Side Dishes

These are some of the best side dish ideas to round out any meal.

Whether you’re looking for vegetable side dish recipes, like these Sweet and Spicy Skillet Green Beans or potato side dish recipes like this super popular Loaded Mashed Potato Casserole, you’re sure to find inspiration here.

You’ll even find healthy easy side dishes like my Garlic Roasted Carrots and plenty of kid-friendly options too!

Homemade Mac & cheese it's a keeper

My Favorite Mac & Cheese

There is nothing more perfect (in my 5 year old’s opinion) than macaroni and cheese.  He would eat it with everything meal — including breakfast if I let him!  It goes with everything — chicken, beef, fish, pancakes (he actually tried to convince me of that once!).

While my son loves mac and cheese from a box, he loves my homemade version even more.  Making homemade mac & cheese is not as daunting of a task as you might think.  It’s really quite simple.   And, this recipe tastes sooo much better than the stuff from a box.  Trust me on this.  Years ago I found a recipe in the Ultimate Southern Living Cookbook that seemed to work perfectly for me.  I’ve since adapted the recipe a bit to suit our tastes, and now it’s just right!

Lemon Orzo Salad in a clear bowl.

Lemon Orzo Salad

A few years ago I went to a cooking class at my local Wegman’s supermarket. It was a great class on grilling. I learned a log of great tips and techniques. One of the recipes they made that night was a Grilled Orzo Salad. I must have liked the recipe, because I found it buried deep in my recipe stash.

Broccoli Coleslaw

Broccoli Coleslaw

My family loves broccoli slaw! This is one of those recipes that I’m always asked to make. And, I really don’t mind at all! I came up with this idea after visiting with some family. My cousin brought a broccoli slaw made at a local deli and it was fantastic! So, I took my regular coleslaw recipe and swapped out the cabbage for broccoli and….viola! Broccoli slaw!

Balsamic Quinoa Salad

Balsamic Quinoa Salad

I’ve been hearing so much about quinoa lately but I have to admit I’ve never had it. That is, until now. Quinoa (pronounced “keen-wa”) is a seed-like whole grain that cooks just like rice. It was first eaten by Incan warriors as their fuel for battle because it gave them such good energy and power. Quinoa is not only high in protein but is also:

Parmesan Roasted Green Beans

This year, my garden produced a TON of green beans!  There is nothing like fresh beans picked from the vine.  They’re perfect!  With so many on hand, I began searching for new green bean recipes.  That’s when I stumbled upon this great recipe for Parmesan Roasted Green Beans on a great blog I found —  Cooking Tip of the Day.

Chicken Orzo Salad with Goat Cheese

I’m always on the lookout for dishes that I can pre-make for my work lunches.  So when this recipe popped up in my inbox I thought I would give it a try. 

My Mom’s 3 Bean Salad

Tonight, we had dinner at my grandparent’s house.  God love them….they’re 92 and still entertaining!  My grandmother made my favorite stuffed pork chops (with the stuffing on top so it gets all crispy and yummy!) and my mother brought a 3 bean salad.  It’s a new recipe that she tried.

Antipasta Platter

Antipasta Platter

My cousin, Donna, bring this great antipasta platter to all of our family get-togethers.  It’s one of my favorite appetizers ever! 

Southwest Salad

My favorite salad of all time is the Cobb Salad at Brixx Grille and Tavern in Scranton!  The other night for dinner, I was craving this salad but couldn’t run out and pick one up.  Fortunately, I had most of the ingredients on hand so I tried to re-create it at home. 

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