Category Archives: Side Dish

Sweet Potato Biscuits

27 Wednesday Jan 2016

Posted by in Breads, Breakfast, Side Dish, Thanksgiving

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I think this was the first recipe I ever Pinned on Pinterest, and I seriously took way too long to finally follow through and try it out. But hey, since 95% of recipes that people pin probably never make it to the oven, I consider this a win!

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I’m no biscuit expert – this blog is called Baked Northwest after all, and this area of the world isn’t exactly known for biscuits. In fact, I can’t really say I’ve had many good biscuits in my life, they always taste so boring and bland to me. But these! They come out this beautiful orange hue and have SO much flavor. And they are a pretty versatile vessel for whatever you want – ham, honey, butter, jam, fried chicken, savory or sweet! An no worries on the little chunks of sweet potato flecked throughout the biscuits – it’s a very good thing. Continue reading →

Pumpkin Cornbread

29 Tuesday Sep 2015

Posted by in Baking, Breads, Holidays, Side Dish

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Pumpkin Cornbread

My obsession with cornbread runs deep. I’ll try just about any variation, but as long as there’s cornmeal in something, it’s pretty much guaranteed I’m gonna love it. This pumpkin cornbread was super easy and totally festive for this time of year.  Continue reading →

Irish Soda Pull-Apart Bread

01 Sunday Mar 2015

Posted by in Baking, Breads, Holidays, Side Dish

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Irish Soda Pull-Apart Bread

There’s no denying it: in the world of homemade bread, anything with “pull apart” attached to it automatically makes it way better. I don’t know if it’s the bread nestled together, looking all cute, or if it’s just the fact that pull apart breads always taste way better, but you just can’t lose if you take something and then make a pull-apart version.

Irish Soda Pull-Apart Bread

Case in point: Irish Soda Pull-Apart Bread. Per usual, Martha Stewart is a genius and brings us this recipe. If you were to make 1 large loaf instead of the pull-apart version, it would still be good, but I think it’s hard to top soda bread in pull-apart form.

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Broccoli Crunch Salad

05 Monday Jan 2015

Posted by in Easy, Entertaining, Salad, Side Dish

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Broccoli Crunch Salad

One of the things in life that I really excel at, seriously, I don’t even have to try – is making healthy things not so healthy anymore. But I am also dangerously good at convincing people (mostly myself) that the un-healthified meal in question is basically like eating plain lettuce.

Broccoli Salad

The real moral of the story here is that for this ridiculous dialog to be happening, there has to be a sliver of healthy goodness in there. I don’t scream out, “HEY, IT’S VEGGIE!” when I’m shoving my face at Burgerville eating my favorite Spicy Anasazi Bean Burger. I usually know when to shut up and just enjoy it. But at least I don’t get the double bacon cheeseburger….

Broccoli Salad

So anyways, this broccoli salad, yeah. It’s pretty good. No, we aren’t eating plain broccoli here, we are throwing on some creamy dressing and bacon. But broccoli is going to steal the show no matter how much we try to trash this up.

Broccoli Crunch Salad

This is a riff on those broccoli salads you have at Bridal Showers, Summer BBQ’s, and the stuff you pick up for lunch from the deli counter. Since first making this, it’s been requested by Jordan for his work lunches several times. However, if you are bringing it to work, you may want to leave out the garlic in the dressing and those red onions out of the salad…Broccoli + garlic + onions can be pretty potent, if you know what I mean. Your call though, it’s really tasty either way!

Recipe
Broccoli Crunch Salad
Serves 6 to 8
by Baked Northwest

Ingredients

for the dressing:
2/3 cup mayonnaise
1 1/2 – 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 heaping tablespoon whole grain mustard
1 garlic clove, minced (optional)
1 teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon lemon juice (optional)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cracked black pepper

for the salad:
2 heads broccoli, cut into bite sized florets (you can also trim and cube the stems for use in this salad)
8 ounces (about half of a regular sized package) bacon, cooked and chopped into bit size pieces
1/2 cup slivered almonds (can substitute peanuts or cashews)
1/3 cup Zante currants (can sub dried cranberries)
1/4 cup diced red onions (optional)
1 green onion, thinly sliced

Directions

1. Place all dressing ingredients into a small mixing bowl and whisk together. Base amounts on how thin you like your dressing. If you like a thicker dressing, add 1 1/2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar. Like it thinner? Add about 2 tablespoons. If you want a sweeter dressing, add more honey, if you need a little zing, add some lemon juice! We eyeball ours and it comes out a little different each time, but it’s always delicious.

2. Place broccoli florets and all other salad ingredients into a large mixing bowl and top with dressing. Fold together until fully combined.

3. Adjust seasonings if necessary. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours and up to 1 day.

4. Toss salad before serving. This salad is great to make ahead and save for work lunches, but it’s always a hit at parties too!

Zucchini and Squash Gratin

22 Wednesday Oct 2014

Posted by in Easy, Entertaining, Side Dish, Vegetarian

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Zucchini and Squash Gratin

I didn’t grow up eating very many “gratins.” There were certain things that just weren’t in our usual repertoire, and there is nothing wrong with that – my mother knew what worked for her very particular children, and we stuck with it.

Spiralized Zucchini and Squash

Oh how times change. Now, I eat just about everything, and I now live close enough to my mom where we can try things that never really existed in our recipe box before. I still had the last of the zucchini and squash from our garden, and was ready to make a comforting, fall side dish. Continue reading →

Quinoa Tabbouleh

02 Wednesday Jul 2014

Posted by in Entertaining, Healthy, Meatless Monday, Salad, Side Dish, Weeknight Meals

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Quinoa TabboulehHave you ever found yourself with an abundance of an herb, and you don’t quite know what to do with all of it? Have you ever decided to plant something, thinking you would probably kill it, when all of a sudden you have too much of one thing?Quinoa TabboulehI feel like this has happened to a lot of home gardeners with mint. You imagine you are going to have some mojitos, maybe throw it in some tea, and that’ll be it. However…many times you are left with so much mint you just don’t know how you will EVER use it all.

This Tabbouleh salad is a great solution to your mint problem. Here we use 3 cups (!!!) mint to make a refreshing and healthy summer salad. Of course, if you don’t quite have that much mint in your garden you can easily use only 1-2 cups and you are still going to have a GREAT tabbouleh. The quinoa and cabbage really mix things up too.Quinoa Tabbouleh

Recipe
Quinoa Tabbouleh
Adapted from Bon Appétit
serves 8 

Ingredients

  • 1 cup quinoa
  • 1/4 – 1/2 medium head green cabbage, cut into 1”-thick wedges, then very thinly sliced crosswise (about 2 cups)
  • 1/4 – 1/2 medium head purple cabbage, cut into 1”-thick wedges, then very thinly sliced crosswise (about 2 cups)*
  • 1 small sweet onion (such as Vidalia), finely chopped
  • 4 cups assorted small tomatoes, halved, quartered if large (we used red and yellow cherry tomatoes)
  • 3 cups coarsely chopped fresh mint
  • ¾ cup olive oil
  • ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
  • ½ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
  • Kosher salt, to taste

*NOTE: you can use only green or only purple cabbage – just make sure you have about 4 cups chopped cabbage total.

Directions

  • Place rinsed, dried quinoa in a pot and add 2 cups water. Bring quinoa to a boil, then let simmer, covered, on the stove until quinoa has absorbed most of the water. Fluff quinoa with a fork and remove from heat.
  • Toss quinoa, cabbage, onion, tomatoes, mint, oil, lemon juice, and red pepper flakes in a large bowl to combine; season with salt.
  • DO AHEAD: Tabbouleh can be made 4 hours ahead. You can toss with oil and lemon juice just before serving, but I like adding it right away and letting the flavors develop. This salad is great the next day, straight out of the fridge!

Semi-Homemade Poutine

27 Sunday Apr 2014

Posted by in Appetizers, Main Dish, Side Dish

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Poutine
So…poutine. Have you ever had it? It’s one of those dishes that many would refuse to order because it’s not very good for you…Fries + Gravy + Cheese Curds + whatever other ridiculous thing you may want to add (bacon? pulled pork? fried egg? we’re already being sinful, may as well go all out)!
Poutine
Poutine is a Canadian concoction that has made its way onto menus around the northwest. I have had a few different versions…one was lobster poutine on a trip to BC, and it was an awesome decision. There have also been many reviews that Canadian Burger King’s have really good poutine. In my opinion – poutine is something you have to try at least once.

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Spicy Black Bean & Quinoa Salad with Mole Vinaigrette

19 Wednesday Mar 2014

Posted by in Easy, Healthy, Meatless Monday, Salad, Side Dish, Vegetarian, Weeknight Meals

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Black Bean Quinoa Salad

 

We threw this together on a whim last night for dinner. It came together super easy and quick. It’s super healthy and flavorful. It’s totally portable and I’m probably going to bring it to work for lunch everyday. What more could you ask for, really?!?

To top it off, this salad is VEGAN!!! I was a tad skeptical of the “mole” vinaigrette, I don’t usually go for the mole dishes because I like to eat my chocolate AFTER dinner, thank you very much. But overall, the cocoa undertones are subtle and the chipotle gives it a nice spicy kick. This is not your everyday salad, although you may find yourself wishing you could eat it on a daily basis…

Recipe
Spicy Black Bean & Quinoa Salad with Mole Vinaigrette
adapted from Cooking Light
makes about 6 servings

Ingredients

For the Dressing:

  • 1 teaspoon grated orange rind
  • 3/4 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon adobo sauce from canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil

For the Salad:

  • 1 cup quinoa (uncooked)
  • 1/2 cup slivered almonds
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 2 green onions, thinly sliced
  • 2-4 chopped mini peppers (or chopped bell peppers, fresno peppers, etc)
  • 1/4 cup pickled jalapenos, drained
  • 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
  • 4 cups baby spinach leaves

Directions

  1. Cook the quinoa: Rinse the quinoa well. Combine 1 cup quinoa and 1 cup water in a small pot and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to low, cover, and cook for about 15 minutes until you can fluff quinoa with a fork. Let cool.
  2. Make the dressing: Combine all ingredients in a small bowl except for the olive oil; gradually add oil, stirring well with a whisk.
  3. Combine cooled quinoa and all salad ingredients except for the spinach in a large bowl. Add vinaigrette; toss to coat. Add spinach; toss to combine.

Spicy Garlic Green Beans

18 Wednesday Dec 2013

Posted by in Bloggerific, Easy, Entertaining, Healthy, Side Dish, Vegetarian, Weeknight Meals

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Spicy Garlic Green Beans

I have a hard time with green beans. They have so much potential, but many of the recipes I see out there are uninspiring. Hello, green bean casserole (gross). The best green beans I have are usually at restaurants – namely, Din Tai Fung. So simple, but they are just cooked and seasoned so perfectly and man…I think I could eat them everyday.

When I found this recipe on What’s Gaby Cooking it was everything I wanted – simple, quick, easy, and looked damn near close to the deliciousness I have experienced while dining out.

Aaand yep – no disappointments here! I threw this dish together in minutes and had it alongside a simple chicken stir fry. It’s addicting – but that’s ok because it’s guilt-free! I really don’t know if I will ever make any other green bean dish again!

Spicy Garlic Green Beans

Recipe
Spicy Garlic Green Beans
barely adapted from What’s Gaby Cooking
serves about 4 as a side dish

Ingredients

  • 1 pound green beans, ends trimmed
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 6 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 1 shallot, thinly sliced
  • 1 tablespoon red pepper flakes (less if you aren’t that into spicy)
  • squeeze of lemon juice (about 1-2 lemon wedges)
  • flaky salt and lemon zest to garnish

Instructions

  1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
  2. Add the green beans and cook for 2 minutes. Drain the green beans and set aside.
  3. In a large heavy bottom skillet, heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Add the shallot, garlic and red pepper flakes and sauté for 2 minutes until the garlic becomes fragrant. Add the green beans and mix everything together, making sure the garlic and shallots are evenly distributed amongst the green beans.
  4. Squeeze lemon juice over green beans, season with salt and the lemon zest and serve immediately.