side dish Archives - The Midnight Baker

Bacon Parsley Roasted Potatoes

Judith Hannemann — Fri, 27 Mar 2015 00:00:00 +0000

Simple but tasty potato side dish flavored with bacon and fresh parsley.

No side dish can be easier or tastier than this!

It’s made all in one pan–providing you use a totally oven-safe skillet.

Good for breakfast too

Although I mixed 2 varieties of potatoes here for color purposes, any all-purpose potato will do. Idaho and Russet may not be a good choice because you need a potato that is going to hold it’s shape. Since reds and Yukons have a waxy and dense texture, they are perfect for this.

Don’t forget about serving these at breakfast instead of the traditional hash browns or home fries! They’re an excellent accompaniment to any style eggs.

Print Recipe Add to Recipe Box

Bacon Parsley Roasted Potatoes

Simple but tasty potato side dish flavored with bacon and fresh parsley. No side dish can be easier or tastier than this! It’s made all in one pan–providing you use a totally oven-safe skillet.

Prep Time20

Cook Time40

Total Time1

Course: side dishes

Cuisine: American

Keyword: bacon, roasted potatoes

Servings: 4 -6

Calories: 240kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

1 lb yukon gold potatoes
1 lb red potatoes
4 slices bacon
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 cup fresh parsley roughly chopped

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Wash potatoes and cut in chunks about 1-inch. Not necessary to peel.
Place bacon in 10-inch skillet. Fry unti crisp over medium heat. Remove bacon to a paper towel lined plate; set aside. Do not drain bacon drippings from pan. Dice bacon when cool.
Add the potatoes to the skillet. Toss to coat with drippings. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and garlic powder.
Place skillet in preheated oven and bake for 30-35 minutes, stirring occasionally so potatoes brown well.
Top with the diced bacon and return to the oven for 5-10 minutes or until bacon is hot and crisp.
Garnish with fresh parsley

Nutrition

Bacon Parsley Roasted Potatoes

The post Bacon Parsley Roasted Potatoes appeared first on The Midnight Baker.

Three Cheese Orzo with Broccoli

Judith Hannemann — Tue, 12 Aug 2014 23:00:00 +0000

Three Cheese Orzo with Broccoli

Quite possibly the perfect side dish! This orzo is easy, cooks quickly and is flavored with asiago, fontina and parmesan cheeses!

If you need a quick and easy side dish, stop right here because this is it!

Easy and cheesy

I recently discovered fontina cheese, thanks to my friend Melissa G (aka Ms 7-Up) who made a spectacular and mouthwatering mac and cheese with it. She told me I MUST try fontina! So I did and I love it.

The asiago and parmesan here add the zing. Asiago is a pretty strongly flavored cheese which offsets the creaminess of the fontina. The parmesan is the balancing flavor. You can sub romano for it if you want.

Takes only minutes to prepare

You can also substitute half-and-half for the heavy cream but I strongly recommend using the heavy cream. There’s not much of it, but it goes a long way. I prefer it to lesser-fat creams since it’s thick and when it combines with the cheese you have instant rich cheese sauce.

The Recipe

Print Recipe Add to Recipe Box

Three Cheese Orzo with Broccoli

Quite possibly the perfect side dish! This orzo is easy, cooks quickly and is flavored with asiago, fontina and parmesan cheeses!

Prep Time10

Cook Time8

Total Time18

Course: side dishes

Cuisine: American

Keyword: broccoli, broccoli and cheese, orzo, three cheese

Servings: 4 -6

Calories: 387kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

1 cup orzo uncooked
1 1/2 cups chicken stock*
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 cup frozen chopped broccoli
2 tbsp butter
1/2 cup cream I used heavy cream
2 tbsp grated parmesan
2 tbsp shredded asiago
2 tbsp shredded fontina
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Instructions

*You may also use 1 1/2 cups water with 1 stock cube as a substitute
Steam broccoli until bright green and crisp-tender. Drain and set aside.
Place orzo, chicken stock and olive oil in a medium saucepan. Bring to boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer until liquid is almost absorbed (about 5-8 minutes).
Uncover orzo and fluff. Add the broccoli, butter and cream. Stir until the butter is melted. Add the salt & pepper.
Add the cheeses, remove the pan from the heat and stir until cheeses are melted.
Serve immediately.

Nutrition

Three Cheese Orzo with Broccoli

Follow The’s board Hot Fun in the Summertime Blog Hop on Pinterest.

The post Three Cheese Orzo with Broccoli appeared first on The Midnight Baker.

Choose-Your-Cheese Cauliflower Casserole

Judith Hannemann — Tue, 06 May 2014 23:00:00 +0000

Choose-Your-Cheese Cauliflower Casserole

A creamy cauliflower side dish casserole where you choose the cheese. I chose blue cheese, what’s your choice?

First of all, I LOVE cauliflower. I could seriously eat it every day without ever getting tired of it. I remember seeing a casserole made with it and blue cheese quite a while ago on Recipe Lion. Search as I might, I could not find that particular casserole.

Whatever cheese you pick, it’s delicious

These types of casseroles are pretty much generic and if you can make a basic white sauce, you’re totally covered! Most recipes also called for a head of fresh, but I didn’t want to bother with that. I wanted to use frozen.

Deliciously buttery and cheesy

I started out with 1/4 cup of crumbled blue cheese, but a taste test proved this amount did not have enough “moxie” for my taste, so I increased it to 1/2 cup–which tasted like blue cheese but not enough to blow your socks off. If you want intense cheese flavor, add more–there’s really no limit.

Buttery and yummy crumbs

Since anything of this sort seems to taste better with buttered Ritz crumbs on top, I added those. The result? A side dish I could have eaten as a main course.

Don’t miss out on my Temp-Tations by Tara giveaway, details on the Cinnamon Raisin Bread post.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Recipe

Print Recipe Add to Recipe Box

Choose-Your-Cheese Cauliflower Casserole

A creamy cauliflower side dish casserole where you choose the cheese. I chose blue cheese, what’s your choice?

Prep Time20

Cook Time40

Total Time1

Course: Blue Cheese Cauliflower Casserole, Cauliflower, Cauliflower Casserole, Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Blue Cheese, cauliflower, cauliflower casserole, cheese casserole

Servings: 4 -6

Calories: 314kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

2 16 oz frozen cauliflower florets each
2 1/2 cups milk
5 tbsp flour
3 tbsp butter
1/2 cup blue cheese -OR- Swiss cheese -OR- Asiago cheese
1/2 tsp pepper
salt*

TOPPING

1/2 sleeve Ritz crackers crushed
2 tbsp melted butter

Instructions

*Add desired amount of salt to the sauce AFTER you've added the cheese and the cheese has melted. Blue cheese, for example, is quite salty so you may not need to add.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease or spray a 2-quart baking dish.
Shred or crumble any cheese you are using.
Partially cook cauliflower by placing frozen florets in a deep saucepan and covering with water. You can add a tsp of salt if you wish. Cover and bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 3-5 minutes. Drain and place in prepared baking dish.
Melt the 3 tbs of butter in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the flour and blend (this is a roux). When roux begins to bubble, slowly add the milk, while constantly stirring, to prevent lumps. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and begins to bubble. Remove from heat and add whichever cheese you are using. Stir until cheese is melted (yes, you can use more or less cheese depending on your taste). Correct any seasoning at this point.
Pour sauce over cauliflower in baking dish.
Mix topping ingredients and distribute over top of casserole.
Bake for 30-40 minutes or until completely heated through and sauce bubbles.
Makes 4-6 servings.

Nutrition

Chose-Your-Cheese Cauliflower Casserole

Follow The Midnight Baker Food, Glorious Food #7 on Pinterest

The post Choose-Your-Cheese Cauliflower Casserole appeared first on The Midnight Baker.

Broccoli Swiss Cheese Casserole

Judith Hannemann — Wed, 19 Mar 2014 00:00:00 +0000

This broccoli swiss cheese casserole side dish is not only easy to prepare, but so delicious, they’ll come back for seconds.

This recipe came my way via Facebook friend Ginny W. We belong to a small recipe group and Ginny was raving about the couple of recipes she’d made from a new cookbook she just bought (a Gooseberry book called “Big Book of Country Baking” available at Amazon – Gooseberry Patch Big Book of Country Baking: Over 400 sweet & savory recipes for every meal of the day)

They’ll come back for seconds

Anyway, she had pics of hers and said about how easy and delicious this was. It looked positively yummy. And since I always have broccoli, because I love the stuff, and soup bases and CHEESE, I just had to make this since I wanted another broccoli-cheese casserole in addition to my Buttery Broccoli Cheese casserole

The original recipe calls for 1 cup of shredded swiss cheese, but I always go overboard and added double the amount. However, if you’re not as into cheese as me, then use the lower amount. It will still flavor the casserole nicely.

Full of cheese

I made up the amount of chopped broccoli (because I only had one brick pack of it) with a whole bag of broccoli florets (16 oz bag) that I roughly hand chopped. So if you don’t want to go the chopped route, using small florets would be a good substitute.

Broccoli Swiss Casserole

This was also the maiden voyage of the baking dish I used. Fans of mine know that I’m a devotee of a couple of brands of bakeware–some high-end, and some very affordable.

Temp-Tations Floral Lace in Light Blue

This is Temp-Tations Floral Lace in light blue. It was also my first set in this color–my “Temp-Tationista” friends know I’m pretty much a dark cobalt gal LOL, but I just loved this shade and wanted to add it to my collection. I wasn’t sorry–it’s stunning! You can see the Floral Lace line (and many others) at Temp-tations.com

Print Recipe Add to Recipe Box

Broccoli Swiss Cheese Casserole

This broccoli swiss cheese casserole side dish is not only easy to prepare, but so delicious, they’ll come back for seconds.

Prep Time10

Cook Time40

Total Time50

Course: side dishes, vegetarian dishes

Cuisine: American

Keyword: broccoli, broccoli casseroles, swiss cheese

Servings: 4

Calories: 424kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

3 10 oz. frozen chopped broccoli, thawed
1 small onion finely chopped
1 10.75 oz. cream of mushroom soup
1 egg
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1-2 cups shredded swiss cheese
1/2 cup plain bread crumbs
2 tbsp butter

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly spray or grease a 1.5 quart baking dish.
Drain chopped broccoli well. Set aside.
In a large bowl, lightly beat the egg. Add the soup, onion and mayonnaise. Whisk together well.
Add the drained chopped broccoli and the cheese. Spoon mixture into prepared baking dish.
Mix the bread crumbs with the melted butter, mixing well to make sure they are all coated with butter. Sprinkle buttered crumbs on top of casserole.
Bake at 350 degrees F for 35-40 minutes or until casserole is bubbly.
Serves 4.

Nutrition

So delicious, they’ll beg for more

Follow The Midnight Baker Food, Glorious Food #7 on Pinterest

The post Broccoli Swiss Cheese Casserole appeared first on The Midnight Baker.

Creamy Onion Cheese Casserole

Judith Hannemann — Wed, 05 Mar 2014 00:00:00 +0000

Creamy Onion Cheese Casserole

Here’s another side dish that can double as a meal. This onion casserole is loaded with flavor, crunch and gobs of Swiss cheese!

I ended up with a little too many onions when a store had them on sale. Since they don’t seem to keep like they used to, I wanted to use them–at least quite a few of them.

So late one night I was net surfing and ran across an absolutely great-looking casserole from Forkable, who said this was a Thanksgiving tradition in their home.

Creamy, sweet and cheesy

This really looked SUPER plus I’d get to use some Italian bread I also bought that got pushed aside and almost forgotten.

I only made slight changes in their recipe. I tend to use undiluted or slightly diluted evaporated milk instead of plain milk in things I want to be extra creamy and since my bread was not fresh, I brushed the tops with some melted butter not only for added flavor, but for better browning.

Like grilled cheese with onion soup…YUM

Truthfully, I had to stop before I ate the whole casserole–that’s how good this is!!! It’s sort of a cross between a creamy and sweet onion soup and grilled cheese.

Adding some Italian seasoning to the onions and brushing the bread with garlic butter and using a nice sharp Provolone would make this like a garlic cheese bread casserole. I’m trying that one next.

Creamy Onion Cheese Casserole

This one’s a keeper.

Print Recipe Add to Recipe Box

Creamy Onion Cheese Casserole

Here’s another side dish that can double as a meal. This onion casserole is loaded with flavor, crunch and gobs of Swiss cheese!

Prep Time20

Cook Time25

Total Time45

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Keyword: cheese casserole, creamy onion cheese casserole, onion, side dishes

Servings: 6

Calories: 436kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

4 medium onions sliced
3 tbs butter
1 10.75 oz cream of chicken soup
2/3 cup evaporated milk or light cream
1/4 cup water
1 tsp soy sauce
6-8 slices about 1-inch thick French or Italian Bread
8 oz shredded Swiss cheese
1 tbs butter melted
salt & pepper to taste

Instructions

*Cream of mushroom may be substituted to make the dish vegetarian.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a large sauce pan or saute pan, melt the 3 tbs butter over medium-low heat. Add onions and saute until onions are limp and turn translucent (they will look pearly).
Place onions in an ungreased 1.5-2 quart shallow baking pan.
In the same pot used to saute the onions, add the soup, soy sauce, water and evaporated milk, adding the milk slowly, while stirring to avoid lumps. Heat through. Add any additional salt & pepper to taste at this point.
Pour soup mixture over onions in baking dish. Add 1/3 of the shredded cheese; stir and spread onion mixture evenly over bottom of the pan.
Top with the sliced bread. Brush tops of bread with the 1 tbs of melted butter.
Bake at 350 degrees F for 15-25 minutes or until bread is a nicely toasted golden brown.
Slightly press toasted bread slices down in the sauce, but do not let them get covered in the sauce! Top casserole with remaining cheese and bake for an additional 5-10 minutes or until cheese is melted and is beginning to bubble.
Makes 6-8 side-dish servings.

Nutrition

Perfect side or make it a meal

Follow The Midnight Baker Food, Glorious Food #7 on Pinterest

The post Creamy Onion Cheese Casserole appeared first on The Midnight Baker.

Cheesy Broccoli Rice Casserole

Judith Hannemann — Mon, 03 Feb 2014 00:00:00 +0000

Cheesy Broccoli Rice Casserole

A warm and comforting casserole that can be a side dish or a main–just add leftover meat for a complete meal!

This is a wonderful casserole for cold winter nights! It’s full of cheese and delicious broccoli.

Comfort food and you can use your leftovers!

I added some leftover chicken to the mix, but you don’t have to do that. If you leave it out, it becomes either a meatless/vegetarian main dish or a rich side dish.

You’ll love the buttery crunchy topping

I used white rice in this as I was pressed for time. However, I want to try it next with brown rice. Since the rice is cooked first, the length of time for the final cooking will not be altered. Quinoa would probably be even better! So use whatever grain you want! Even leftover rice will do!

Creamy, cheesy and delicious

Sure this casserole is heavy on the fat, but using brown rice or quinoa packs quite a bit of fiber–as does the broccoli.

Anyway, this is comfort food at it’s finest. Enjoy!

Print Recipe Add to Recipe Box

Cheesy Broccoli Rice Casserole

A warm and comforting casserole that can be a side dish or a main–just add leftover meat for a complete meal!

Prep Time15

Cook Time35

Total Time50

Course: Comfort Foods, side dishes

Cuisine: American

Keyword: broccoli, broccoli casseroles, cheese, RICE

Servings: 4

Calories: 771kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

10 oz frozen broccoli florets defrosted & drained
1 10.75 oz cream of chicken soup
2 cup cooked rice
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup cubed Velveeta*
1/2 cup evaporated milk or cream
2 tbsp butter
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups cooked cubed chicken optional

TOPPING

1 cup Ritz cracker crumbs
2 tbs butter melted

Instructions

*The Velveeta may be omitted. I add this as Velveeta stops any cheese sauce from separating and keeps it creamy. I happen to like it too, but if you don’t, just leave it out.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly spray a 1.5 quart oven-proof baking dish.
Cut broccoli florets into pieces all about the same size.
In a large microwave-safe bowl, combine soup, evaporated milk, butter and Velveeta. Microwave on HI for about 1 minute; remove and stir. If mixture still has large chunks of the Velveeta, then microwave an additional 30 seconds on HI. Remove and stir until almost smooth.
Add cooked rice, broccoli, shredded cheddar, salt, pepper and chicken if using, to bowl with the soup/cheese mixture. Mix well.
Turn into prepared baking dish.
Mix Ritz crumbs with melted butter, so all crumbs are coated. Top casserole with buttered crumbs.
Bake 30-35 minutes or until crumbs are browned and sauce bubbles on the edges of the baking dish.

Nutrition

Piping hot from the oven

Follow The Midnight Baker’s board Midnight Baker’s Slow Cooker Recipes on Pinterest.

The post Cheesy Broccoli Rice Casserole appeared first on The Midnight Baker.

Bacon Cheese Broccoli Bites

Judith Hannemann — Wed, 29 Jan 2014 00:00:00 +0000

Bacon Cheese Broccoli Bites

Tasty snack or side dish loaded with healthy broccoli. Perfect for tailgating or Super Bowl parties.

Vegetable patties are hardly a new idea, but this may be a great way to get some veggies into your veggie-hating kids or “better half.”

Tempt veggie haters

They’re pretty easy to make and made easier if you use an ice cream scoop. Gives the perfect portion size and keeps your hands clean.

Baked not fried

These are easily made vegetarian by simply leaving out the bacon. They still taste great!

Outside is crunchy

Another variation is to leave out the salt and substitute crumbs made from poultry stuffing, such as Stove Top or Pepperidge farm–cornbread or regular varieties!Special thanks to Stacey Snacks who baked these instead of frying them. I found her site when I was checking to see if anyone had success with doing that.

Print Recipe Add to Recipe Box

Bacon Cheese Broccoli Bites

Tasty snack or side dish loaded with healthy broccoli. Perfect for tailgating or Super Bowl parties.

Prep Time10

Cook Time20

Total Time30

Course: Appetizers

Cuisine: American

Keyword: bacon, broccoli bites, cheese snacks

Servings: 16

Calories: 140kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

16 oz frozen chopped broccoli thawed & drained
1 cup plain bread crumbs
3 eggs lightly beaten
6 slices crisp-cooked bacon diced
2 tsp salt
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar
1 cup shredded mozzarella

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, combine all ingredients. Form patties by making a ball about the size of a golf ball; flatten slightly and place on prepared baking sheet. TIP: An ice cream scoop makes this easy and gives the right sized portion.
Bake at 375 degrees F for 20 minutes. Turn patties and continue to cook for an additional 10 minutes or until nicely browned.
Makes about 16 patties.

Nutrition

Bacon Cheese Broccoli Bites

Follow The Midnight Baker’s board ☆☆Super Bowl Parties☆☆ on Pinterest.

The post Bacon Cheese Broccoli Bites appeared first on The Midnight Baker.