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Thanksgiving Side Dishes

November 5, 2012 in sides, spon

Today I’m going to be sharing a couple side dishes for the big turkey day. I know side dishes are the hardest thing for me to come up with so when I was asked to come up with a couple using I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter, I jumped at the chance. I’ve worked with I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter in the past and was even lucky enough to make some brownies in the Unilever kitchens:

Whoa flashback!

Anyway, I’m obviously a big fan of using I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter. I almost always have it in my fridge and I absolutely love the sticks for baking! Plus it has 0 grams of trans fat!

For my side dishes I went with a basic mashed potato recipe but jazzed it up with some roasted garlic. If you’ve never roasted garlic, it’s super simple. You cut off the top of the garlic bulb to expose all the little cloves, rub it with some olive oil, and then roast it for about 30 minutes. The little cloves practically fall out after that. Once roasted, the garlic doesn’t have quite the punch that raw garlic has – it’s absolutely delicious and you could easily mix it into a ton of different foods.

These Roasted Garlic Parmesan Mashed Potatoes are perfect for Thanksgiving because they can be made ahead of time. Which means less stress on you! You simply refrigerate them until the bird is ready and then quickly bake them until they’re heated through. The roasted garlic and the Parmesan are perfection together and they are really fantastic with gravy poured all over.

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Roasted Garlic Parmesan Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients

For the roasted garlic:
1 bulb of garlic
2 teaspoons olive oil
For the potatoes:
5 pounds yukon gold potatoes
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 stick (1/2 cup) I Can't Believe It's Not Butter, melted
1/2 - 1 cup milk, warmed
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, divided
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

    To make roasted garlic:
  1. Preheat oven to 350F.
  2. Slice off the top of the garlic bulb, making sure to expose the top of each clove of garlic. Rub the olive oil over the exposed tops. Wrap in aluminum foil and roasted for 30 - 35 minutes or until the cloves easily slide out. Set aside.
    3. To make the potatoes:
  3. Wash, peel (if desired - I leave mine with peels), and dice. Place in a large pot; fill with water to a couple inches above the potatoes. Boil until fork tender. Drain and mash.
  4. Place the potatoes in the bowl of a stand mixer; add cream cheese, melted I Can't Believe It's Not Butter, and warmed milk. Beat slowly at first to combined everything and then at a higher speed to further mash the potatoes. Continue beating until the potatoes are as mashed as you prefer. Beat in 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper.
  5. Spray a 2-quart baking dish with cooking spray. Spoon the potatoes into the dish and sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan.
  6. At this point you can cover and refrigerate overnight if you need to.
    7. To bake the potatoes:
  7. Preheat the oven to 350F.
  8. Bake for about 30 minutes, until the cheese is melted and the potatoes are hot.
http://fakeginger.com/2012/11/05/thanksgiving-side-dishes/

The second recipe I chose to make is inspired by something I got from one of those fancy health food store hot bars around this time last year. It was a rice dressing that had a ton of cranberries in it. I thought it was the strangest thing when I loaded it into my little cardboard box but I definitely fell in love once I tasted it.

I used a wild and brown rice mix but if you can’t find it, an equal amount of wild rice and brown rice works just the same. This version is loaded with cranberries, pecans, fresh thyme, fresh parsley, all the good stuff. It’s absolutely scrumptious and is perfect for Thanksgiving.

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Wild Rice Stuffing

Ingredients

2 tablespoon I Can't Believe It's Not Butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
2 cups wild rice blend
4 cups vegetable broth (or a mixture of broth and water)
1 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup pecans, chopped
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh thyme
salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

  1. In a large pot, heat I Can't Believe It's Not Butter and olive oil over medium heat until butter is melted; add onion. Cook onion, stirring occasionally, until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook another 30 seconds, or until fragrant. Add rice; stir to combine. Gradually pour in vegetable broth. Bring to a boil; cover and lower to a simmer. Let cook for about 50 minutes (check package instructions).
  2. Stir in cranberries, pecans, parsley, thyme, and salt and pepper. Serve immediately.
http://fakeginger.com/2012/11/05/thanksgiving-side-dishes/

Thank you to Good to Know & Unilever Spreads for being a sponsor. I was selected for this opportunity as a member ofClever Girls Collective. All opinions expressed here are my own.

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Slow Cooker Red Beans and Rice

January 10, 2012 in beans, slow cooker

One of my favorite meals growing up was red beans and rice. It’s the ultimate comfort food in my book but I’ve never made it before because my husband swears that he doesn’t like beans. And well, beans are kind of a big part of red beans and rice.

But I took a chance recently and crossed my fingers that it would go over well. And go over well it did! It was just as comforting as I remembered it being and was perfect on a snowy day!

Awesome, easy recipe that requires zero bean soaking! And I bet you have almost everything you need in your pantry right now. The recipe calls for the slow cooker to start on high and then be turned down to low after a few hours of cooking but I imagine that if you soaked the beans overnight, you could just cook them on low the entire time.

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Slow Cooker Red Beans and Rice

Ingredients

1 pound dried red beans
1 large white onion, chopped
1 bunch green onions, chopped
2 tablespoons dried parsley
1 large green bell pepper, chopped
3 large garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
¼ teaspoon thyme
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 pound link sausage, sliced
2 quarts water
1 (4-ounce) can tomato sauce
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
3 dashes hot sauce
Hot cooked rice, for serving

Instructions

  1. Combine everything but the rice in a slow cooker. Cook on high for 4-5 hours; turn down to low and cook another 3-4 hours or until the beans are tender. Serve over rice.
http://fakeginger.com/2012/01/10/slow-cooker-red-beans-and-rice/

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Caramelized Carrot Risotto

October 20, 2011 in sides

I am loving the risotto recipes right now! The last one I made really got me in a mood to try new flavors in risotto so I was pretty excited to find this carrot recipe.

Not gonna lie, I was kind of hesitant because carrots? In risotto? Exactly. But I have to say, they became so sweet when caramelized and somehow just worked perfectly with the Parmesan.  Everyone in the family, including the kids (!!) loved this one and sadly for me, there were zero leftovers. I think I could’ve eaten this for a week straight without getting sick of it.

Forget everything you’ve heard about how “difficult” it is to make risotto – you absolutely must give this one a try! As long as you’re prepared to hover over the stove for about 30 minutes, you’ll be fine!

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Caramelized Carrot Risotto

Ingredients

2 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
6 medium carrots, peeled and chopped as finely and evenly as possible (about 3 cups)
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
5 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
⅓ cup minced onion
1½ cups Arborio rice
½ cup dry white wine
¼ cup freshly shredded parmesan cheese, plus ½ cup for garnish
1 teaspoon roughly chopped fresh thyme
⅛ teaspoon pepper

Instructions

  1. Heat 1 tablespoon oil and 1 tablespoon butter over medium heat in a medium heavy-bottomed pot; add carrots and stir with a wooden spoon until well coated. Add ½ cup water, ½ teaspoon salt, and the sugar; cover and cook 5 minutes, or until tender. Uncover and cook, stirring occasionally, until water evaporates and carrots are just starting to brown, a few minutes more. Reserve half of the carrots. In a blender, purée other half with ¾ cup hot water.
  2. Bring chicken broth to a simmer and keep at a simmer, covered, over low heat.
  3. Heat remaining oil and butter over medium heat in same (unwashed) pot used for carrots. Add onion and cook until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add rice, stirring with a wooden spoon to coat rice with oil, 1 minute. Add wine and cook, stirring, until wine evaporates. Add carrot purée and cook, stirring, until mixture no longer looks soupy.
  4. Add ½ cup hot broth, stirring often, until rice absorbs most of the liquid. Repeat process, adding ½ cup broth at a time and stirring often till each addition is absorbed before adding the next, until rice is al dente (about 20 minutes).
  5. Fold in reserved carrots ¼ cup Parmesan, and the thyme. Add up to 1 cup broth (1/4 cup at a time) to loosen the risotto. Season with salt and white pepper to taste.
  6. Sprinkle each bowl of risotto with some of remaining ½ cup parmesan; serve immediately
http://fakeginger.com/2011/10/20/caramelized-carrot-risotto/


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Smoked Gouda Risotto with Mushrooms

October 5, 2011 in sides

One of my favorite things about winter is the food. But let’s be honest, I’m sure it’s your favorite too. I’m super excited for stews and pot roasts and especially risotto.

Risotto is one of my favorite things to make – there’s something so rewarding about standing over the stove and stirring the rice for so long – but I tend to avoid it during the warmer months since it can seem pretty heavy. We had a break in the warm weather a couple weeks back and I made sure take some time for my favorite dish.

This version is so dreamy! It’s your typical risotto but at the very end a big hunk of smoked gouda is stirred in. Oh yeah. The risotto turns from creamy to extra creamy and the smokiness of the gouda just takes it completely over the top. And then you top it with mushrooms that were sautéed with fresh herbs and then cooked down in white wine. Can you imagine anything better?!

If you can get away with a meatless meal, this would be so perfect! A big bowl of this and I would be one happy girl.

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Smoked Gouda Risotto with Mushrooms

adapted from Cooking Light

Ingredients

For the risotto:
2 cups water
2 (16-ounce) cans low sodium chicken broth
1 tablespoon butter
⅓ cup chopped shallots
2 cups Arborio rice
½ cup dry white wine
½ teaspoon salt
1½ cups (6 ounces) shredded smoked Gouda cheese
For the mushrooms:
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cups sliced mushrooms
⅓ cup chopped shallots
¼ cup dry white wine
1½ teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
1½ teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
1 garlic clove, minced
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
Rosemary sprigs (optional)

Instructions

  1. To prepare risotto, combine water and broth; set aside. Melt butter in a large nonstick saucepan over medium heat. Add ⅓ cup shallots; cover and cook 2 minutes. Add rice; cook 2 minutes, uncovered, stirring constantly. Stir in ½ cup wine; cook 30 seconds or until the liquid is nearly absorbed, stirring constantly. Add ½ teaspoon salt and broth mixture, ½ cup at a time, stirring constantly until each portion of broth mixture is absorbed before adding the next (about 20 minutes total). Stir in Gouda; cook just until melted.
  2. To prepare mushrooms, heat olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms, and saute 5 minutes or until beginning to brown. Add ⅓ cup shallots, ¼ cup wine, chopped thyme, chopped rosemary, and minced garlic, and sauté 1 minute or until wine is absorbed. Sprinkle with ¼ teaspoon salt and pepper.
  3. Divide risotto evenly among bowls; top with mushroom mixture. Garnish with rosemary sprigs, if desired.
http://fakeginger.com/2011/10/05/smoked-gouda-risotto-with-mushrooms/

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Risotto with Caramelized Onions, Mushrooms, and Chickpeas

March 8, 2010 in Meatless, rice

I’ve been feeling pretty uninspired in the kitchen lately in case you haven’t noticed. That’s why there’s been lots of bread. Bread is easy. I don’t have to think about it, just have to follow directions. Especially the BBA breads! I don’t even have to search for a recipe, I just have to open my book to the next one. Ahh… laziness.

Yesterday my 3 year old went on his first boat ride leaving the baby & I to watch whatever we wanted. After my DVD player flashed “BAD DISC” at me when I tried to watch Twilight (stop judging me), we settled on Food Network. It was my first time watching in forever. Okay, so who decided it was a good idea to give Brian Boitano a show? That was a very painful 30 minutes. Never again. I stuck around for Big Daddy’s House (which I’d never seen) and was so excited by the sandwiches he was making. They looked amazing! And he totally inspired me to get up and make something.

I went for my no-fail risotto method but used up some mushrooms that were on their way out and added my favorite chickpeas. Oh my gosh, this was so good. I think risotto will always be my favorite easy meal.

I’ve said it before and I’m sure I’ll say it again… don’t go out and spend $7 on a pound of Arborio rice. If you can’t find it around you, the regular white rice works. It won’t be as creamy but as long as you add the broth in batches and continue to stir it, it will be creamy enough.

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Risotto with Caramelized Onions, Mushrooms, and Chickpeas
 

Ingredients
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 small onion, thinly sliced
  • 1 cup mushrooms, sliced
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1 cup Arborio rice
  • ⅓ cup dry white wine
  • 5 – 6 cups broth (veggie or chicken), heated
  • ½ cup chickpeas, rinsed
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • fresh herbs (optional)

Instructions
  1. Heat oil in a large pan over medium-low heat. Add onion and cook for 5 to 10 minutes, just until it begins to caramelize. Add mushrooms and cook about 5 more minutes until the mushrooms are soft and the onions are good and caramelized. Stir in garlic and rice; continue stirring until the rice is completely coated, about 1 minute. Pour in wine and simmer until it has just about evaporated.
  2. Begin adding broth, 1 cup at a time, stirring until each cup is absorbed. The rice should be creamy but not mushy. Add chickpeas once you’re happy with the texture and warm until the chickpeas are just heated through. Add salt, pepper, and any fresh herbs to taste.


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