I’m terrible at making side dishes to go with dinner. I remember growing up we always had three dishes served with dinner. Usually it was some sort of meat dish, a veggie and a starch. It was ingrained in me that you had to have at least three dishes.
Well… I’m not so great at that! I do prefer to serve one dish dinners that include all of the above! Like a cauliflower fried rice or curry shrimp over spaghetti squash, or spicy pork over rice or quinoa. However, that isn’t always an option.
I’ve also been trying to add more fish into our diet and I don’t much prefer fish soups or stir fries. Not really one of my favorites… so usually our fish is broiled, baked or fried. So.. then my conundrum…. what to serve with it. or any meat dish that doesn’t have veggies mixed in.
These two sides are huge favorites with the kids and always go over well. My kids are crazy about cucumbers and can never get enough of them, so thankfully I can serve them any way I like and they will be devoured!
Also, I prefer to have 2 second sides… meaning it takes 2 seconds to make them. Like the apple sauce I canned last year is a perfect example. We do have that sometimes, but we often have it as a dessert, so it doesn’t really help the need for creating a side dish! These following two sides take a little longer than 2 seconds, but not much longer!
Cucumber Salad
Cucumbers
It’s as simple as slicing up the cucumbers to the desired size and pour the Italian dressing over it! And if you let it sit for a day or two they taste even better!
Baked Fingerling Potatoes
1 lb fingerling potatoes
1 tsp garlic salt (or garlic powder and salt)
1 tsp pepper
olive oil
I like the cut the potatoes just a little (in about 2 or 3 pieces) so that they cook a little faster. I either bake or broil them first. Once they are soft and the desired tenderness to eat I drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle the garlic salt and pepper over top. Super yummy and simple!
So there you have it! Two super simple sides! I like to be able to cook dinner in 1 hour or less start to finish and if the main dish takes longer to prepare these are great sides that don’t eat up a lot of time making!
If you have super simple sides that are staples in your family I’d love to hear what they are!
Green & Grateful 