Side Dishes

Cranberry Relish

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cranberry-relish
 
This recipe was originally posted on December 19, 2013 as a Christmas dish, but we also have it at Thanksgiving.  Thought we would share it this week in case you would like to include it in your Thanksgiving Feast.  I need to start my cooking plans now because, even though it’s November 1st, the feast will be upon us before you can sing Over the River and Through the Woods!  I am also posting this in memory of my good friend Phyllis Mecham who passed away two years ago this month.  This was her recipe.
 
Just in the St. Nick of time (and notice, by the way, how he is eyeballing the relish)! Be sure and add this to your Christmas menu.  My good friend Phyllis brought this dish to a church Christmas party one year and gave me the recipe so that I could add it to our holiday meal traditions.  It is a big hit with everyone and full of yummy goodness.
Cranberry Relish
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Ingredients
  1. 2 cups ground fresh cranberries (I just zap mine in the Ninja blender)
  2. 1 cup sugar
  3. 2 small pkgs. Cherry Jell-O
  4. 1 15-oz. can crushed pineapple, drained and juice reserved
  5. 1 apple, unpeeled (Red Delicious is good) sliced and chopped
  6. 2 oranges (regular oranges NOT navel.  Tried that.), peeled, sliced and chopped
  7. grated rind from one orange
  8. 1 cup chopped pecans
Instructions
  1. Mix Jell-O with 2 cups boiling water, 1 cup sugar and reserved pineapple juice.  Let thicken in refrigerator. DO NOT LET IT SET COMPLETELY.
  2. Add other ingredients, already mixed together.
  3. Place in refrigerator until ready to serve.
Notes
  1. You can substitute cranberry Jell-O for the cherry.
Adapted from Phyllis Mecham, Mocksville, North Carolina
Adapted from Phyllis Mecham, Mocksville, North Carolina
Mormon Mavens https://www.mormonmavens.com/
 
 
 
 
 

Mandarin Sunburst Salad

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Father’s Day was celebrated a day early for us this year so that we could get together with our oldest daughter and her family.  They were reserving Sunday for her husband to enjoy an easy day at home after church. 

We picked up some amazing deep-fried barbecued chicken from Maw Maw’s Kitchen–a local southern diner. That was my husband’s idea because he really didn’t want to man the grill on his day.

I needed to add a couple of sides, so this ramen-inspired salad was just the ticket.  I also added Frosted Salad.  Great pairings! 

We had a delicious meal and then topped it off with Apple Pie and ice cream.  Good thing I had yoga the following Monday morning to start off a new week of working out at the Y.  Oh goodness. 

Mandarin Sunburst Salad
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Ingredients
  1. 2 pkg. ramen noodles, chicken flavor
  2. 1 pkg. (14-oz.) Cole Slaw
  3. 1 can (15-oz.) Mandarin oranges, drained
  4. 1 pkg. (5 or 6 oz.) dried sweetened cranberries
  5. 4 green onions, thinly sliced on the diagonal
  6. 12-16 snow peas, cut diagonally into thirds
  7. 1/2 cup toasted, sliced almonds, divided (Opt. if you have nut allergies)
  8. 1/2 cup canola oil
  9. 1/3 cup sugar
  10. 1/4 cup white vinegar
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
  2. Open noodles packages. Reserve one seasoning packet for dressing and save other for future use, if desired.
  3. Break up ramen noodles into small pieces.
  4. Arrange noodles on an ungreased baking sheet and bake 10-13 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack covered with waxed paper.
  5. In a large bowl, combine Cole slaw, oranges, cranberries, onions, snow peas, 1/4 cup almonds and cooled noodles.
  6. Whisk oil, sugar, vinegar and reserved seasoning in a small bowl until well blended. Pour over slaw mixture and toss to coat evenly and combine all other ingredients. Sprinkle remaining 1/4 cup almonds over salad.
Notes
  1. This can be prepared 1-2 hours ahead of time and refrigerated to soften noodles. But you do want a little crunch!
Adapted from Fine Cooking
Adapted from Fine Cooking
Mormon Mavens https://www.mormonmavens.com/

Frosted Salad

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This Frosted Salad is delicious!  To tell the truth, I would just eat the topping and leave the rest, but that wouldn’t be fair to anyone else.

I cannot for the life of me remember where I got this recipe–maybe a magazine–and it has been DECADES since I made it.  A browsing session through our family cookbook brought back the memories of that topping and I was like “oh yes, this will be made for our Father’s Day dinner.”

 

Frosted Salad
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Ingredients
  1. 2 pkg. strawberry Jello
  2. 2 cups lemon-lime soft drink
  3. 1/2 pt. whipping cream
  4. 2 cups boiling water
  5. 1 (20-oz.) can crushed pineapple, drained, reserve juice
  6. 2 large bananas, diced
  7. 1/2 cup reserved pineapple juice
  8. 1/2 cup sugar
  9. 2 T. flour
  10. 2 t. butter
  11. 1 egg, well-beaten
Instructions
  1. Drain pineapple and save juice for the topping.
  2. Dissolve Jello in boiling water. Stir in lemon-lime drink. Chill until partially set.
  3. Add pineapple and bananas and stir well. Chill until set.
  4. In a small saucepan, combine reserved pineapple juice, sugar, flour, butter and egg and cook until thickened.
  5. Remove from heat and allow to cool (you can put this in fridge).
  6. When cooled, add 1/2 cup WHIPPED cream and spread on salad. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Notes
  1. Don't forget to whip the whipping cream before adding to topping mixture.
Adapted from unknown
Adapted from unknown
Mormon Mavens https://www.mormonmavens.com/

Southern Cole Slaw

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If you haven’t tried Southern Cole Slaw, you are missing out on the perfect pairing for hot dogs, barbeque (beef or pork), steak or whatever!. This recipe is from my Mom and I have used it for years–now I am sharing it with you.

I am also going to share a shortcut that I just picked up today at our local grocery store.  It will save you a LOT of time and probably some finger skin (gross, right?)–if you use a box grater, then you know what I’m talkin’ about.  You can also grate your cabbage in a food processor.  Here is the link to Chef Buddys Southern Slaw.  This is the already diced cabbage, green bell pepper, and onion.  

You will notice that my recipe does not have bell pepper or onion.  These were ingredients in the packaged slaw mix.  Personally, I prefer not to have those two ingredients but you might like it. My recipe includes carrots so I used Thrive Freeze-Dried Carrots to save time and my fingers.

Southern Cole Slaw
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Ingredients
  1. 1 head of cabbage, grated*
  2. 2 medium carrots or about 1/3 cup of Thrive Freeze-Dried Carrots
  3. 2/3 cup mayonnaise
  4. 1 1/2 T. apple cider vinegar
  5. 4 t. sugar
  6. 1 t. salt
  7. 3/4 t. celery seed
Instructions
  1. Combine cabbage and carrots in a large bowl and set aside.
  2. Combine remaining ingredients in a small bowl and mix well. Add to the cabbage and carrots and toss until well-blended.
  3. Refrigerate for at least an hour to let the flavors combine.
Notes
  1. * Here is where you substitute the Chef Buddys Southern Slaw pre-diced package.
Adapted from Patricia D. Brew
Adapted from Patricia D. Brew
Mormon Mavens https://www.mormonmavens.com/

Mexican Street Corn

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Throwback Thursday!  This was originally published on July 19, 2012 but I am bringin’ it back, baby!  This is one of my favorite street corn recipes–well, it’s the only one I have, actually, but it is really good. Getcha some!

Do you get Runner’s World magazine?  We get it.  We don’t run.  Well one of us did at one time.  That was not me, but you know…Anyway, I don’t usually look past the cover, but one day I was bored and started looking through the magazine and actually found about 3 recipes that I wanted to try.  This is one of them.  It was so good that I am going to start checking out all of the issues.  I made this corn at the beach last week, and had it with fish tacos with watermelon salsa that my sister made–que rico!
 
 
 
 
 
Ingredients:
4 ears fresh corn, shucked
1/4 cup mayonnaise (I used low fat with olive oil)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon chili powder
  grated zest and juice of 1 lime
 Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 cup crushed tortilla chips
1 ounce queso fresco
 
1.  Heat a grill to medium-high heat and put the rack 4 inches from the fire, or preheat oven to 500 degrees.  Grill or roast the corn, turning occasionally, until some kernels char and others are lightly brown, 15-20 minutes.  
 
2.  In a bowl combine mayonnaise, oil, chili, lime zest, juice, salt and pepper.  
 
3.  Pulse remaining ingredients in a food processor until crumbly and spread on a plate.  When the corn is done, remove ears from the heat and smear evenly with the mayonnaise mixture.  Roll them in the crumb mixture and serve.  Serves four.
 
 
 
 
Source:  Mark Bittman, Runner’s World Magazine
 
 
 
 

Old Settler’s Beans

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old settler's beans

 

 I thought I would bring back one of my favorite bean recipes because it has turned cold this week and this sounds like something I might want to eat for supper soon.  Also, we got to meet our friend Tim for lunch recently and he gave us the recipe. He flew in for a job interview and it was great to catch up!

Make a double batch–there were no leftovers at my house!  Loved by young and old alike, this will be a hit at your next covered dish supper or BBQ.

Originally published February 25, 2016.

Old Settler's Beans
Delicious side dish, perfect for grilling out.
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Ingredients
  1. 1/2 lb. ground beef
  2. 1/2 lb. bacon, cut in small pieces
  3. 1 large onion, diced
  4. 1 can green butter beans (I think it's probably Lima beans, so that is what I used)
  5. 1 can kidney beans
  6. 1 can pork & beans, undrained
  7. 1/3 cup brown sugar
  8. 1/3 cup white sugar
  9. 1/4 cup catsup
  10. 1/2 T. dry mustard
  11. 2 T. molasses
  12. Dash of Worcestershire sauce
Instructions
  1. In a dutch oven, brown the hamburger, bacon , and onion together. Do not drain.
  2. Add all the beans and stir together.
  3. Mix the remaining ingredients together and then add to the bean/meat mixture. Stir to combine.
  4. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.
Notes
  1. This can be cooked in a covered dutch oven over hot coals for about an hour and would be great on a camping trip.
Adapted from Tim & Casey Van Buskirk of Tucson, AZ.
Adapted from Tim & Casey Van Buskirk of Tucson, AZ.
Mormon Mavens https://www.mormonmavens.com/

Fast & Creamy Polenta

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fast-creamy-polenta

 

Ever have one of those weeks where you feel like you just can’t breathe, but you know you have to get certain things done come heck-or-high water?  This week.  Yep.  Pretty much.  For today’s post I thumbed through my magazine clippings for a quick and easy recipe to share with you and found one that I have been wanting to try for quite a while.  How do you feel about polenta?  I have had some yummy versions over the past couple of years and found this recipe in our local paper supplement. Hope you enjoy it!

Fast & Creamy Polenta
Serves 4
"Creamy polenta (cornmeal) is to Italians what mashed potatoes are to Americans." -- relish.com
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Ingredients
  1. 4 cups water
  2. 1 t. coarse salt (I used sea salt on hand)
  3. 1 cup instant polenta
  4. 1/2 cup mascarpone cheese or cream cheese (where in my store is the mascarpone? I used Neufschatel)
  5. Chopped parsley
Instructions
  1. Bring water to a boil in a heavy saucepan. Add salt.
  2. Whisk in the polenta in a steady stream until well combined.
  3. Remove from heat. Stir in cream cheese. Top with parsley.
Notes
  1. Okay, so this doesn't look so creamy. Apparently I thought that the tube of polenta was the instant. LOL! There is obviously another version of polenta that I did not see, and the Walmart guy and I searched everywhere! But this was still good. See how we learn as we go?
Adapted from relish.com
Adapted from relish.com
Mormon Mavens https://www.mormonmavens.com/

Chicken & Wild Rice Pilaf

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Chicken & Wild Rice Pilaf

I am all about quick and easy and this recipe is, as well.  I used one of our Thrive Life Express Meals–Wild Rice Pilaf–and added chicken to give it a little protein boost.  So delicious, so easy, so quick, so also goes well in a flour tortilla.  You could use your own pilaf recipe or boxed rice pilaf and leftover chopped chicken.  I tend to go to my Thrive Foods because I like to find ways to incorporate these items from my Home Store on a regular basis.  Either way, this is yummy and your family will enjoy it, especially if it keeps your kitchen time down during a laid back or busy summer.  Well, any season for that matter.

Chicken & Wild Rice Pilaf
Quick & easy side or main dish!
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Ingredients
  1. 1 pkg. Thrive Life Wild Rice Pilaf Express Meal (or your choice of pilaf)
  2. 1 - 2 cups Thrive Chopped Chicken, rehydrated
  3. Butter
Instructions
  1. Mix contents of package with 2 1/2 cups boiling water.
  2. Add 2 T. butter to the rice. Simmer for 5 minutes, covered.
  3. Let stand for 5 minutes, then add the chicken. Stir to mix well.
  4. Serve.
Adapted from Thrive Life Express Meals
Adapted from Thrive Life Express Meals
Mormon Mavens https://www.mormonmavens.com/

Tomato & Corn Salad

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Corn & Tomato Salad 2

 

Isn’t it fun to be creative with your leftovers?  Recently I served Slow Cooker Roast Beef, garden peas, sweet corn, and mashed potatoes for dinner when two of our missionaries from church joined us for supper.  Comfort food.  Real food.  Surprisingly, there were some leftovers of the vegetables so I used them for sides with my next meal which was a Thrive Express Meal of Fettuccine Alfredo.  (future post, so stay tuned).  I put the peas in with the Fettuccine.  That was yummy.  For the corn, I decided to combine that with some grape tomatoes that I needed to use up and added a few more things to dress it up.  So that is how we get this recipe.

Tomato & Corn Salad
Great way to use leftover veggies!
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Ingredients
  1. grape tomatoes, as many as you want
  2. Thrive Sweet Corn
  3. Thrive Green Peas
  4. Mozarella cheese, shredded
  5. Red Wine Vinegar
  6. Thrive Chef's Choice All-Purpose Seasoning
  7. Salt to taste
Instructions
  1. Combine all ingredients except the salt, and toss. Taste and then add salt as needed and toss again.
  2. Serve cold.
Mormon Mavens https://www.mormonmavens.com/

Country Style Fried Potatoes

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country style fried potatoes

 

I had all intentions of having lovely little baby red potatoes, boiled and buttered, salted and peppered for dinner one night. Those babies sat there on my kitchen counter for a week.  Finally, I just had to peel them (the skins were looking a little rough), cut them up and fry ’em in a pan. Ahhh…..

Country Fried Potatoes
Simple, delish.
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Ingredients
  1. 1/3 cup coconut oil
  2. 1 pkg. of baby red potatoes, peeled and cubed
  3. 2 T. minced onion
  4. 1 tsp. salt
  5. 1/2 tsp. pepper
  6. 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
  7. 1/2 tsp. paprika
Instructions
  1. In a medium nonstick skillet, heat coconut oil over medium-high heat.
  2. Add potatoes and cook, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are golden brown.
  3. Add minced onion. Be sure not to put these in too early because they will burn.
  4. Season with salt, pepper, garlic powder and paprika.
  5. Serve hot.
Notes
  1. These potatoes are kind of plain, but the add-ins are endless! Be creative.
Adapted from allrecipes.com
Adapted from allrecipes.com
Mormon Mavens https://www.mormonmavens.com/