Side Dish

Hi! I was given this recipe by another mom on mamasource and it was great. My family loves it.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Old-Fashioned-Cheese-Potatoes

It's a potato casserole.

I added Tony's Chachere Creole Seasoning (cajun seasoning) to the cheese sauce and it gave the dish a little zing / spice. (We're from Louisiana and we like spice.) Also, I did two layers and put cheese sauce in between and on top. GREAT DISH!

Also, here is the link to the responses I got when I asked about good side dishes....

http://mamasource.com/request/16670931191058137089

Hope this helps!

-Tamara-

This is a salad I take to gatherings and it is always a hit:

1 bag Cole Slaw Mix (don't use the dressing)
1 head of broccoli - chopped
1 medium can crushed pineapple, drained
1-2 cups walnuts, pecans or almonds, in pieces or chopped
1 Kraft Poppy Seed Dressing

Mix all the ingredients together including the dressing. I sometimes add some chopped up, boiled chicken if I want it to be more filling. YUM!

I make Texas Caviar.

1 package of frozen blackeyed peas
water
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/3 cup olive oil
1 Tbs salt (optional)
2 teas sugar
1/4 teas group red pepper
1 small minced garlic clove
3 chopped green onions
2 thinly sliced celery stalks
1 hard boiled egg (optional)
1/2 cup chopped parsley (optional)

Cook the peas until they are firm to the bite (not overly soft, not overly firm). Drain in a strainer and rinse with cold water (to stop the cooking process)

While peas are cooking, use a medium bowl and fork, and beat the vinegar, oil, salt, sugar, pepper and garlic together.

After that is mixed well, add the peas, onions and celery. Toss to make sure everything is covered in the dressing, cover and chill about 2 hours. Uncover and stir ocasionally to mix the flavors.

To serve, remove from fridge, stir, top with chopped egg and parsley.

I listed the ingredients per the recipe but I change this up a lot. We don't care for the egg, parsley and we like less celery. I add more of the ingredients we like as in vinegar, pepper, garlic.

Hope you like it!

This is easy and usually feeds a fairly large crowd.

5- 15 oz. cans of corn
1 8 oz. bar cream cheese (softened)
2 small cans green chiles (diced usually) (drained)
1 T cumin powder (or more for more taste)

Heat up the corn and drain out the water. Stir in the softened cream cheese, drained green chiles and the cumin and mix well. I usually heat up again either in the microwave or in the oven to get the dish hot again.

If it is a cold dish this is another corn based one.
Corn Dip

2 cans Shoepeg corn (drained)
1/4 cup chopped onions
2 cups grated cheese (Jack/Colby mix)
1 cup sour cream
2/3 cups mayonnaise
10-12 chopped, de-seeded jalapenos (I usually use at least 14 to make it spicy and include a few seeds)

Serve with Fritos (I like the scoops)

Good luck.

Baked Macaroni and Cheese

Take 2 bags of macaroni noodles and boil them for 5 minutes so they are just a "little" soft.

For the cheese sauce
2 cups of milk
3 tbsp melted butter
4 cups of shredded cheddar cheese
1 tsp of pepper
1 tablespoon of salt
1/4 cup of whipping cream

In a large bowl mix all the cheese sauce ingredients.
Gather all your macaroni and mix it with the cheese sauce. In a large glass dish put the cheese sauce and macaroni into the dish. Add another 1/4 cup of milk and 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese on top of the mixture.
Put in oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until noodles are soft.

or you can make Italian Pasta Salad
4 cups of spiral noodles
1/2-1 cup of balsamic vinagrette (choose to your taste)
1/2 cup of olive oil
2 sticks celery
1 cup of boiled corn
1 cup of mushrooms
1 cup of chopped carrots
1 lb roasted chicken
1tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1tsp of garlic powder
1 tsp of onion powder
1 tsp of celery salt

Boil the noodles till "al dente" then rinse with cold water till noddles are cold . Add ALL the ingredients plus some of your own if you would like. Cover with saran wrap and chill for 45 minutes.
Then Voila ! Its ready.
Good luck!!!!!!!

If you want some ideas from great chefs go to www.foodnetwork.com and you will find some amazing side dishes.

Mardi-Gras Salad-----This is a marinaded salad and is such a hit{my brother in law loves me for bringing this}Also you can add more or less of the veggies to control which ever you like the best. Add to big bowl Leseur Peas,shoepeg corn,french-cut green beans,chopped green onions,chopped celery,chopped bell peppers.Set aside.In heavy pan add 3/4 cup sugar ---1/2 cup sugar--- 1/2 cup vegetable oil over low heat stir until sugar is dissolved 3-mins{do'nt boil} when throughly dissoved pour over veggies to cover them in mixture.Place in covered container and refridgerate overnight.This makes alot if you use 2cans eachof the different veggies.It's sooo good! I've used this recipe for years and always works!

- 7-layer dip and tortilla chips! That's always popular with my family.
- Scalloped potatoes
- Caesar salad
- green beans or green bean casserole

Those are my usual dishes.