Cheesy Garlic Toast

This is a great homemade toast side dish! So cheesy... so flavorful... so crunchy... you can't go wrong!

You will need:

1 loaf of French bread from the store (watch out! some breads now have HFCS)

Oil for drizzling (or butter for spreading).

Garlic powder 

Shredded cheddar cheese

Shredded parmesan cheese (powdered is okay if you don't have shredded... it just looks fancier)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Slice your bread into 1" slices (can be thicker if you like them thicker).  Lay slices on a baking sheet. Drizzle oil (or spread butter), on each slice (you don't need a lot, because there will be oil in the cheese. Sprinkle garlic powder on each slice.  Then sprinkle the cheddar cheese, and then the parmesan cheese.

Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes, or until cheese is melted and outer crust is crispy. Serve with some nice hot tomato soup and enjoy!

Mashed Winter Squash

I always stress to eat what is in season.  Well, squash is in season during the winter! So I will try to post lots of squash recipes! Here is my first. 

Start with your favored winter squash.  This is banana squash. Rinse it off.

Cut it into sections.

With a spoon, scoop out the seedy center and discard.

This is what it should look like.

Then peel off the skin.

Chop the squash into 1" cubes. If you have a steamer that can be inserted into a sauce pan (like the one below), fill pan with water until it the water line touches the bottom of the steamer. Then add squash. Cover and let water boil for about 15 minutes.  Check squash for doneness with a knife. Make sure not to over cook because if the water evaporates, the squash can burn.

Discard water and move squash into a mixing bowl.  Add a couple Tbsp of butter. With a beater on low setting, beat until it reaches the consistency of mashed potatoes.  Add more butter if it is too dry. 

Scoop and serve! Makes a great side dish!

Oven Baked Onion Rings

You can thank my husband for this recipe... He wanted to have onion rings with dinner.  They were pretty darn delicious though (and perfect for Monday night football!), and you don't have to feel bad about eating them! Here's what you need:

1 large onion

1/2 c flour

2 eggs

2 cups Panko bread crumbs

2 Tbsp thyme

2 Tbsp oregano

1 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Coat baking sheet lightly with cooking spray.  In one medium bowl, combine flour, salt, pepper, and paprika.  In another medium bowl, lightly beat eggs.  In third medium bowl, combine bread crumbs, thyme, and oregano.

Slice onions about 1/2 inch thick

Coat onion in flour and shake off excess.

Then dip in egg and let excess drip off

Then coat with bread crumb mixture. It may be easier to just place onion in the bowl and shake the bowl around to coat the ring, that way your fingers won't get too messy. 

Place onion rings on the baking sheet and bake in oven for 30 minutes. 

Enjoy! 

Parmesan Broccoli

I love how quick broccoli cooks. Seriously, from start to finish is less than ten minutes. And broccoli gives you SO MUCH of your daily essential vitamins and nutrients, that I don't know why I didn't start cooking with broccoli more than I use to.  Here's what you need:

1 bunch of broccoli

2 tsp salt

Olive oil for drizzling

Parmesan cheese for garnish

Remove stem, and slice the florets into smaller pieces.  

Pour into a pot of rapidly boiling water for 3-4 minutes.  Add salt at the same time of broccoli (It's a lot of salt, but adding it now allows the broccoli to absorb the salt as it becomes soft). Check for doneness with knife or fork. 

Drain water. Drizzle oil and sprinkle with cheese, stir.  Serve warm. Yum!

Oven Roasted Red Potatoes

I got this idea from my mother-in-law.  She made something like this for dinner once and we could not stop eating them!  They make excellent side dishes for any meal.

For this dish, you just need:

1 bag of red potatoes

Oil for drizzling

1-2 Tbsp. Parsley

Salt to taste (1-2 Tbsp)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Rinse potatoes, leaving the skin on. Quarter potatoes. If they are larger, you may need to do some extra chopping.  Place chopped potatoes in a medium bowl.

Mix oil, salt, and parsley into bowl and stir until all potatoes are covered. 

Spread potatoes on a baking sheet. Roast in oven for about 45 minutes, testing with a fork for tenderness.

Let cool for about 5 minutes and enjoy!

Oven Roasted Asparagus

We used this as a side dish for our dinner tonight.  It is a very simple and tasty way to cook asparagus!

1 bunch of asparagus

1-2 Tbsp. Olive oil

Garlic Salt to taste

Preheat oven to 350. Rinse asparagus and snap off ends.

 Place in small baking dish and drizzle oil over them. Sprinkle garlic salt (sometimes I will do fresh minced garlic, thyme, and salt. This is much easier though). Lightly stir so each asparagus has oil and garlic salt. 

Bake in oven for 30 min, testing with a fork for tenderness.

* As a side note, I actually used two bunches of asparagus, that is why it looks like a lot