Side Dish Recipes

Greens with Roasted Corn & Pepper Salad
(Leigh)

1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed
5 oz bottled roasted red bell peppers, drained and chopped
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1 jalopeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped
1/4 cup low-fat sour cream
3 tbsp white wine vinegar
1 tsp salt
2-10 oz pkgs Italian Blend Salad Greens (about 12 cups)
3 tbsp pine nuts, toasted

Preheat broiler. Place corn on a foil-line baking sheet. Broil 12 minutes or until slightly browned, stirring once. Cool. Combine corn, bell peppers, onions, and jalopeno pepper in a large bowl. Whisk together sour cream, vinegar, and salt. Add sour cream mixture to corn mixture, tossing to coat. Chill 1 hour. Divide greens evenly among 8 plates. Top each serving with about 1/3 cup of corn mixture and about 1 tsp pine nuts.

Sweet Potato with Pears
(Liz - adapted from Birmingham Magazine)

3 cups mashed sweet potatoes
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs, lighly beaten
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup butter, melted
Canned pears

Topping:
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 cup pecans, chopped

Combine first six ingredients. Pour into a buttered 1 1/2 to 2-quart casserole dish. Mix topping ingredients together and sprinkle over the top. Bake at 350 for 30 to 40 minutes, until hot and browned. With an ice cream scoop, scoop out sweet potatoes (with topping in place) and place on top of pear halves on a baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes to warm through the pear.

Tip: You can make the sweet potatoes in advance and freeze them. Thaw them the night before you want to serve, scoop them out and place on the pears, and heat through. Voila!

Autumn Greens and Apple Salad
(Sarah - from Rachel Ray)

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
1/2 shallot, finely chopped
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
3 ribs celery, thinly sliced on an angle
2 crisp apples, such as Braeburn or Gala, unpeeled and thinly sliced
1 small head green leaf lettuce, torn into small pieces (about 4 cups)
1/3 cup pumpkin seeds, toasted

In a large salad bowl, whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, shallot, salt and pepper. Add the celery and apples and toss. Add the lettuce and toss again. Top with pumpkin seeds.

Oven-Baked Tomatoes
(Melanie)

3 Heirloom tomatoes
Non-stick cooking spray
Zesty Italian Dressing
Feta Cheese

Slice tomatoes into thirds (approximately 1 to 1 1/2 inches thick). Spray a baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray and place tomatoes on top. Sprinkle approximately 1 tsp Zesty Italian Dressing on top of each tomato. Top with feta cheese. Bake at 400 for 10 to 15 minutes, or until cheese is browned. Serve immediately.

Speedy Little Devils (aka Quick Little Rascals)
(Mary Colleen)

1 stick butter, melted and cooled a bit
1 pkg Devil's Food Cake Mix
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1-7 oz marshmallow cream

Mix butter and cake mix together to crumb. Pat all but one cup into an ungreased 9x13 pan. Mix together peanut butter and marshmallow cream. Drop in spoonfuls over crust and flatten with hands (you do not have to go all the way to the sides of the pan). Sprinkle remaining crumbs on top. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Let cool and cut into bars.