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Starchy Side Dishes

2-Ingredient Pink Pasta Sauce

March 23, 2022 by Lindsay 5 Comments

The most delicious easy pink pasta sauce recipe! Just two ingredients make this creamy tomato sauce come together FAST (in the time it takes to boil noodles), and you can serve it plain or add anything you'd like to flavor it. Prepare for this to be your new favorite weeknight recipe!

skillet with wooden spoon and parsley-topped pink pasta.

Let's prepare for some pink pasta magic, shall we? Two ingredients, fifteen minutes, DINNER.

This is one of those suuuuuuper kid-friendly dinner recipes that came out of necessity; I wasn't interested in making marinara or another more complicated pasta recipe, and we needed dinner asap. (thank you weeknight sports) Canned tomato sauce + heavy cream saves the day!

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Yukon Gold Mashed Potatoes with Roasted Garlic

December 1, 2021 by Lindsay 8 Comments

Creamy, luscious 5-ingredient Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes! These come together in under an hour, but the roasted garlic can be made in advance for even more hurried nights. These are very delicious with a cast iron skillet steak and some 5 Minute Asparagus, just saying.

bowl of mashed potatoes with butter swirl on blue napkin surrounded by Thanksgiving foods.

Oh, hello 5 ingredient steakhouse-worthy side dish that is the absolute love of my life.

It's the best ever mashed potatoes (with skins!), it's roasted garlic, it's buttery, creamy, comforting goodness.

There are a gazillion ways to make mashed potatoes, and IMO almost all of them are great. I love a super silky mashed potato (why does it remind of me of kind of a janky cruise?), but I also love a little bit of texture from potato skin and potato chunks.

Mashed potatoes are wonderful because gluten free potato recipes are easy to come by and almost universally adored, which means that lots of eaters can enjoy mashed potatoes. Also they're just supremely yummy, so there's that.

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Crock Pot Stuffing with Sausage and Apples

October 20, 2021 by Lindsay 11 Comments

One of the most delicious versions of classic Thanksgiving stuffing made in a slow cooker! Just 10 delicious ingredients cooked for a few hours while you make the rest of your Thanksgiving dinner. This is a great dish to prep in advance and take to a friendsgiving, too!

top view of slow cooker sausage stuffing with apples and celery.

We've definitely talked about this before, but where do we fall on turkey vs sides at Thanksgiving? I am Team Side Dishes all the way - I like turkey OK, but honestly side dishes are my favorite thing about Thanksgiving, hands down.

I've worked on stuffing recipes for years, and I think for me the key is a good ratio of crusty bread to buttery drizzle - no mushy bread, no mealy texture, actual delicious, buttery bread cubes with flavorful ingredients mixed in.

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Pesto Rice

August 25, 2021 by Lindsay Leave a Comment

Easy pesto rice is the perfect weeknight side dish for summer! Gluten free, buttery, and absolutely delicious. I love making this with store-bought or homemade pesto for a fun addition to plain white rice that is delicious with cast iron skillet salmon and broiled asparagus!

side view pesto rice with basil leave and pine nuts in blue bowl

Let us say hello to our favorite 30 minute summer side dish for dinner! Pesto rice. Which is, in fact, exactly what it sounds like: steamy white rice flavored with basil pesto, aka SUMMER RICE.

Let's make summer rice a thing. With butter.

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Vegan Potato Salad

July 27, 2021 by Lindsay 1 Comment

This vegan potato salad with no mayo is a super easy summer side dish that comes together with just a few ingredients! It tastes just like salt and vinegar potato chips, has tons of fresh herbs, and can be served warm or at room temp. I love it with cast iron skillet salmon for a delicious weeknight dinner, or as a summer potluck side dish offering.

Hello, hello flavors of middle school chip dreams wrapped up in some adult ingredients.

LOOK! It's a no mayo potato salad!

Listen, I love super fatty, carby side dishes in the summer. Seriously. A lot. BUT, I'm also into dishes that can feed a variety of dishes and are light enough that we can Eat All The Things and not feel uncomfortably full.

Like this vegan potato salad! This is one of those side dishes that goes with ANYTHING all summer, and the flavor combo is riiiight in the middle of salt and vinegar and sour cream and onion potato chips, aka heaven.

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Corn Risotto with Blistered Cherry Tomatoes

July 14, 2021 by Lindsay 1 Comment

Super easy corn risotto recipe that is perfect for using up summer produce! This version features roasted cherry tomatoes that get a little charred, a lot sweet, and are the perfect topping. This is a vegetarian and gluten free main dish or side option. Pair it with some cast iron skillet salmon for a yummy gluten free pescatarian dinner.

bowl of corn risotto topped with tomatoes on blue napkin

Because everything should have corn and tomatoes in it right now, you know? It's true.

Where we are, produce is so perfect this time of year, zucchini and squash and herbs and corn just everywhere. This corn risotto cozy from the creamy rice and fresh with corn and tomatoes that are amazing right now.

I love this recipe for summer, but it's for sure delicious year round with frozen corn and storebought cherry tomatoes. It's also really nice for late summer when the produce is still there but the temperatures mercifully dip a little bit.

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Vegan Pasta Salad with Roasted Veggies

June 24, 2021 by Lindsay 2 Comments

Yummy vegan pasta salad is the perfect summer side dish! I make this with any seasonal veggies I have on hand, pine nuts, and lots of fresh herbs and lemon vinaigrette for brightness. Change up the veggies, pasta shape, and herbs each time for a fresh take on this yummy, healthy side dish!

large serving bowl of vegan pasta salad with asparagus and tomatoes

I just finished the book Hello, Summer and tbh want to start all recipes like this with OH, HELLO SUMMER, but it feels kind of redundant.

Know that I'm thinking it, though.

This is, to me, the pasta salad to end all pasta salads. It's light, fresh, and full of summery flavors. I love that it's vegan because lots of different types of eaters can eat it, and almost every aspect of it can be switched up based on what you have on hand. Different nuts, veggies, fresh herbs, it all works.

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Quick 1-Skillet Lemon Pepper Pasta

May 10, 2021 by Lindsay Leave a Comment

Vegetarian one pot pasta, yes please! This one pan lemon pepper pasta comes together in under half an hour with just 7 ingredients. Classic lemon pepper seasoning flavor meets creamy, buttery pasta in this easy one pot pasta method. Pair this with an easy lemon vinaigrette green salad for a complete vegetarian meal.

Quick like....20 minutes tops, no chopping of any kind unless you count zesting a lemon, which you could fully skip if you'd like.

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Pan Fried Potato Chips

March 1, 2021 by Lindsay 11 Comments

Favorite pan fried potato chips are so easy to make yourself at home! These are a great lunch side dish or an offering for a summertime potluck. Just one russet potato makes enough to serve four people, and this recipe is done in an under an hour. I like Greek yogurt onion dip with these.

Let's make chips!

homemade potato chips on a baking sheet with kosher salt.

Because our lunches need a yummy side dish every day, right?

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Steamed Baby Potatoes

February 22, 2021 by Lindsay 9 Comments

My favorite baby potatoes recipe ever! Steamed baby potatoes are the easiest way to cook baby potatoes on the stovetop with just a few ingredients. I use baby yellow potatoes for this, but any small potato you enjoy works great! These are particularly delicious made into a meal with cast iron skillet salmon and a lemon kale salad.

Say hello to our new favorite GF side dish! Tiny baby potatoes, simmered and steamed and lightly crispy from butter + salt, tossed in any herbs you have, just super duper simple happiness all around.

These baby potatoes are simple and quick to make - I serve them all the time and just change the herbs I use so they go with whatever I'm serving them with!

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Potatoes Romanoff

November 5, 2020 by Lindsay Leave a Comment

What is Potatoes Romanoff? Only the best twice baked potato casserole recipe in the world! Envision: leftover baked potatoes, fused with cheese, butter, sour cream, and seasonings. I love this for a super easy Thanksgiving side dish that can be made ahead, but it's also delicious as a meal prep side dish served with my favorite marinated grilled chicken for dinner!

Great news!

We are staving off election and pandemic jitters with carbs and dairy.

What can I say except, you're welcome? (listening to a lot of Moana recently, Will's choice)

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Cracker Barrel Hashbrown Casserole

July 14, 2020 by Lindsay 10 Comments

This copycat Cracker Barrel hashbrown casserole copycat recipe is the perfect cheesy, tangy, make-ahead hashbrown casserole from the popular chain restaurant! This can be made in advance and baked in the morning for brunch, or eaten as a side dish all week long! Pro Tip: This is really really really good with Cajun Glazed Bacon on the side!

Oh, hey.

side view of plate with bacon and hash brown casserole.

How are you doing on restaurant food? Back in restaurants? Outside? Inside? More takeout than you've ever imagined? Missing everything like whoa?

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Easiest No-Knead Bread In A Dutch Oven

July 1, 2020 by Lindsay 8 Comments

Mark Bittman's no-knead bread (easy dutch oven bread) is the easiest, most foolproof path to artisan-style bread at home with just 4 ingredients and a little time. No special equipment, no kneading, this is the best homemade bread ever!

Mark Bittman does it again! I have been waiting and waiting to show you this.

Much like my favorite pancakes that we make at least weekly, this homemade no-knead bread recipe was a real game-changer for me.

It of course started in quarantine, as so many carb endeavors have, but I waited a few months to write about it because I wanted to be sure it worked every.single.time.

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Wildly Delicious + Easy Sausage Stuffing

November 18, 2019 by Lindsay Leave a Comment

aka my BIL Ben being all "omg but seriously what the f~ck is in this."

It's butter. And sausage. And REALLY good bread, just enough seasoning, and we find that really good sausage stuffing does not have to be really hard to make. In fact, this may be one of the easiest Thanksgiving side dishes to make and quite possibly the best stuffing ever.

I've seen stuffing with TONS of ingredients, sometimes so many that the stuffing becomes a meal in and of itself. I think those recipes are fun and interesting, but for Thanksgiving I'm really into basic recipes so that one thing on the dish isn't completely overwhelming to the rest of the plate.

Enter, this classic and easy sausage stuffing recipe. It's got really yummy flavors but just nine ingredients, stuff that is readily available, and can be made well in advance (a few days before your big meal certainly), baked, and reheated right before you eat.

The resulting sausage stuffing is super flavorful, tender with some crispy bits, salty and savory from the sausage and spices.

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Easy Corn Pudding

November 5, 2019 by Lindsay Leave a Comment

IT'S HERE IT'S HERE IT'S HERE.

The first Thanksgiving recipe of 2019!

I'm psyched. Thanksgiving recipes are so much fun to brainstorm, and we had the best time a few months ago coming up with some really delicious new recipes for you!

Up first: Jiffy Corn Pudding. It's made in a jif....ha...don't leave me. There are LOTS of things that are called corn pudding and corn casserole, and this version is as follows: cornbread mix to save us some time, corn because vegetables, spices for flavor, pepper jack cheese, sour cream AND heavy cream because it's Thanksgiving, crackers on top for crunch.

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Creamed Spinach Mac and Cheese

September 24, 2019 by Lindsay 1 Comment

this recipe is sponsored by microplane. they're offering a discount code to readers (see below!) and there will be a giveaway on Instagram later this week. be sure to follow along and enter!

Here's our new super duper easy one-pot dinner for fall!

I have been SO excited to share this with you. Creamed Spinach Mac and Cheese. It's one of those really nice unicorn dishes that everyone likes, that has veggies in it, that is comforting but not so heavy that we can't eat it on a Tuesday, checks a lot of boxes.

Let's break it down: We are boiling some noodles, and we aren't messing around with a roux/white sauce. We're stirring some dairy stuff together super quickly because we're hungry. Fresh nutmeg grated with Microplane's Spice Mill adds tons of flavor with zero effort, and garlic + handfuls of greens round the whole thing out. The resulting creamy mac is practically perfect in every way.

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Loaded Baked Potato Salad (for Labor Day!)

August 28, 2019 by Lindsay 2 Comments

Here's all we need to finish out the summer (or get ready for tailgating!).

How to make Loaded Baked Potato Salad recipe from funnyloveblog.com

Loaded Baked Potato Salad with all the creamy dreamy stuff dreams are made of.

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Crispy Smashed Potatoes + Garlic Butter Sauce

July 23, 2019 by Lindsay 3 Comments

The most yummy crispy smashed potatoes from Bon Appetit! This is one of my favorite tiny potato recipes: tender boiled potatoes smashed and drizzled with garlic butter sauce, then baked to crispy, salty, buttery submission. Make. These. Now.

Don't leave me. It feels good. Embrace it. The garlic butter, that is.

Sheet pan of crispy smashed potatoes close up with white napkin on the edge.

Hello and welcome to your new favorite side dish! These smashed potatoes are YUMMY, a word that honestly should be used to describe as many of your foods as possible. You only live once, potatoes are a vegetable, and garlic butter is the savory icing on the potato cake that we all need to use whenever we possibly can.

These garlic butter potatoes are, frankly, the ideal potato side dish. They go perfectly with some easy stewed cabbage, add some fish and chicken and here we go, dinner is handled?

These are my version of Bon Appetit's smashed potatoes: they're simple to make in just a few steps and the end result is a fluffy-on-the-inside, crispy-on-the-outside cross between mashed potatoes and french fries that is REALLY yummy. Trust.

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Leftover Mashed Potato Cakes + Apple Syrup

November 20, 2018 by Lindsay 7 Comments

Continuing our leftover plan for the week! I feel like sometimes there are LOTS of leftovers of certain casseroles, especially heavier things. Maybe it's just our family, but if you make an 8-person casserole or side dish BUT there are 97 side dishes and people only eat a few spoonfuls of each thing....leftovers.

Like mashed potatoes! That we are going to fry into patties and top with stewed apples, latke-style. If these are inauthentic enough, feel free to re-purpose the idea for Hanukkah. Here's the recipe that I used for this batch of potato cakes.

Since Beck has gotten big enough to care we usually do a breakfast all together one or two days per week - usually on weekends when Jay is with us, but also sometimes Mondays call for pancakes made with all white flour and extra butter, and I'm not above that at all. I'm REALLY hoping to score some leftover mashed potatoes this week to make these on Saturday. They're super easy to make and you could definitely form them the night before and fry them right before breakfast, maybe throw some bacon in a skillet just for good measure.

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5-Ingredient Baked Smashed Potatoes

November 12, 2018 by Lindsay 3 Comments

Ok so we agree that the weather firmly dictates what we desire to eat, right?

Because today it is pouring rain and freezing and dark AND it's my first day alone with both kids, and is it too early to plan on making myself mashed potatoes for lunch? Or ordering a burger that costs $5 to be delivered for a 50% upcharge?

I'm not above it, is my point. Send funny memes.

Onward, though, in our Thanksgiving planning! We have about ten days to go, and these potatoes should a thousand percent be on your menu. They have very few ingredients and are ridiculously delicious thanks to a few tricks. The first trick is to boil the potatoes whole. This takes a bit (ok, a lot) longer, but the flavor of the potatoes stays IN them instead of floating out into the water, and the resulting texture is closer to a smashed baked potato, which I adore. The second "trick" is...a lot of butter and salt. I don't know a different way to say that, but butter and salt make potatoes taste amazing, so we use a lot of it here.

For make-ahead purposes, these could be made easily on Monday or Tuesday of next week, and then baked right before you eat on Thursday. Starchy sides hold up so well in the fridge, and I love them for that reason - anything I can make in its entirety before the day of the big meal is a huge win. ...