole seasoning

Instructions

In a large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients and stir until thoroughly combined.
Refrigerate until ready to serve.

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Beer Battered Onion Rings

Jaren — Sat, 31 Jul 2021 14:31:07 +0000

Beer Battered Onion Rings – Homemade beer battered onion rings are super easy!! Plus, they only take a few ingredients to whip up at home!

I love onion rings. I order them when I feel like treating myself. They are just such a comfort food! These Beer Battered Onion Rings cannot get easier! The batter is made in one bowl with very few ingredients too.

I love the idea of not having to dirty all the things to make a batter. We fry these up in our little Fry Daddy for a nice treat on burger night sometimes and sometimes when we fry fish. Even our non-onion eating kids, eat these! Isn’t that funny how frying a vegetable makes them more appealing.

What do you need to make these onion rings?

vegetable oil for frying
yellow onion
all-purpose flour
baking powder
creole seasoning
12 oz. beer
salt

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Beer Battered Onion Rings

Beer Battered Onion Rings - Homemade beer battered onion rings are super easy!! Plus, they only take a few ingredients to whip up at home!

Ingredients

vegetable oil for frying
1 yellow onion, sliced in rings
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp creole seasoning
12 oz beer
salt

Instructions

Fill a deep fryer as directed with vegetable oil. Heat oil.
In a large bowl, mix flour, baking powder, creole seasoning. Stir in beer until combined.
Add and stir in onion rings to coat evenly.
Fry in batches until golden brown. Remove to a paper towel lined pan. Salt as you remove them from the oil. Serve warm.

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Cajun Fried Zucchini

Jaren — Mon, 05 Jul 2021 11:50:28 +0000

Cajun Fried Zucchini – This easy recipe uses one bowl to prep a delicious cold water Cajun batter. Serve them warm with your favorite ranch dressing!

We don’t fry a whole lot around here, but when we do we make it worth our while. And who doesn’t love a fried vegetable? Am I right? This Cajun Fried Zucchini made the perfect addition to our meal the other night!

Rather than making a traditional egg to flour batter, we used my family’s cold water batter recipe. It is super simple! I love that you mix it up all in one bowl and dip the zucchini in there. It makes the clean up a breeze!

This batter also works well for frying shrimp too! It’s definitely my favorite way to prepare them!

What do you need to make this Cajun Fried Zucchini?

zucchini
all purpose flour
1 egg
water with ice
vegetable oil
creole seasoning
ranch dressing for dipping

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Cajun Fried Zucchini

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

Cajun Fried Zucchini - This easy recipe uses one bowl to prep a delicious cold water Cajun batter. Serve them warm with your favorite ranch dressing!

Ingredients

2 zucchini, sliced into spears
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 egg
1 cup water with ice*
1/4 cup vegetable oil plus oil for frying
1 1/2 tsp creole seasoning
Ranch dressing for dipping

Instructions

Season zucchini spears with 1/2 tsp of creole seasoning.
In a large bowl, whisk flour, egg, oil, 1 tsp creole seasoning, and water (discard ice).
Stir in zucchini spears.
Add oil to fry daddy or skillet. If using skillet, you need enough oil to go about 1 1/2 to 2 in. up the side. Heat oil.
Fry zucchini spears until golden brown. Serve warm with ranch dressing.

Notes

*For the ice water, fill measuring cup with 1 cup of water and then add the ice to chill the water. Do not put the ice into the batter.

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Cranberry Cups

Jaren — Tue, 24 Nov 2020 11:51:49 +0000

Cranberry Cups – The perfect way to make cranberry sauce pleasing for everyone! This recipe uses strawberry jello and crushed pineapple to create a wonderful cranberry fruit salad in a muffin cup. These are great for individual servings!

These Cranberry Cups are a must for the holidays for our family! I’m not a fan of the traditional jellied cranberry, so when I tried these for the first time, I was super excited!

The combination of the strawberry jello and the pineapple make these a little sweeter, and they are always a hit. Some years, I even make the recipe in a casserole dish when I don’t have muffin cups.

These little suckers aren’t the easiest to photograph either. Those are FOIL muffin liners even though it is a little hard to tell from the photos. 😉

Tips for Making Cranberry Cups:

Use a small 3 oz box of strawberry jello.
You can leave the pecans out if you’d like.
This recipe can be put into a small casserole dish instead of individual muffin tins.
Use foil muffin liners.

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Cranberry Cups

Yield: 12

Cranberry Cups - The perfect way to make cranberry sauce pleasing for everyone! This recipe uses strawberry jello and crushed pineapple to create a wonderful cranberry fruit salad in a muffin cup. These are great for individual servings!

Ingredients

8 oz crushed pineapple, packed in juice
2 tbsp lemon juice
3 oz package strawberry jello mix
14 oz can whole berry cranberry sauce
1/4 cup chopped pecans
1/2 water

Instructions

In a bowl, drain pineapple juice and reserve the juice. Add juice to saucepan with water and lemon juice. Heat until boiling.
Remove from heat and add Jello and stir well to combine.
Break up cranberry sauce with a fork. Add cranberry sauce , pineapple, and pecans to Jello mixture and stir to combine.
Pour into foil muffin liners. Place liners in muffin tin to make them easy to store. Refrigerate for at least 2 to 4 hours until set.
Don't have muffin liners? This can also be poured into a small casserole dish to serve as well.

Other Holiday Sides You Might Like to Try:

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Easy Parmesan Ranch Pasta Salad

Jaren — Fri, 05 Jun 2020 14:22:45 +0000

Easy Parmesan Ranch Pasta Salad – This is a super quick and flavorful side dish recipe!

Need a quick throw together idea? This Easy Parmesan Ranch Pasta Salad is perfect! It’s almost not even a recipe. I take the easy way out and mix in our favorite store-bought ranch dressing and call it done and delicious!

It’s one of my favorite sides to make when we grill. I pretty much always have everything to make it, or at least I can improvise. My kids love it too, which is always nice when that happens.

Tips for making this recipe:

Use any kind of noodle. Macaroni, shells, bowtie, and penne all work great!
Not a fan of spinach? You can skip this or try iceberg lettuce.
I like to use Marie’s Creamy Ranch found in the produce section. It is our favorite go to for dipping veggies too!
It goes perfect with grilled meats like steak, chicken, and pork.

Easy Parmesan Ranch Pasta Salad

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes

Easy Parmesan Ranch Pasta Salad - This is a super quick and flavorful side dish recipe!

Ingredients

8 oz penne pasta
1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
1/4 cup ranch dressing*
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 chopped Roma tomato
1 cup baby spinach
1 small cucumber, peeled and chopped

Instructions

Boil penne pasta according to package directions. Drain and add to a medium sized bowl. Stir in parmesan, ranch dressing, salt, pepper, tomatoes, and spinach.
Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Notes

*I like to use a high quality ranch dressing like Marie's Creamy Ranch, which I find in the produce section.

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Other Great Sides You May Like:

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Best Ever Brussels

Jaren — Sat, 11 Apr 2020 11:59:36 +0000

Best Ever Brussels – Take your brussels sprouts to the next level with soy sauce, balsamic capers, butter, and spices. These just may make you a serious brussels fan!

I admit that I’ve only been a brussels sprouts fan for a few years. It took me forever to decide to try them. I guess I just imagined they would taste like another steamed vegetable. Little did I know how amazing you can make them! I’ve grown to love them roasted with olive oil, salt, and pepper, but these right here are the Best Ever Brussels!

The idea for these came from a little date my husband and I had recently. I tried to recreate them at home for us, and I am happy to say they are pretty darn good too! The flavor from the soy sauce and sweet hoisin mixed with the salty balsamic capers is amazing!!

Tips for Making the Best Ever Brussels:

We like to use Tamari soy sauce in this dish because it has a deeper, richer flavor than regular. You can use regular soy sauce too if that is what you have on hand.
We used balsamic capers, but a different kind would also be fine to use.
This dish goes great with a grilled steak!

Best Ever Brussels

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil, plus extra to drizzle
1 1/2 tbsp butter, divided
4 to 5 cups chopped brussels sprouts
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tbsp Tamari soy sauce
2 tbsp balsamic capers (with juice)
2 tbsp hoisin sauce
1/4 cup water

Instructions

Over medium heat, melt 1 tbsp butter and olive oil in a saute pan.
Add brussels sprouts and saute for about 5-8 minutes or until they start to brown a little. Add salt and pepper and garlic powder while brussels cook.
Add green onions and continue to cook for about 5 to 8 more minutes. Add water to deglaze the pan a little.
Add soy sauce, capers, and hoisin sauce. Stir and cook for a few more minutes.
Finish off the dish with 1/2 tbsp butter and a drizzle of olive oil. Taste to season and serve.

Notes

Substitute Tamari soy sauce with a regular soy sauce, if needed.

Be sure to check out these side dish recipes too!

Cucumber, Tomato, and Onion Salad – A HUGE favorite around our house!
Sheet Pan Roasted Sausage and Squash – Such an easy side dish to throw together!
The Best Rice Dressing – Perfect for barbecues!

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Southwestern Pasta Salad

Jaren — Wed, 03 Jul 2019 12:11:49 +0000

Southwestern Pasta Salad – A creamy pasta salad filled with grilled chicken, black beans, corn, tomatoes, green chiles, cilantro, green onions, and Mexican spices.

This Southwestern Pasta Salad is calling my name again! I may have to make it again really soon. It makes a great side dish if you go meatless, but it also makes a perfect lunch when you add a protein to it!

I love all things with corn, black beans, and Mexican spices too. I could eat every meal with these flavors pretty much. Throw some pasta in with that, and it’s pretty much got my name all over it. I mean I have this recipe, and this one, and this one too, which pretty much show my love for all things southwestern.

Tips for making Southwestern Pasta Salad:

Make it meatless for a nice side dish.
Change up your protein. You could use grilled chicken or grilled shrimp too.
This is super customizable, so you can omit any ingredients that aren’t your thing.

Southwestern Pasta Salad

Yield: 6 to 8

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Southwestern Pasta Salad - A creamy pasta salad filled with grilled chicken, black beans, corn, tomatoes, green chiles, cilantro, green onions, and Mexican spices.

Ingredients

3/4 pound bowtie pasta
3/4 cup mayo
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
4 oz. can green chiles
1/2 15 oz. can drained black beans
1/2 15 oz. can drained corn
2 roma tomatoes, chopped
3 green onions, chopped
1 tbsp fresh cilantro
2 grilled chicken breasts, chopped (optional)

Instructions

Boil pasta. Drain pasta and add it to a large mixing bowl.
In a small bow, mix mayo with chili powder, cumin, salt, and pepper. Add it to pasta.
Add tomatoes, green onions, green chiles, corn, and black beans. Stir to combine.
Top with cilantro and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Notes

*Chicken can be omitted or grilled shrimp may be substituted.

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Recipes to serve with this Southwestern Pasta Salad:

Other Southwestern recipes on the blog:

Southwestern Chicken Pasta Bake

Southwestern Bean & Cheese Dip

Cheesy Southwest Chicken Soup

Southwest Shrimp Salad

You can find more SIDE DISH RECIPES HERE.
You can find ALL RECIPES HERE.
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Cucumber Tomato, and Onion Salad

Jaren — Tue, 18 Jun 2019 11:59:43 +0000

Cucumber, Tomato, and Onion Salad- A wonderful make-ahead salad recipe to use up those fresh garden vegetables! It makes a great side dish to so many meals!

Folks, this recipe is a true favorite around here!! We get excited when we know it’s in the fridge. Now when I say “we,” I would mean my husband and I. The kids aren’t jumping up and down over vegetables YET. Although, our youngest two have the most potential when it comes to fresh veggies.

This is seriously the best side dish for so many recipes! It marinates for a few hours in a sweet and tangy dressing that only takes a few ingredients to make. I love short ingredient lists! It makes a recipe so much more appealing.

Tips for Cucumber, Tomato, and Onion Salad

You can change up varieties of vegetables. Use whatever kind of tomatoes you have on hand. You can also use a white onion. I just prefer red onions in salads.
You do not have peel cucumbers.
This recipe doubles easily to feed a larger crowd.
Make it the night before or the morning before your next gathering.

Cucumber Tomato, and Onion Salad

Yield: 8

Cook Time: 2 hours

Total Time: 2 hours

Cucumber, Tomato, and Onion Salad- A wonderful make-ahead salad recipe to use up those fresh garden vegetables! It makes a great side dish to so many meals!

Ingredients

3 cucumbers, peeled and sliced 1/8 in thick
3 roma tomatoes, sliced and halved
1/2 red onion, sliced
1/2 cup white wine vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 tsp kosher salt
3/4 tsp black pepper

Instructions

Add sliced cucumbers, tomatoes, and onion to a large bowl.
In a smaller bowl, whisk vinegar, sugar, oil, salt, and pepper.
Pour dressing over vegetables and stir until well combined.
Refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours before serving. Keeps well for up to 3 days.

Recommended Products

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases. This helps us keep our blog running efficiently and allows us to create more recipes for you.

Great recipes to serve with it:

Follow on Instagram for More Recipes and Fun!!

Here’s a great set of bowls perfect for summer salads!

Looking for more salad ideas:

Creamy Ranch Pasta Salad

Cornbread Salad

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Summer Barbecue Recipes

Jaren — Mon, 27 May 2019 18:00:39 +0000

Here’s 15 Amazing Summer Barbecue Recipes you need to try soon!

It’s time for some summer barbecue recipes! If you are like us, then reading the words summer barbecue just made you a little happy inside. And if you like to cook, then I know you are always wanting to try great side dish recipes, and we’ve got plenty for you here. I think I’ll be referring to this list all summer myself!! Enjoy! Don’t forget to follow me on Pinterest and Facebook too where I’m always sharing yummy recipes!