When my kids were little, I couldn’t get them to eat a fresh vegetable to save my life. I mean, sure they’d eat carrot sticks and celery, but if I cooked up some green beans, they had better be canned or they wouldn’t eat them. Well, not too terribly long ago, I put a stop to that, and began introducing them to the amazing flavor and freshness that comes from cooking fresh vegetables. My son is super picky and this easy recipe is his favorite side dish to go with anything. While we made this with fresh green beans, we do this with potatoes, asparagus and many other veggies. It’s just so quick and easy.

Roasted Green Beans with Sea Salt

• 1-2 lbs fresh green beans (or asparagus, or another veggie)
• extra virgin olive oil
• sea salt

Roasted Green Beans with Sea Salt originally appeared on The Daily Dish Recipes on December 18, 2011.

It’s time for This Week’s Cravings again. I am absolutely loving this.

Our theme this week is Thanksgiving Dinners and Desserts. I am very proud to be co-hosting This Week’s Cravings along with Tina over at MOMS CRAZY COOKING, Kristen from From My Tiny Kitchen, Angie from Big Bear’s Wife  & Kristi from Veggie Converter.

So have you made any Thanksgiving Dinners and Dessert recipes lately? Want to link up? Yes, you – if you have a Thanksgiving themed recipe, link it up down there at the bottom in the linky. It will be awesome. (make sure you read the simple rules first). And make sure it’s a Thanksgiving themed dinner or dessert.

Now, onto mine. Mine is not really a traditional Thanksgiving side dish, but we only make it at holidays. I can’t really explain why, except the cream sauce, which we like a lot of on our veggies isn’t the most calorie dense sauce and so it’s not something I would make multiple times a year. Along with the turkey, homemade stuffing, sweet potato casserole and bacon ranch potatoes, this dish will be served on Thursday and my kids are actually excited (who’s kids are excited to eat veggies?).

Veggies with Creamy Garlic Parmesan Sauce

• 1/2 lb. (2 c.)  fresh broccoli, cut up into small pieces
• 2 c. cut up carrots (we just use the baby carrots)
• Creamy Garlic Parmesan Sauce (see recipe below)
• 1 Tbs. Fresh Chives, chopped

Heat about an inch of water to boiling in a saucepan. Add the broccoli and carrots. Heat until it is boiling again.

Boil for about 5-7 minutes or so until the veggies are crisp-tender. Drain them and keep them warm. I usually make the sauce while the veggies are cooking. Serve the veggies in a small side dish or on the plate. Top the veggies with the Creamy Garlic Parmesan Sauce and then sprinkle about a tablespoon of fresh chives on top. Yum!!

Now, to make the yummy sauce:

Creamy Garlic Parmesan Sauce

• 1 (3oz.) pkg. of cream cheese
• 1/4 c. parmesan cheese
• 1/2 tsp. minced garlic (you could also use garlic powder to get the flavor)
• 1/4 c. milk
• 1 Tbs. butter

Cook all the ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir constantly, seriously otherwise it sticks to the pan. Stir until smooth and heated all the way through.

This is tasty enough to make anytime of year, but we especially enjoy it at Thanksgiving and Christmas.

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Participate in upcoming linky parties:

• 11/28/2011    Week # 57    French Toast, Pancakes, Waffles & More
• 12/05/2011 Week # 58 Christmas Baking: Sweets, Treats, Candy & Gift Ideas
• 12/12/2011 Week # 59 Macaroni & Cheese
• 12/19/2011 Week # 60 Christmas Dinners & Holiday Food Traditions
• 12/26/2011 Week # 61 Appetizers & Party Platters

This is a BLOG Party hosted by MOMS CRAZY COOKING, From My Tiny Kitchen, Big Bears Wife, The Daily Dish and Veggie Converter.

If you are a regular link-up we’re excited to see what you made this week. If you are new please read and follow the simple rules, so that everyone can enjoy the linky party!

If you forget to follow the theme, your post will be deleted. Please don’t feel hurt, just come back and link up a recipe that follows the theme. Thanks a million, we look forward to blogging with you! The LINKY PARTY is opened ALL Week!

PLEASE do not link more then 3 recipes per week. This week’s theme is: Thanksgiving Dinners and Desserts Please only link recipes with our theme!

This week’s theme is: THANKSGIVING DINNERS AND DESSERTS Please only link recipes with our theme!

This post is linked up with: Melt in Your Mouth Monday, Made By You Monday, Mangia Mondays, On The Menu Monday, Muffin Monday, My Sweet & Savory Meatless Mondays, Homemaker Monday,

Veggies with a Creamy Garlic Parmesan Sauce originally appeared on The Daily Dish Recipes on November 21, 2011.

Yes, it’s time for a delicious recipe that I created for the Crazy Cooking Challenge.

Tina from Mom’s Crazy Kitchen hosts this challenge every month and the reveal date for the third month of the Crazy Cooking Challenge has finally arrived. I actually made this awhile ago and tortured a friend back then because today’s recipe is adapted from her blog. (Sheri, I am not sorry I tortured you. I love you my friend, you would have done the same to me! )

Last month’s Cooking Challenge was a quest to find the Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe and the month before, we found the Ultimate Macaroni and Cheese Recipe and let me just tell you, I had a blast with both. So the major problem I have with the Crazy Cooking Challenge, is not really a huge issue, but I have already found the ultimate {insert food name here} for all three of the things we have done already. I was bummed, because how do you have the perfect mashed potato recipe and then go in search of one that compares?

You don’t! You cheat, sort-of. Actually, you don’t really cheat, but instead you get super lucky and your bestie friend fellow foodie posts one on her blog literally the day after you are beginning to obsess about it all. Seriously? Did that happen? Yep. September 30th, my bestie, Sheri from Me and My Tadpole, posted her recipe for her Favorite Mashed Potatoes and the best part? Her recipe differed from mine by only one ingredient and a couple of small measurements. Easy pick. Easy win. Yay! (Thank you Sheri, for somehow channeling my thoughts back then and also for liking food the same way I do!) We are allowed to adapt minor things, so that is what I did. I’m going to give you Sheri’s ingredient list and my own, so you can see both. But the directions below are for my ingredients, you can get the directions for her potatoes over on her page.

World’s Best Creamiest Homemade Mashed Potato Recipe
adapted from Sheri’s Favorite Mashed Potatoes

Sheri’s Ingredients:

• 10 – 12 medium Russet potatoes, peeled and cut into equal portions
• 3 oz. cream cheese
• 1 stick salted butter or margarine
• 1 jumbo garlic clove, pressed or finely chopped
• 1 tsp. onion powder
• 1/2 cup of milk
• Lawry’s seasoning salt
• salt
• pepper

My Ingredients:

• 10 – 12 medium Russet potatoes (do not cut or peel)
• 4 oz. cream cheese
• 1 stick unsalted butter or margarine
• 1 jumbo garlic clove, pressed or finely chopped
• 1 tsp. onion powder
• 1/2 cup of milk
• 1 c. sour cream (add more to taste)
• 1/2 tsp. Lawry’s seasoning salt
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. pepper

Brilliance! Do you see the minor differences? Is that crazy? Sheri & I definitely think alike.

Okay, here’s what you do.

Scrub your potatoes really good and then drop them into a pot of salted boiling water. Boil them about 40 minutes or so. When you drain the pot in a moment, you will want them to be super soft. You should be able to pick them up and almost squish them in your hand. If they aren’t really that soft, leave them in the boiling water for awhile longer. (maybe 10 minutes)

Carefully drain them. Don’t allow them to cool too much. I use a hand pot holder to hold the potato. Cut them into smaller pieces so they are easier to work with. They don’t have to be be super small, but you do want them to be a little smaller. Some peels will be loose but don’t remove them – they are super healthy for you.

Put everything into a huge bowl and then begin to mash them up. It’s totally okay if there are still lumps. Those will come out soon. You can use a potato masher, but I actually use my handheld mixer. Yep. They should be soft enough that they just start blending after a few minutes.

Now, add your seasonings, the garlic (I used powder for this recipe, but I do use the garlic cloves most of the time), the cream cheese, and the butter. Blend well.

The picture I took of the milk and sour cream came up too blurry to use and I was in a huge hurry so I didn’t take more than one (that’s a first!) but now it’s time to add your sour cream and your milk.

Now again, blend that really well.

Serve immediately! You probably won’t have much for leftovers if you have a larger family, because my family could eat it all in one sitting, no problem.

Goes with anything and we make it for ALL major holidays.

Check out the other recipes in the challenge:

World’s Best Creamiest Mashed Potato Recipe originally appeared on The Daily Dish Recipes on November 7, 2011.

After trying for a year or more, to get my kids to try/eat Zucchini in something other than chocolate cupcakes or muffins, I gave this delicious recipe a try and was surprised to actually see several of them eating it and getting seconds. It’s hard to find recipes for vegetables that aren’t “normal” in a kids world. If they had their choice they would pick corn or mashed potatoes every night. But this recipe is totally different. It’s awesome. It helps that I am a sucker for fresh vegetables, but truth be told – it’s delicious anyway. And they ate it!

Zucchini Mozzarella Medley

3 c. zucchini
1 c. chopped onion (I removed the onion pieces before serving so the kids would eat it)
1 minced garlic clove
1/2 tsp. basil
1/2 tsp. oregano
1/8 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
4 Tbs. butter
1 tomato cut into wedges
1 1/2 c. mozzarella cheese, shredded

In a pan, saute zucchini, onion, minced garlic and all of the seasonings in the butter until the zucchini is crisp-tender.

Gently stir the tomato wedges into the zucchini. Sprinkle with the cheese. Remove the pan from heat and cover. Let sit for about 2 minutes for the cheese to melt.

Remove from pan and serve from a pretty bowl – SO good! Try it!

Zucchini Mozzarella Medley Recipe originally appeared on The Daily Dish Recipes on August 18, 2011.

Who doesn’t like a traditional comfort food? Macaroni and Cheese in all it’s cheesy, ooey, gooey goodness! Regular homemade macaroni and cheese is super yummy, but try adding a twist and see what happens.

My kids ate the whole pot minus a single scoopful which my son then took to school the next day with him for lunch. It was a huge hit and tastes great. We ate it as a side dish, even though there was certainly enough to make it the main course.

Ranch Macaroni and Cheese

• 1 16oz. pkg of Elbow Macaroni
• 1 c. milk
• 2 Tbs. butter
• 1 packet of dry Ranch Salad Dressing Mix
• 1 tsp. garlic
• 1 tsp. lemon pepper
• 1/2 tsp. pepper
• 1 c. Monterey Jack Cheese, shredded
• 1 c. Colby Cheese, shredded
• 1 c. sour cream
• 1/2 c. crushed saltines

Homemade Ranch Macaroni & Cheese originally appeared on The Daily Dish Recipes on August 16, 2011.

I spent years looking for the perfect recipe for home-made mashed potatoes. We simply love potatoes at our house, and it doesn’t matter how they are served. I just wanted an easy recipe for them, that wouldn’t take a load of time, but would taste like it had. So here ya go….

Our Favorite Easy Homemade Mashed Potato Recipe

5 lbs. Yukon Gold potatoes, cubed (really the type of potato doesn’t matter too much but we have found these really are the best)
6 oz. of cream cheese
8 oz. of sour cream
1/2 c. milk
2 tsp. garlic salt
pepper, to taste

Place the potatoes in a large pot of water. You can add salt to lightly season the potatoes as they cook. Just drop a few pinches into the water. Bring the potatoes to a boil and cook until they are tender (about 15-20 minutes or so). Drain them and then mash them. In bowl, mix the mashed potatoes, the sour cream, the cream cheese, the milk, the garlic salt and the pepper. Mix thoroughly. Pour into a greased casserole dish. Cover (tinfoil works GREAT!), and bake for 50 minutes at 325 degrees F. You can also prepare these ahead of time, and just put the bowl or even the casserole dish into the fridge and cook them the next day. So delicious!

Easy Homemade Mashed Potato Recipe originally appeared on The Daily Dish Recipes on September 16, 2010.

My children actually eat salad. I know. I was amazed too. But they seem to enjoy it. So based on that, I like to play around with ingredients and try different kinds of salads and ingredients to see what they will eat. This one was a big hit, and we’ve made a few modifications to it over the years which I will share in different recipes over the next couple of weeks. Enjoy – and be prepared for some good eating!

Delicious Cobb Salad Recipe

a few heads of Lettuce (we like to combine different types (watercress, romaine and spinach are our favorites but you can use any type)
2-4 sliced tomatoes
1 lb. crisp, cooked bacon
1 lb. chicken, cooked and cubed
6-12 Hard-boiled eggs
2 Avocado’s, sliced into small pieces
16 oz. Roquefort cheese
3/4 c. chives
Salad dressing – see recipe below

Wash lettuce. Tear into pieces and allow to dry on a towel. Add to large salad bowl. Add all ingredients. You can add more or less of what is called for depending on the size of the salad you make, your taste for the ingredients. Pour the salad dressing over everything.

Here is the recipe for the salad dressing:

1/4 c. water
1/4 c. red wine vinegar
1/4 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. lemon juice
2 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. black pepper
3/4 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp. dry mustard
2 Tbs. minced garlic
1/4 cup olive oil
3/4 cup salad oil

In a bowl, combine the water, red wine vinegar, lemon juice and Worcestershire sauce. Next add the sugar, salt, black pepper, dry mustard and garlic. Stir well until sugar has dissolved. Add the olive oil and salad oil and stir well. Pour over salad or put in a bottle to be added during a meal. Shake before using.

This salad is amazing!

Cobb Salad Recipe originally appeared on The Daily Dish Recipes on August 15, 2010.

7 Layer Salad Recipe

1 head Lettuce, torn into smaller pieces
1 c. onion, sliced
1 pkg. peas
6 hard-boiled eggs, diced
2 c. miracle whip (some substitute mayo)
2 tbs. sugar
8 slices crisp bacon
8 oz. pgk of shredded cheddar cheese

Using a trifle bowl or something similar, layer the ingredients as follows: lettuce, onion, peas, and eggs. In a bowl, mix together miracle whip (or mayo) and sugar. Spread the dressing over the salad. Add a layer of bacon (we usually crumble it into smaller pieces, but strips will work). Cover the entire thing with the package of cheese. Use tinfoil to cover the dish. Chill overnight. It’s perfect for bring your own dish, (BYO), potlucks and other group get-togethers.

7 Layer Salad Recipe originally appeared on The Daily Dish Recipes on August 6, 2010.

This blog is known for it’s frugal way of feeding a family, and a ramen noodle salad recipe is one of the cheapest meals you can make. Here is one of our favorite ramen noodle salad recipes that costs only a few dollars. I have several, so I will put them up periodically.

Ramen Noodle Salad Recipe

4 pkgs. chicken flavored ramen noodles
1 c. celery, diced
1/2 medium sized red onion, diced
1/2 medium sized green bell pepper, diced
4 oz. frozen green peas
1 c. mayonnaise

Boil water and break noodles into boiling water. Cook as directed on package. Drain and rinse with cold water. In a separate bowl, combine noodles, celery, onion, pepper and peas. In a small bowl combine mayonnaise and chicken seasoning mix (from ramen packets.) Mix into noodles until well coated. Chill and Serve. We also sometimes add diced chicken. It works great as a main dish or a side dish and is another perfect picnic food! (trust me, nobody will know how easy and cheap it was to make!)

Ramen Noodle Salad Recipe originally appeared on The Daily Dish Recipes on July 5, 2010.

I know I’m a bit odd, but for some reason I am really not very fond of the recipe for Green Bean Casserole that calls for Soy Sauce. I love soy sauce, so I have no idea why I don’t like that particular recipe, but since I don’t – this is the one I use. I believe it is a recipe originally from French’s.

Traditional Green Bean Casserole Recipe

1 can (10 3/4 oz.) Campbell’s® Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup
1/2 cup milk
1/2 to 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
4 cups cooked cut green beans
1 1/3 cups French’s French Fried Onions

Mix mushroom soup, milk, black pepper, green beans and 2/3 cup of fried onions in casserole dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until hot. Remove and stir. Sprinkle with remaining onions. Bake an additional 5 minutes.

Traditional Green Bean Casserole originally appeared on The Daily Dish Recipes on November 17, 2009.