Tag: side

Veggie Platter Prep

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You can use any container you have for this veggie platter. These veggies are a good choice because not only do these colors look great together, but these veggies have a good variety of flavors that would be good with a variety of dips, or even just ranch! For this platter, I bought normal cherry tomatoes and pre-sliced carrot chips. This just made sense for me. You could get a mix of cherry tomatoes to get a variety in colors, but the cost wasn’t worth it for this platter. I also bought carrot chips for a different shape on my platter and for easy prep. If you have a mandolin you can cut your own chips, but you can also just buy the already sliced chips. Other than that, it just took a bit of prep for the rest. A nice cutting board is necessary for this and a sharp paring knife will help a lot with cutting the two head veggies. Celery is a great garnish if you want more color on your plate, and Yellow peppers are preference to add more color and a milder flavor than red or green peppers. Using the veggies below, your veggie platter will serve about 15 as an appetizer or side dish.

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What You Will Need

  • 1/2 lb. Broccoli Head
  • 1 Head Cauliflower
  • 2 Yellow Bell Peppers
  • 1 Container Cherry Tomatoes
  • 1 Bag Carrot Chips
  • 1 Bag of Celery
  • 1 Large Bowl
  • Vinegar
  • Large Baking Sheet Lined with Paper Towels
  • Small Strainer

Directions

Preparing Celery

To prepare your celery, Remove large outer stalks and place in sink. Rinse thoroughly with cold water making sure to remove any dirt on the white tail end of the stalk. Transfer to a cutting board. Cut off the leaves just below the knuckle. Save all celery trimmings in a resealable container for vegetable stalk/soup. Reserve a large top for garnish under cauliflower. Cut off about 1/2 inch to 1 inch from the bottom. Then divide the remaining stalk into equal sections about 2 inches long. Continue this until you reach the fine stalks at the center of the celery, then save them also for a stock. Rinse your celery in cool water before transferring to baking sheet to dry.

Preparing Cauliflower

To prepare your Cauliflower, rinse under cold water then transfer to cutting board. First, you’ll want to remove any leaves from the bottom of the head. Then, begin cutting off florets and transferring to bowl of cold water. Once all cut, divide large florets to smaller pieces. Place florets on baking sheet to dry. Save the stem for stock.

Preparing Tomatoes and Carrot Chips

Place tomatoes and carrot chips in small strainer individually. Rinse your tomatoes and carrot chips. Place in containers to dry.

Preparing Bell Peppers

To prepare peppers, rinse the outside of the peppers thoroughly with water. Cut around the outside of the pepper to get 4 slices of pepper. Clean out any seeds and cutting any inside veins. Once cleaned out, slice the peppers into strips. Rinse in cold water then place on baking sheet to dry.

Preparing Broccoli

Follow the same steps at Cauliflower, however broccoli needs a double rinse. To do that, you’ll want to fill your bowl with 1/2 cup vinegar and fill the remaining space with cold water. Place your florets in the vinegar water for 5 minutes, before dividing into smaller pieces as needed, then you’ll want to do a final rinse before setting to dry. Once again save your stem! You can peel the tough outside and use the soft inside in other recipes.

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Christmas Dinner 2020

Christmas is one of my favorite holidays. I really enjoy getting gifts for others, and I enjoy Christmas dinner. Ham is one of my favorite foods and so I always make a ham for Christmas and Easter. My Easter dinner also looks identical to my Christmas dinner. Since it’s been a weird year, I will be celebrating Christmas with my husband’s nuclear family, and won’t be able to make my standard dinner on Christmas afternoon. So, I decided to make my Christmas dinner last night!

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I always make the same things for holidays. For Christmas I always make a cooked ham, mashed potatoes and gravy, sweet potato casserole, a canned veggie, crescent rolls, and the star of the meal is always deviled eggs. Many of these foods are standard. I enjoy my ham with a brown sugar glaze and some pineapple on top (even if it does nothing for the flavor). Mashed potatoes are standard, and my gravy I made from this year’s turkey stock, and just added 3 Tbsp corn starch to thicken. Sweet potato casserole is just opening a can and a bag of marshmallows at this point. And finally, the original part of the meal is deviled eggs. I find eggs to go so good with ham, and deviled eggs are a tasty treat anyway! Mayo, mustard, and egg make a tasty appetizer and side! To cook this dinner, it only took 1.5 hours. My ham was cooked, so I just had to reheat. I then peeled and diced the potatoes, and started them boiling 40 minutes before the ham was done. I heated the gravy on the stove and once thick, would pull it off the heat when it’d boil, and I also started boiling a can of sliced carrots about 20 minutes from serving. I placed my crescents on a baking sheet and started them 14 minutes from completion, and I baked the sweet potato casserole with 7 minutes left. With about 5 minutes left I strained the potatoes and finished them with just enough time for everything else to finish.

I hope this give you some ideas and instruction for your Christmas dinner! Merry Christmas!

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To see recipes for what I make, you can click a link below!

Click here to see my recipe for Cooked Ham!

Click here to see my recipe for Mashed Potatoes and Gravy!

Click here to see my recipe for Sweet Potato Casserole and Honey Roasted Beets!

Click here to see my recipe for Deviled Eggs!

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Teriyaki Pork Butt Steak with Asian Noodles

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This teriyaki sauce is absolutely delicious! This sauce is a great mix of sweet and savory, and would go great as a glazing for any fish, chicken, or pork. The pork is delicious and of course the main part of the dish, however, the real star of this dish is the Asian noodles. The noodles are filling, the onion adds a great subtle flavor to the dish, and the cabbage adds great texture, and while the flavor of the pepper is also subtle, the color it brings to the side is delicious! For this recipe, I used the second half of the pork steak I had from yesterday’s post, peanut pork curry. That gave us enough pork for 3 servings, however with how much pasta I made, we had 5 serving total. The pasta was also great on it’s own, and if you were to serve this for a big family, I would recommend cubing the pork, then tossing into the noodles. This recipe can easily make enough to serve 5 adults.

Teriyaki Pork Butt Steak with Asian Noodles Recipe CardDownload
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What You Will Need

  • 1 Pork Boston Butt Steak
  • 2 Tbsp oil
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce
  • 2 Tbsp Corn Starch
  • 1 cup beef broth
  • 4 Tbsp Brown Sugar
  • 1 Clove Garlic, minced
  • 1/2 tsp Ground Ginger
  • 1/2 tsp Mustard powder
  • 1 Tbsp Vinegar
  • 1/2 red bell pepper, seeded and sliced
  • 1/2 onion, sliced
  • 1 cup cabbage, sliced
  • 8 Oz spaghetti, cooked and strained
  • Side bowl
  • Wok
  • Frying Pan

Directions

1. Cook your spaghetti until very al dente, and rinse under cool water. Place wok over medium heat, place frying pan over medium high heat. In side bowl, mix together broth and corn starch. Once smooth, add soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic, ginger, mustard, and vinegar, mix until smooth.

2. Add 1 Tbsp oil to frying pan, when add Steak. Cook on each side for 5 Minutes. Add your sauce mixture and cook for 3-4 minutes until sauce is thick. Remove from heat.

3. Add cabbage, onion, and peppers. Add 1 Tbsp oil and cook until onions begin to turn translucent. Add Noodles to wok and cook until hot. Pour thickened sauce over pasta, stir, then remove from heat. Slice pork steak. Plate pasta, then top with pork.

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Thanksgiving Mashed Potatoes and Gravy

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Mashed potatoes and gravy are a must in our house for any and every holiday! I’ve made chunky mashed potatoes and creamy, I’ve made watery mashed potatoes, and I’ve made airy mashed potatoes. I always use white or yellow potatoes. I find them easier to work with and the aren’t nearly as starchy as russets. Next, how chunky or smooth your potatoes are is based on how long you let them cook. If they cook until they are fully tender, you are more likely to get smooth mashed potatoes, if you strain them early, you will get a chunky mashed potatoes that will take longer to come together with a mixer. You want to avoid adding too much liquid of they will be runny, and if you want them airy, you can bake them for 10-15 minutes in a casserole dish. If you bake them too much longer, they will turn very starchy and heavy. Less cooking time for airy mashed is better.

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As for gravy, I used the last of the turkey stock I had made last year. If you don’t have a turkey stock, you can make some the day of, by boiling the neck submerged in water for about 4 hours, but you can always use a chicken stock. You’ll want to season as you desire, salt, maybe some butter, sage, rosemary, or thyme. You also want to start by mixing the corn starch with a small amount of broth before adding it to the gravy. Corn starch doesn’t create clumps as much as flour, but it can still happen, so it’s good practice. This recipe makes 8 adult sized servings of mashed potatoes and gravy.

Thanksgiving Mashed Potatoes and Gravy Recipe CardDownload
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What You Will Need

  • 7 lbs White Potatoes, Peeled and Cubed
  • 1/2 Cup Butter (1 Stick)
  • 1-2 Cups Milk (As Desired)
  • Large Dutch Oven
  • Mixing Bowl
  • 2 Cups Turkey Stock/Chicken Broth
  • 1/2 Cup Turkey Drippings
  • 1/2 Cup Corn Starch
  • Small Saucepan

Directions

1. Place your cubed potatoes into the dutch oven. Rinse several times, then cover potatoes with 1-2 inches of water. Place over medium heat, cook for 30 minutes or until a potato falls apart when stabbed with a fork.

2. Strain your potatoes, then transfer to a mixing bowl. Add butter and slowly add milk and begin smashing potatoes with a mixer or a hand masher. Taste and add salt as desired.

3. Add broth to a small sauce pan, reserving 1/2 cup. Place over medium heat and bring to a boil. Mix corn starch with reserved broth. Once fully combined, add to heated broth. Bring to a boil and serve once thick.

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Thanksgiving Sweet Potato Casserole and Honey Roasted Beets

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These two sides are easy to make and add so muck variety to the meal. The sweet and savory sweet potatoes adds a new flavor and texture to the meal. The beets offer a warm earthy flavor that tastes great with the sweet and natural honey, and once roasted, you can taste the natural sweetness in the beet too. Both these dishes can be made from jarred products and, in my opinion, taste just as good as homemade. If you choose to buy canned sweet potatoes, you can either buy sweet potatoes or yams. Yams are very uncommon in the U.S., so a container labeled yams contains sweet potatoes.

Thanksgiving Sweet Potatoes and Roasted Beets Recipe CardDownload

What You Will Need

  • 1 Jar Pickled Beets, Strained
  • 1/3 Cup Honey
  • Small Sided Baking Dish
  • 1 Can Diced Sweet Potatoes (Or Yams), Strained
  • 2 Cups Marshmallows (Regular or Mini)
  • Bread Pan

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350 F. Add your pickled beets into your small dish. Top with honey and coating each beet. Place in the oven and cook for 15 minutes, or just until warm. Serve immediately.

2. Add your strained sweet potatoes to your bread pan. Top with marshmallows. Bake for 15 minutes or until marshmallows begin to melt. Serve immediately.

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