Side Dishes

Easy Easter Brunch Menu: Enjoy Spring!

by liz · Mar 3, 2019

Spring is here! And that means time for brunch, spring vegetables and Easter delicacies. You won’t find any cute bunnies or other Easter treats for kids in this Easter Brunch menu; it’s a strictly grown-up affair. You can easily switch out the egg dish, vegetable side dish, coffee or pastry/dessert to come up with your own custom easy Easter brunch menu.

1. Main Dish – Egg, Ham & Cheese Brunch Nests (shown above)

These egg nests have a spicy secret: chipotle chiles. You can adjust the amount of chipotle to get just the level of spice you like. And topped with cilantro-avocado crema adds just the right amount of cool to the dish. Thanks to Ericka of Nibbles and Feasts for this recipe; check out her blog for more.

2. Side Dish – Roasted Carrots with Shallots & Thyme

With many vegetables, cooking destroys some of their vitamins, but this isn’t the case with carrots. You can absorb more beta carotene from cooked carrots than from raw ones. If you like garlic, add a few peeled whole cloves to the mix. Or try these Roasted Asparagus with Pesto & Lemon.

Ingredients

2 pounds small carrots, peeled and sliced in half lengthwise

1 cup sliced shallots

2 teaspoons fresh thyme

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Coarse salt and ground black pepper

Directions

Preheat oven to 425° F.

Place in a rimmed baking sheet. Add shallots and thyme; drizzle with oil and stir to coat. Season with salt and pepper.

Roast for about 30 to 35 minutes or until tender and lightly browned. Season with additional salt and pepper, if desired.

3. Bacon Dessert – Maple Browned Butter Bacon Cupcakes

Whether you’re baking for an upscale party, an Easter brunch or a winter respite, cupcakes are a universal favorite. These sweet and savory cupcakes will specifically please bacon lovers with a sweet tooth – and isn’t that everyone??

Ingredients

3 strips center-cut bacon
3/4 cup plus 1/2 teaspoon packed light brown sugar, divided
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, lightly browned*
2 large eggs
1/3 cup low-fat buttermilk
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup, divided
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Cream cheese frosting or 1 container (16 ounces) white prepared frosting

Directions

Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Arrange strips of bacon on a rack set in a rimmed baking sheet (line baking sheet with foil for easy clean up).
Bake, rotating pan halfway through cooking, for about 15 minutes or until bacon is almost crisp. Remove 2 strips of bacon and place on paper towel to cool. Sprinkle remaining piece of bacon evenly with 1/2 teaspoon brown sugar. Bake for 3 minutes or until sugar melts. Set aside to use as garnish.
Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Line 12-cup muffin tin with paper or foil liners.
Combine flour, baking powder and salt in large bowl; mix well.
Whisk together browned butter, remaining 3/4 cup sugar, eggs, buttermilk, 1/4 cup maple syrup and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl. Gradually stir in flour mixture. Crumble the 2 strips of bacon and fold into batter. Spoon into prepared cups, filling 2/3 full.
Bake for 20 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in cupcake comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack for 15 minutes. Transfer to wire rack to cool completely.
Stir remaining 2 tablespoons maple syrup into prepared frosting. Pipe onto cupcakes. Crumble remaining sugar-coated strip of bacon; sprinkle over cupcakes.

Maple Browned Butter Bacon Cupcakes

Author: Chris Garboski

Recipe type: Dessert

Prep time: 20 mins

Cook time: 38 mins

Total time: 58 mins

Serves: 12

Whether you’re baking for a group of kids or an upscale party, cupcakes are a universal favorite. These sweet and savory cupcakes were made specifically for bacon lovers with a sweet tooth.

Ingredients

3 strips center-cut bacon
¾ cup plus ½ teaspoon packed light brown sugar, divided
1½ cups all-purpose flour
1½ teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup butter, lightly browned*
2 large eggs
⅓ cup low-fat buttermilk
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup, divided
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Cream cheese frosting or 1 container (16 ounces) cwhite prepared frosting

Instructions

Instructions
Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Arrange strips of bacon on a rack set in a rimmed baking sheet (line baking sheet with foil for easy clean up).
Bake, rotating pan halfway through cooking, for about 15 minutes or until bacon is almost crisp. Remove 2 strips of bacon and place on paper towel to cool. Sprinkle remaining piece of bacon evenly with ½ teaspoon brown sugar. Bake for 3 minutes or until sugar melts. Set aside to use as garnish.
Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Line 12-cup muffin tin with paper or foil liners.
Combine flour, baking powder and salt in large bowl; mix well.
Whisk together browned butter, remaining ¾ cup sugar, eggs, buttermilk, ¼ cup maple syrup and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl. Gradually stir in flour mixture. Crumble the 2 strips of bacon and fold into batter. Spoon into prepared cups, filling ⅔ full.
Bake for 20 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in cupcake comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack for 15 minutes. Transfer to wire rack to cool completely.
Stir remaining 2 tablespoons maple syrup into prepared frosting. Pipe onto cupcakes. Crumble remaining sugar-coated strip of bacon; sprinkle over cupcakes.

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4. Caramel Macchiato Cappuccino

Fancy coffee drinks are so easy to make at home!

Ingredients

1 shot (1 ounce) espresso
1/3 cup milk
1 tablespoon Caramel coffee creamer or Caramel sauce
Ground cinnamon

Directions

Mix together and voila!

5. Breakfast Bread – Pull-Apart Cinnamon Chocolate Coffeecake (above)

This coffeecake has the best of all breakfast breads: cinnamon, glaze on top and chocolate. Pull-apart bread is so easy to serve, and it goes really well with coffee before the meal, or as a dessert. And all week long!

Make Leftover Mashed Potatoes into Holiday Tapas

by liz · Dec 5, 2018

If you’re like my family, you have mashed potatoes at every holiday meal. They are a classic. We like to keep the skins on, then mash them with garlic, cream cheese, milk and butter to make them creamy and tangy…and delicious.

I wanted to find a way to make these favorite mashed potatoes into another dish, with a different flavor. I decided to use this Potato Pancakes with Applesauce recipe as a base, but replace the applesauce with a tapas-meets-middle-east tapenade. You can add diced leftover ham to the tapenade, or serve this alongside the ham. (And of course, you can also serve it with applesauce as in the original recipe – this would be great with ham too!)

For the tapenade, you’ll need:

1 jar Kalamata olives
1 clove garlic, diced
orange zest + orange pieces from 1 orange
1/2 cup orange/tangerine juice
1/4 cup olive oil
fresh basil, chopped
salt & freshly ground pepper
cooked ham, diced (optional)

Chop the olives and cut the orange pieces in half, then combine the rest of the ingredients in a medium bowl and mix. Set aside. Mold leftover mashed potatoes into golf-sized balls.

Pour enough cooking oil into a large skillet to cover bottom with thick film. Heat to very hot but not smoking, and drop potato balls in. Flatten immediately. Fry for 3 to 5 minutes or until golden brown; flip and brown other side, as shown above.

Drain on paper towels. Serve with tapenade (photo above). Or, try the original recipe and serve with applesauce and sour cream.

Happy National Watermelon Day!

by liz · Jun 2, 2018

Tomorrow, National Watermelon day is one of the best days of the year! And there are so many ways to enjoy watermelon, whether you just dig in to this juicy, sweet summertime treat or use it in sorbet, drinks or even salsa. Or maybe you just want an ice cream treat that looks like watermelon…

Read on for recipes using watermelon in an ice cream treat, salsa, sorbet and agua fresca. Get even more watermelon recipes from the official watermelon site! And enjoy summertime.

Watermelon Ice Cream Bombe

Ingredients for 16 servings:

4 cups lime sherbet, slightly softened
5 cups Vanilla ice cream
1 container (28 ounces) Strawberry or Raspberry Fat Free Sorbet
1/2 cup Semi-Sweet mini chocolate morsels

Directions:

LINE 2-quart bowl with plastic wrap, making sure wrap hangs over side of the bowl by at least 4 inches.

SPOON sherbet into large mixer bowl; beat with mixer or stir with spoon until smooth. Spoon sherbet into prepared bowl, pressing into the bottom and up the side with the back of a spoon to form a smooth layer. Freeze for 30 minutes. Remove vanilla ice cream from freezer and allow to soften for 10 minutes; spoon into large mixer bowl and beat with mixer or stir with spoon until smooth. Add to bowl with sherbet, smoothing it over the sherbet in a thin layer. Freeze for 30 minutes.

REMOVE sorbet from the freezer and allow to soften for 10 minutes. Spoon sorbet into large mixer bowl and beat with mixer or stir with spoon until smooth; stir in morsels. Spoon sorbet mixture over ice cream so it fills the remaining space and fills the bowl. Smooth down top; cover with plastic overhang, then add another sheet of plastic wrap. Freeze for at least 6 hours or up to 1 week.

TO UNMOLD, remove plastic wrap from top of bowl. Gently tug at the plastic overhang to loosen the bombe from the bowl. (If the bombe is difficult to remove from the bowl, set it in a large bowl filled with warm water for 8 to 10 seconds.) Place a serving platter over the bowl, invert and shake to release bombe. Peel away plastic wrap, then cut bombe into wedges. Serve immediately.

Watermelon Salsa recipe, shown above

Ingredients:

3 cups diced watermelon
2 jalapeño peppers, seeded and minced
¼ cup lime juice
½ cup minced red onion
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon chili powder
½ teaspoon cumin

Directions:

Combine all ingredients and stir. Adjust spices as needed. Serve at room temperature with tacos, fish, meats or vegetables.

Easy Baked Picadillo Empanadas & Abuelita Chocolate Tamales

by liz · Sep 15, 2017

It’s time to celebrate Hispanic heritage month with some delicious new recipes from the Meals.com kitchens: Easy Baked Picadillo Empanadas and Abuelita Chocolate Tamales. Empanadas are popular in almost all Latin American countries. There are a vast amount of different versions and fillings…some are fried, some are baked, some are sweet and some are savory.

This Easy Baked Picadillo Empanadas recipe was inspired by the Argentinean empanada with its popular picadillo filling. Picadillo is a ground beef filling and it varies on the ingredients and method of preparation, depending on the country of origin. Some have hard-boiled eggs, olives, raisins, potatoes and even capers. This version has a sweet and salty combination of ingredients like raisins and green olives and flavorings like cumin and Maggi seasoning.

This version is very easy to prepare, and it’s a healthier alternative to the more typical fried version. Using Sofrito cooking base and pre-made frozen dough cuts preparation time by more than half. And baking the empanadas cuts fat and calories. And they’re delicioso!

Easy Baked Picadillo Empanadas from Meals.com

Ingredients for 24 empanadas:

24 (two 11.6-ounce packages) frozen store-bought empanada dough discs, defrosted
1 pound lean ground beef
1 Beef Flavor Bouillon Tablet, crushed
1 teaspoon ground cumin
small green bell pepper, finely chopped
1 small potato, peeled and finely chopped
1/2 cup chopped pimiento-stuffed green olives
1/2 cup raisins
1 packet (3.98 ounces) Sofrito Seasoning Paste (tomato, garlic, onion)

Directions:

PREHEAT oven to 375° F. Grease large baking sheets.

HEAT large skillet over medium-high heat. Add beef, bouillon and cumin. Cook, stirring frequently, for 8 minutes or until beef is no longer pink. Add bell pepper, potato, olives, raisins and sofrito. Cook, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes or until mixture is heated through and has thickened slightly.

PLACE 2 heaping tablespoons beef mixture in center of each pastry disc. Wet edges with water; fold in half and crimp edges with fork.

PLACE empanadas on prepared baking sheets. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden. Serve warm.

Abuelita Chocolate Tamales recipe — Photo by Meals.com

And for dessert: tamales. Tamales (sweet or savory) are a must during any Hispanic celebration. Even President Obama celebrates Hispanic Heritage with tamales!

This is a sweet tamale recipe and Abuelita Chocolate Tamales are a breeze to make since there is no stuffing involved. Simply prepare it like a cake batter and spread on a corn husk, wrap and then steam! And the cinnamon cream sauce on top is the perfect finishing touch! Double your chocolate enjoyment and pair these tamales with a hot Atole.

Abuelita Chocolate Tamales from Meals.com

Ingredients for 14 servings:

14 large dry corn husks

2 cans (7.6 fluid ounces each) Media Crema, divided

1/4 cup Sweetened Condensed Milk

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3 tablets (90 grams each) ABUELITA Chocolate

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened

1 3/4 cups masa harina flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 cups warm milk

Directions:

SOAK husks in warm water for at least 1 hour or until softened and easy to fold.

COMBINE 1 can media crema, sweetened condensed milk and cinnamon in small bowl; refrigerate.

PLACE Abuelita chocolate and remaining 1 can media crema in medium saucepan. Heat over medium heat, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes or until completely melted and smooth. Remove from heat; set aside.

BEAT butter in large bowl until creamy. Combine flour, baking powder and salt in medium bowl. Alternately add flour mixture, milk and Abuelita mixture to butter, mixing well after each addition until consistency of thick cake batter (masa). (If masa is dry add a few tablespoons of warm milk; mix well.)

SPREAD 1/4 cup masa mixture, using back of a spoon, to form a square in the center of the lower wider portion of one husk. Fold right then left edge of husk over masa. Fold up bottom edge. Repeat with remaining masa mixture and husks.

PLACE vegetable steamer in pot with lid; add water to just below steamer. Arrange tamales upright in steamer rack. Cover top of tamales with a damp towel; cover. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to low. Steam, adding water as needed, for about 1 hour or until masa pulls away from husks. Serve warm with media crema sauce.

Easy Baked Sweet Potato Fries: Giving Back

by liz · Sep 30, 2011

Sometimes you just need to give back. So we headed to Los Angeles’ Downtown Women’s Center to buy the ingredients, prepare, cook and serve lunch to over 100 ladies visiting or living at the center. On the menu: oven-baked chicken with crunchy Parmesan coating and lemon zest, white beans, collard greens and baked sweet potato fries (recipe below).

We didn’t have to come up with a menu or instructions; the center’s nutritionist on staff, Tracy, handled all that for us. And she was good. Tracy and the volunteer kitchen leader instructed us on how to make theses dishes more healthy and where to find all our tools and utensils. We quickly took over the kitchen!

Everything was prepared from scratch using fresh whole foods. The vegetables were simply gorgeous. Fresh vegetable stock was started immediately, to use with the beans and collard greens.

We chopped, stirred, boiled, sautéed, zested, coated and seasoned. We smiled and chatted with residents (one in French!), who were all incredibly grateful. We were too.

And everyone was hungry. We were amazed at how talented the staff was, creating such healthy menus and using whole foods, cooking from scratch. The collard greens (using no pork for seasoning) and the baked sweet potato fries were the first to go, and everyone wanted seconds! I highly recommend volunteering at LA’s Downtown Women’s Center — the ladies were wonderful, the day was entertaining and the food was awesome.

Easy Baked Sweet Potato Fries Recipe from LA’s Downtown Women’s Center

Baked potatoes have a lower glycemic index than potatoes and lots more nutrients, so dig in to these yummy baked fries!

1. Wash and peel the potatoes as shown above (or leave the peel on for more nutrition!).

2. Cut potatoes into half-inch strips.

3. Place on baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt, pepper and smoked paprika, above.

4. Bake at 450 for 40 minutes, or until fries are cooked and slightly crispy.

5. Serve to hungry folks with a smile!

Easy Baked Sweet Potato Fries

Author: LA's Downtown Women's Center

Recipe type: Main

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 40 mins

Total time: 50 mins

Serves: 4 servings

Baked potatoes have a lower glycemic index than potatoes and lots more nutrients, so dig in to these yummy baked fries!

Ingredients

2 large Sweet Potatoes
Olive Oil
Salt + Pepper
Smoked Paprika

Instructions

Wash and peel the potatoes as shown above (or leave the peel on for more nutrition!).
Cut potatoes into half-inch strips.
Place on baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt, pepper and smoked paprika, above.
Bake at 450 for 40 minutes, or until fries are cooked and slightly crispy.

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Layered Mediterranean Tortellini Salad: the New 7-Layer Salad

by liz · Aug 17, 2010

For those of you who grew up in the south or the mid-west, or “just north of Texas,” your mom probably made 7-Layer Salad, or at least had it in her recipe repertoire. If she didn’t make it at least once, her mom probably did.

This was a very popular salad that swept the American interior in the 1950s – and maybe even made it to the coasts – with its sophisticated layered presentation, flexibility for ingredients you might be cleaning out of your fridge and the plentiful mass of mayonnaise on top. In the south it’s heavy on peas, and it makes a great picnic or pot luck salad.

This Layered Mediterranean Tortellini Salad is a healthier version of this 7-Layer Salad using spinach and whole wheat tortellini and I decided to make it for my mom when she came to town. She fondly remembers the classic 7-Layer Salad from my childhood (as well as a variety of wine punch recipes involving a fancy punch bowl and polyester bell bottoms) and was eager to try this lighter, updated recipe.

I used my new punch bowl/cake stand to showcase the salad and made just a few substitutions: I used a chunk of Italian parmesan cut into wide strips with a vegetable peeler and I replaced the canned olives with a gourmet mix of fresh olives with their pits from the local grocer. I also made my own Greek salad dressing with olive oil, red wine vinegar, dried Italian herbs, salt and pepper (I added a dash of buttermilk to evoke some of the classic taste for my mom).

Layered Mediterranean Tortellini Salad

Ingredients for 12 servings:

1 package (9 ounces) Refrigerated Spinach Cheese Tortellini
1 package (9 ounces) Refrigerated 100% Whole Wheat Three Cheese Tortellini
6 tablespoons bottled light Greek or Italian dressing, divided
2 cups whole cherry or pear tomatoes, cut in half
1 cup (4 ounces) crumbled feta cheese
1/2 medium red onion, thinly sliced
1/2 cup shredded fresh basil
1 1/2 cups sliced cucumber
1 can (13.75 ounces) artichoke hearts, drained, rinsed and quartered (about 1 1/3 cups)
1 can (6 ounces) pitted whole ripe olives, drained (about 1 1/3 cups)
Ground black pepper
1/2 cup (1.5 ounces) Freshly Shredded Parmesan Cheese

Directions:

PREPARE pasta according to package directions; rinse in cold water then drain well. Place spinach tortellini in one bowl and the whole wheat tortellini in another bowl. Add 2 tablespoons salad dressing to each bowl; toss gently to coat.

PLACE tomatoes in large glass serving bowl; drizzle with 1 tablespoon salad dressing. Top with all of spinach tortellini, feta cheese, red onion and basil; drizzle with remaining 1 tablespoon salad dressing. Top with all of the whole wheat tortellini, cucumbers, artichokes and olives. Cover; refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving. Season with pepper; sprinkle with Parmesan cheese before serving.

It was delicious, light and very satisfying as a summer meal. It was even better the next day after marinating in the dressing overnight. My mom was delighted too. Next, we’re moving on to the punch.