To serve a crowd:

• 1  5-pound bag potatoes, peeled and halved
• 2 teaspoons vegetable broth powder (my favorite is Vegeta soup base) OR 2 cups vegetable broth
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons cream cheese (you can substitute sour cream if you prefer)
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon black pepper

Place potatoes in large pot. Cover with 1 teaspoon of broth powder or 1-1/4 cups vegetable broth. Add water to cover potatoes. Boil until fork-tender. remove from heat and drain most of water (leave about 3/4 cup at the bottom). Add remaining teaspoon of broth powder to water in pot (or drain fully and add remaining 3/4 cup broth). Add in remaining ingredients, and mash to desired consistency. Reserve, covered, in refrigerator. Warm before serving.

Filed under: Category Recipes, Salads & Sides, Vegetarian | Tags: lowfat mashed potatoes,make-ahead recipes by No Comments »

This salad works as a salsa, with chips, on its own as a salad, or as a garnish for grilled chicken or meat. The beautiful color combination is a treat for any table.

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

1/2 pound (approximately 7 spears) asparagus

3/4 cup cooked black beans, drained and rinsed

2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

2 tablespoons red onion, finely diced

1-1/2 teaspoons jalapeno, finely diced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tablespoon fresh Italian Parsley, minced

1 tomato, seeded and diced

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon salt

Blanche asparagus for 2 minutes in boiling water. Immediately drain and rise with cold water. Dice asparagus into 1/4 inch rounds. Combine with remaining ingredients. Chill before serving.

Filed under: Category 30 Spectacular Salads, Light Cooking, Recipes, Salads & Sides, Vegetarian | Tags: asparagus salad,black bean salad,great dip,healthy dip by 1 Comment »

Ingredients

• 4 cups cooked and mashed sweet potatoes
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2/3 cup light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a medium-sized baking dish. In a large bowl, mix together mashed sweet potatoes, 1/2 cup butter, milk, sugar, vanilla extract, and eggs. Spread sweet potato mixture into the prepared baking dish. In a small bowl, mix together brown sugar and flour. Cut in 1/3 cup butter until mixture is crumbly, then stir in pecans. Sprinkle pecan mixture over the sweet potatoes. Bake for 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown.

Filed under: Category Recipes, Salads & Sides, Vegetarian | Tags: sweet potato casserole,thanksgiving recipes by No Comments »

Ingredients

• 4 medium carrots, sliced into rounds
• 3 cups arugula (or Napa cabbage), chopped
• 1⁄4 cup feta cheese, crumbled

BASIL DRESSING

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 3 fresh basil leaves finely chopped
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 1 large clove garlic, pressed

Combine carrots, arugula and feta. Top with Basil dressing.

Filed under: Category 30 Spectacular Salads, Recipes, Salads & Sides, Vegetarian | Tags: carrot salad,vegetarian recipes by No Comments »

Ingredients

• 2 packages corn muffin mix
• 2 eggs
• 2/3 cup milk
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 apple, peeled and diced
• 1/2 cup diced onion
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 teaspoon dried sage
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Combine cornbread mix with eggs and milk. Pour into baking dish and bake at 400 degrees F until firm (about 15 – 20 minutes). Cool cornbread, cube or break apart and put back into baking dish. Meanwhile, saute apples and onion in butter in pan on stove for about 8 minutes, until tender. Add sage and cinnamon and stir through. Add broth and  apples/onions to cornbread, and stir until completely blended. Put back in oven and bake for 25 – 30 minutes until top is firm.

Filed under: Category Recipes, Salads & Sides, Uncategorized | Tags: cornbread stuffing,stuffing recipe by No Comments »

Ingredients

• 1 pound shrimp peeled and deveined (raw or precooked, your preference)
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 4 limes (for pre-cooked shrimp, 7 for raw)
• 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 3 tablespoons red onion
• 1 avocado, diced
• 1/2 mango, diced
• 1 heart Romaine Lettuce, chopped
• 1/2 cup greek yogurt
• 1 tablespoon cilantro, minced
• 1 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1/2 teaspoon spicy dry mustard

Dice shrimp and place in dish. Season with salt, top with onion, and squeeze with juice from limes (3 if cooked, 6 if raw). For cooked shrimp, let marinate at least one half hour. If shrimp is uncooked, let shrimp “cook” in lime juice for at least 3 hours, up to overnight. Add avocado and mango to shrimp, and serve on bed of lettuce topped with dressing. For dressing, combine yogurt, juice from remaining lime, cilantro, mustard and garlic salt.

Filed under: Category 30 Spectacular Salads, Light Cooking, Recipes, Salads & Sides, Seafood | Tags: ceviche salad recipe,shrimp mango avocado salad,shrimp salad recipe,unique salad by No Comments »

Tired of the same old mayonnaise-laden potato salad? Follow this recipe for a leaner, lighter-tasting salad with all the flavor and more.

Ingredients

• 3 pounds potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 2 tablespoons chicken or vegetable broth granules
• juice of 4 lemons
• 3 tablespoons white vingar
• 1/4 cup diced green onions
• 1 cup celery, diced
• 3 tablespoons mustard (your choice of spicy or straight)
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 3 hard boiled eggs, diced
• 1 table spoon fresh dill and/or parsley
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper

Place potatoes in a large stock pot. Over with water and add broth granules. Boil until tender. Remove from heat, drain and rinse with cold water. Immediately cover potatoes with lemon juice, and vinegar. Stir to coat, and let cool completely. Add remaining ingredients and stir to coat. Refrigerate before serving.

Filed under: Category Light Cooking, Recipes, Salads & Sides, Vegetarian | Tags: lite potato salad,potato salad,potato salad recipe by 1 Comment »

Garbage Salad is a general description of a salad that has a plethora of ingredients that are not vegetables… thus making the salad not the healthiest option… though it can be oh so good!

My Father’s Day Garbage Salad included the following ingredients, served over one half a head of chopped lettuce.

• 1 cup garlic and butter croutons
• 1 package crumbled blue cheese
• 6 slices firmly cooked bacon, chopped
• 1 can marinated artichoke hearts, drained
• 1/3 cup sliced black olives
• Ranch DressingFor a healthier option, I could have substituted one half a diced avocado for the bacon, one half a cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced, for the croutons and used light dressing.

Filed under: Category Recipes, Salads & Sides | Tags: artichoke recipes,blue cheese salad,Father's Day Recipes,garbage salad,salad recipe by No Comments »

A great side dish for a fish dinner, homemade hush puppies are also easy, and more importantly fit into my favorite category of recipe — Smart. That means if you have a can of creamed corn on hand, you are likely to have all the other ingredients you need for success.

Ingredients

• 1-1/2 cups flour
• 1 package corn muffin mix
• 1 – 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 small onion
• 1/2 green pepper, diced
• 1 egg
• 1 can cream-style corn
• oil for frying

Stir together flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt. Separately, combine egg, corn, peppers and onion. Stir into dry ingredients. Drop by spoonfuls into hot oil in pan on stove. Cook about 8 minutes each, turning often.

Filed under: Category Recipes, Salads & Sides, Vegetarian | Tags: creamed corn recipes,homemade hush puppies,hush puppies by No Comments »

Ingredients

• 1 lb of zucchini
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 large avocado
• 6 tablespoons of olive oil
• 2 tablespoons of white wine vinegar
• 2 teaspoons of salt
• 1 teaspoon of sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon tarragon
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Cut the zucchinis into ½-inch thick slices, and then quarter each slice.
Bring the water to the boil and add the zucchini slices and 1 teaspoon of the salt.
Cover and cook for 5 minutes. Drain the zucchini and set aside in a bowl to cool. Combine garlic olive oil, vinegar, salt, sugar and tarragon to make dressing. Pour over zucchini and chill. Add diced avocado and black pepper immediately before serving. Serve with tortilla chips or as a delicious topping for grilled fish, chicken or steak.

Filed under: Category Appetizers, Recipes, Salads & Sides, Vegetarian | Tags: avocado and zucchini salsa,avocado salsa,homemade salsa,zucchini salsa by 1 Comment »