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Tag: side dish

  • Herb Dinner Rolls with #STAROliveOil

    Herb Dinner Rolls with #STAROliveOil

    *I am a member of the Collective Bias®  Social Fabric® Community.  This post for Herb Dinner Rolls has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias and its client.*
     
    Herb Dinner Rolls with #STAROliveOil ad

    Are you a butter lover?  I am. I love a good piece of bread spread with lots of yummy butter. Some things we really should eat in moderation though.

    Growing up I lived in a duplex with my Aunt and Uncle on one side, and us on the other. Every Saturday morning we would head to my Aunts kitchen for pancakes and waffles. While my Aunt took shape orders for pancakes, my Uncle taught me how to spread butter on a waffle so it would penetrate every hole. Oh the deliciousness!

    Then one day, my Uncle no longer ate butter. With high cholesterol he had to start finding alternatives. I couldn’t imagine having to replace butter with something that wasn’t the real stuff, until recently. As an adult I am a little more aware of health concerns and just how bad some foods can be if you are high risk.

    So I’ve been trying to find better ways to feed my family an keep us healthy.  I heard about Star Butter Oil, and wondered if it would be a good alternative for actual butter when cooking.  It took me a little to find it, but there it is was on the top shelf in Walmart with the other oils.

    Herb Dinner Rolls with #STAROliveOil ad

    I have been having so much fun in the kitchen replacing butter with the Butter Flavored Olive Oil.  It has been amazing! I kid you not, I never thought a butter replacement could be just as good, or in some cases even better then butter. A few things I have tried so far include

    • Scrambled eggs. Mark loves his eggs scrambled in melted butter.  Without telling him, I used the butter flavored olive oil. He loved it, and didn’t even suspect my sneaky exchange. 
    • Grilling meat and veggies. I normally use EVOO to grill on the stove top. Since using Star butter Olive Oil, I don’t think I’ll go back. When you get comments like “Wow that smells amazing” and all you’ve done is toss some onions in the oil, you know you have a winner. 
    • Grilled Cheese Sandwich. We all make these right? You slather the bread with butter, add some cheese, maybe ham, if you are feeling fancy, and then you get one of the best lunches in history. 
    • Herb Dinner Rolls were my latest butter and Olive Oil exchange that turned out beautifully. I hardly had time to get photo’s my family has been all over them!
    • Check out these awesome recipes for more ways to use the Star Butter Olive Oil

     

    Herb Dinner Rolls with #STAROliveOil ad
     
    GIVEAWAY
    Star Fine Foods is giving away 10 Butter Flavored Olive Oils on their Facebook Page
     
    Herb Dinner Rolls
    Butter flavored Olive Oil gives these Herb Dinner rolls the perfect touch of flavor
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    Ingredients
    1. 1/2 cup butter, softened
    2. 1/2 cup Sugar
    3. 2 tsp Salt
    4. 3 cups Warm Water
    5. 1 TBS Yeast
    6. 7 cups Bread Flour
    7. 1/4 cup STAR Butter Olive Oil
    8. 1/4 tsp Marjoram
    9. 1/4 tsp Thyme
    Instructions
    1. Combine butter, sugar, salt, water, and yeasr in mixing bowl. Let sit 10 minutes
    2. Add 3 cups flour and mix well.
    3. Slowly add the rest of the flour until dough is no longer sticky.
    4. Knead dough for 15 minutes
    5. Place in a greased bowl, cover and let rise 1-2 hours or until doubled in size.
    6. Shape into rolls about 2 inches in diameter.
    7. Place in baking pan, cover and let rise 1 hour, or until doubled
    8. Bake at 350F for 20 minutes
    9. Combine STAR butter oil and herbs in small bowl.
    10. Brush on rolls while still warm.
    11. Serve and Enjoy!
    Home Maid Simple https://www.homemaidsimple.com/
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  • Easy Pomegranate Stuffing Recipe

    Easy Pomegranate Stuffing Recipe

    Looking for a way to dress up your Thanksgiving stuffing, but without too much hassle? You’ll want to try this Pomegranate Stuffing!
     
     
    I won’t lie to you, I am in some serious love with this stuffing. The pop of fresh red berries made this stuffing just that much more visually appealing, and the burst of juice in each bite is fantastic. 
     
    Now before you read through this recipe and gasp at my shortcut, let me just tell you – YES, I used a boxed stuffing mix for this. I have yet to actually try a from-scratch stuffing. It’s on my bucket list, but I haven’t really had a reason to do that yet. Maybe this year I’ll volunteer to bring the stuffing to Thanksgiving. I still have half a bowl of Pomegranate seeds in my fridge I could use. 
     
    On another note, I did add in a little healthy flavoring with some Organic Chicken Stock from Pacific Foods. I think you’re going to love the added flavor of chicken and pomegranate in your holiday stuffing. 
     
    Pomegranate Stuffing
    An easy way to dress up your Thanksgiving Stuffing, without extra hassle.
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    Ingredients
    1. 1 box stove top stuffing
    2. Organic (unsalted) Chicken stock
    3. water
    4. 1/4-1/2 cup pomegranates
    Instructions
    1. Make stuffing according to package directions, but replace half the water with chicken stock.
    2. Toss pomegranate seeds with cooked stuffing.
    3. Serve.
    Home Maid Simple https://www.homemaidsimple.com/
     
     How do you like your stuffing? Do you make Stovetop, or are you a traditionalist with stuffing inside the turkey? I’d love to hear your favorite way to dress up this classic Thanksgiving side dish. 
     
    Love Pomegranate? You’ll love this Pomegranate Lemonade too!
     
  • Kid Friendly BBQ with Velveeta Shells and Cheese #CheesyShells

    Kid Friendly BBQ with Velveeta Shells and Cheese #CheesyShells

    It’s official! We are moving. We don’t know where to yet, but we’ve signed a contract with another family to rent our house. They want to be in August 1st, which is giving us very little time to find a place and pack and move all our stuff. Things are just crazy here!!  We had been trying to plan a BBQ with friend this summer, but it kept getting put off. With the impending move, I knew I had to squeeze it in somewhere, so I just did it! I called everyone on a Saturday, and we set it up for the following Tuesday. It didn’t give me a whole lot of time to get everything ready the way I would have liked, but I decided good food and good company would be the most important parts of the evening. We sure had both thanks to velveeta shells versatility.

    Kid Friendly Side with #CheesyShells

    Now personally I love pork and beans at a BBQ, but they tend to be thrown out by all the kids and probably some of the adults. Not so with Velveeta Shells and Cheese on the side. Normally I serve them as a lunch meal, but they turned out to be the perfect side at our going away BBQ!  Remember, I didn’t have a ton of time to put this together (heck I went shopping just hours before everyone showed up – see my whole shopping trip on G+).

    Just 10 minutes before friends were showing up, I started boiling a pot of water, and had the shells and cheese cooked just as the part was getting started!  I was so worried they would get cold before we started eating if I did it any sooner. Unlike other brands, I didn’t need to add any milk or butter – just cook the shells and mix in the velveeta cheese.

    It was a good thing I picked up the family sized box because they were gone fast!  Everyone was pretty content though. After we ate the girls went outside to learn cartwheels from my friends oldest child. They all had so much fun doing that. It turns out most of my friends also have a lot of girls, so Mark headed to his corner with the ipad for a little relaxation, while the women chatted it up in front of our swamp cooler (can someone please turn the sun down, it’s too hot!). 
    I’m sure going to miss these gals when we move. We all have different background, but we get along splendidly offering different perspectives to our friendship. Despite my social media prowess, technology is still a thing that goes over my head a lot of the time. I don’t have a fancy smart phone like my friend Z does, and my friend C won’t even create a facebook account!  We were both excited that Z had her phone with her though, as we went on a “let’s make an awesome treat for the kids” pinterest search. 
    See I was planning on using our awesome backyard fireplace to make smore’s , but I hadn’t had time to clean it up.  Z had seen a recipe for oven smore’s, so of course we had to check it out!  They turned out so amazingly good….us women had 2, while only allowing the kids each 1. Hey, there was only so much chocolate to go around!  Z’s kids had never had smore’s before, and I think they liked them. I’ll have to send them a little smore’s package as a “thanks for being our friends!” gift. 

    These truly were so easy, but I still almost messed them up. Add marshmallows to the graham crackers, and broil – watching closely – until the marshmallows get a nice golden brown. Remove from the oven, and add your chocolate. If you want you can top with another graham cracker, but I enjoyed it without a top.
    While they were in the oven, Princess R of course needed to go potty. So glad our friends were there and took over watching the oven for me, or we would have been eating blackened smore’s.

  • Summer Pasta Salad

    Summer Pasta Salad

    We have been enjoying quite the garden produce this year.  After my pear salad I discovered peas, feta and Italian taste wonderfully together.  Normally I don’t really like pasta salads, but I knew those peas and feta would be wonderful with pasta and some more veggies.  The green onions, peas and zucchini all came out of my garden.  I hope you enjoy this Summer Pasta Salad as much as we did.  
     
    Summer Pasta Salad

     

    Summer Pasta Salad
    A light flavorful dish to use up some garden produce, Summer Pasta Salad is a hit!
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    Ingredients
    1. 12 oz Small Penne Pasta
    2. 2 TBS Green Onion, chopped
    3. 1 medium Zucchini, sliced and quartered
    4. 1 red Bell Pepper, chopped
    5. 1 cup Fresh Garden Peas
    6. 1/2 cup Italian Dressing
    7. 8oz crumbled Feta
    Instructions
    1. Cook Penne according to box directions. Rinse in cold water.
    2. In a large bowl toss pasta with vegetable and feta.
    3. Drizzle over Italian Dressing and toss to coat evenly.
    Home Maid Simple https://www.homemaidsimple.com/
     
     
    ~FEATURES~
    I need to apologize that I have not been commenting as much this week.  We found some renters for our home, and only have until the end of July to get out.  On top of it I developed a horrible ear infection that has just taken me out.  Please know that I am visiting and browsing your recipes. I appreciate all the amazing links I see each week.
     
    I saw a few salads at last weeks party that were different from your normal side salad. 
     

    Red, White and Blue Watermelon Salad
    I never would have thought to put feta with a fruit salad but it makes this salad look beautiful
     
    Southwest Quinoa Salad #quinoarecipes #quinoasalad
    Southwest Quinoa Salad with Honey Lime Vinaigrette
    I love the mix of this vinaigrette with quinoa. 


    Roasted Pepper Pasta Salad
    Roasted Pepper Pasta Salad
    Peppers and pasta just go together!
     

    Cinnamon Caramel Fried Ice Cream
    Cinnamon Caramel Fried Ice Cream

    Ok I know it’s not a salad, but I had to feature this! Caramel, fried ice cream, I am sold!

    Please visit my cohost Diane at Simple Living and Eating
    We ask that you only link up food related posts, and no more than 3 links each week.
    Thanks and have fun finding new recipes

     

     

  • Cinnamon and Sugar Sweet Potatoes

    Cinnamon and Sugar Sweet Potatoes

    When you’re craving Sweet Potato Pie and Pecan Pie, combine the two for a Cinnamon and Sugar Sweet Potato side dish. This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you click through and make a purchase. 
    Cinnamon and Sugar Sweet Potatoes offer a healthier side to your Sunday dinner.

    I got this crazy idea to try and recreate a sweet potato and pecan pie as a healthier side dish for our Sunday Pork Roast. I’m kind of new to using sweet potatoes still, so I wasn’t sure how it would turn out.

    It actually just started as roasted sweet potatoes, but as I started cutting the sweet potato up, I thought I didn’t really want to turn on the oven. That was followed by trying to decide what spices to use. When I tossed in cinnamon and sugar, that’s when the idea of pie popped into my head.  So I hit the cupboard and found my bag of chopped pecans. It all came together so nicely.

    The cinnamon and sugar added a nice little extra sweetness, that helped the kids enjoy the potatoes. YAY!  
     
    I hope you enjoy these as well.  I wish I could tell you exactly how to make the cranberry gravy I had with this as well, but since it came off the pork roast and I just thickened it up, I’ll have to try and recreate it soon.
     
    Cinnamon and Sugar Sweet Potatoes
    Sweet Potatoes and Pecans make this decadent side dish everyone will love
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    Ingredients
    1. 1 large Sweet Potato
    2. 1 TBS Butter
    3. 1 TBS and 1 tsp Cinnamon Sugar Mix
    4. 2-3 TBS chopped Pecans
    Instructions
    1. Peel and chop the Sweet Potato.
    2. In a frying pan, melt the butter, and add the sweet potatoes.
    3. Fry for about 5 minutes, and add the cinnamon sugar mixture and pecans.
    4. Fry for another 5-10 minutes, or until potatoes are cooked through, and slightly browned.
    5. Serve warm.
    Home Maid Simple https://www.homemaidsimple.com/

    Do you love Sweet Potatoes?


  • Sweet Onion Cheddar Potatoes {Foodie Friday}

    Sweet Onion Cheddar Potatoes {Foodie Friday}

     
    BWS tips button
    Make sure you visit my co-host Diane at Simple Living and Eating. She has a Dirt Cake for you this week in honor of Earth Day. 
     
     Welcome back to another Foodie Friday! Would you believe I’m feeling on top of things this week?  In one week alone, I have come up with 4 recipes to share with you. Normally I feel like I’m scrambling to put together a recipe (hence the no recipe, just features last week). It’s amazing what can happen when you need something to keep yourself busy. This week there was a lot weighing on my mind, so I busied myself in the kitchen, cooking, baking, and trying not to think too hard.
     
    I hope you enjoy this week’s side dish

    Sweet Onion Cheddar Potatoes

     



    Ingredients
    5 medium russet potatoes
    1/4 cup butter
    1/4 cup milk
    2Tbs Homemade Ranch
    2Tbs Wilidtree’s Sweet Onion spread
    1 cup shredded Cheddar Cheese
    1 cup bacon bits

    Directions
    Peel and wash the potatoes. Chop them into quarters, and put in a large pot.  Fill the pot up with water until the potatoes are just covered.  Boil on medium to high heat until the potatoes are soft. You can test by sticking them with a fork.

    Drain the water from the pot, leaving the potatoes inside. Add the butter, and start mashing the potatoes. Slowly start mixing in the rest of the ingredients, while continuing to mash, and stir. Serve and Enjoy! 

    ~Features~

    Cinnabon Cinnamon Roll Cake
    from A Peek Into My Paradise
    I love that this is completely made from scratch!
     
    Artichoke Parmesan
    from The CookBook Project
    I love how pretty these artichokes look! Almost too good to eat.
     
    Monterey Ranch Chicken
    from Hungry Harps
    Chicken is a great meat to eat on a budget, but it doesn’t have to be bland! This looks so yummy!
     
     

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