A Bit of Nutmeg!

Does the thought “what in the world am I going to have with ________?” ever cross your mind?! I get that a lot when I’ve got a great meat recipe to make, but no idea what to make to accompany it! There are starch sides like rice, potatoes and pasta, and of course your vegetable sides as well. I’m not a big fan of salads, although I’ll occasionally make a nice Caesar salad for my hubby. Vegetables in our house are pretty limited as my stomach can’t handle a lot of them, and my husbands never been a big fan of cooked vegetables. Now that cheese is a no-no, its gotten even harder to come up with some yummy side dishes. I’m just now getting these posted, but these are the sides that I made for Thanksgiving. Yes, I hosted Thanksgiving this year and it was a success! All gluten and dairy free too! These sides will go well with more than just Thanksgiving turkey though. I’m sure these will become some great staple sides in our house! Hope you’ll give them a try! Ive got some fantastic new rice recipes coming and a few potato dishes to try, so I look forward to sharing those with your soon! Enjoy! 🙂

Golden Mashed Potatoes (Printable Version)

Ingredients

• 2-1/2 lbs Yukon Gold potatoes, quartered
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon salt

 Directions

Place potatoes in a large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and cook for 15-20 minutes or until tender. Drain potatoes; place in a large bowl. Add the butter, pepper, salt, and broth; beat until smooth.

Sautéed Carrots (Printable Version)

Ingredients
2 pounds carrots
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Dash of freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Directions
Peel the carrots and cut them diagonally in 1/4-inch slices. You should have about 6 cups of carrots. Place the carrots, 1/3 cup water, the salt, and pepper in a large (10 to 12-inch) sauté pan and bring to a boil. Cover the pan and cook over medium-low heat for 7 to 8 minutes, until the carrots are just cooked through. Add the butter and sauté for another minute, until the water evaporates and the carrots are coated with butter. Off the heat, toss with the parsley. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and serve.

Garlic Green Beans (Printable Version)

Ingredients

1/2 cup water

1/2 teaspoon chicken bouillon granules, optional

1 package (16 ounces) frozen whole green beans

1 to 2 garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon butter

1/4 teaspoon seasoned salt

 Directions

In a saucepan, bring water and bouillon if desired to a boil. Add beans. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10-12 minutes or until beans are tender. In a large skillet, sauté garlic in butter for 1 minute. Drain beans; add to skillet. Sprinkle with seasoned salt and toss to coat.

Baked Candied Yams (Printable Version)

Peel, wash and slice the yams

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add the sliced yams. Cook until just barely fork tender. You want them to hold their shape, not fall apart (they will be really mushy that way), but definitely cooked through. Drain the yams and run cold water over them to stop the cooking. Spray a baking pan with cooking spray. Lay one layer of yams on the bottom of the pan and dot with very small dots of butter. Sprinkle with cinnamon and grate fresh nutmeg very sparingly over the layer. You should only taste a hint of the nutmeg when eating the yams.

If you like nuts throw them on, I used chopped pecans but almonds or walnuts work well also.

Using your hand sprinkle dark brown sugar over the yams, how much you use depends on how sweet you like them. Then very thinly pour real maple syrup over the yams.

Repeat this for as many layers as you have yams.

Bake at 350 degrees for 35 – 45 minutes until butter and sugar are bubbling on the bottom of the pan.

Top with marshmallows and bake until puffy and light golden brown (watch them close).