Tag Archives: side dish

3 Ways to Grill Corn Perfectly this Summer

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Raise your hand if you can’t resist corn on the cob !  Not only is this vegetable fun to eat, it’s usually super cheap in the summer season – I just bought a dozen plump, juicy organic ones at Whole Foods for $3 total! Making corn on the cob on the grill is super easy; it’s a must-have at our house for backyard barbecues and casual entertaining. You know it’s on my menu for all the big summer celebrations including Memorial Day, the Fourth of July and our big family reunion!    jennifer grilling cornThere are three main ways to cook a whole ear of corn on the grill, and I’m going to run you through them. But, first, you’ll want to find the freshest corn possible for the yummiest result. Corn sugars undergo enzymatic reactions after ears are picked, slowly converting into less tasty, mealy starches. So, the fresher the corn, the sweeter – all the more reason to make friends with your local farmers.

3 Ways to Grill Corn Perfectly -- the perfect side dish to any backyard BBQ or summer celebration!

Method 1 – Cook Corn in Husk

 Grilling an ear of corn in the husk is so simple and mess-free – the end part of the cob serves as a handle as your peel back the husk dig into the steamed kernels. Notice how I said “steamed” – that’s because this method actually uses water from all the parts of the corn to steam it into tenderness – the grill just serves as the heat source. If the corn is fresh, it won’t need a pre-soak in water. However, if the husk looks a bit dried out, soak the entire ear of corn in water for about 10 minutes before grilling.

How to: Simply place corn directly on the coals or grates of your grill or campfire (heated to about 400F degrees) and cook for approximately 10 to 15 minutes until tender (peel back husk if needed). The outside will be blackened, but inside it’s pure perfection. Peel back the husks; remove the silks and butter and season to your preferences. If you want to get fancy, you peel back husks without taking completely off, remove silks, butter and season and then pull back up the husks before grilling. But, I think this makes it too complicated (and the butter tends to drip out!)

Method 2 – Foil-wrapped

Grilling your corn wrapped in foil is a handy-dandy way to prepare it if you don’t want family and friends to be dealing with charred, messy husks. Again, you are actually steaming it with this method.  Plus, you can easily oil, butter or season your corn before cooking and the toppings won’t drip out . . . and you don’t have to deal with mess and logistics of setting out these perishable condiments if you have a large crowd.

How to: Shuck corn toss away silks and husk. Wrap the corn in heavy duty aluminum foil, with or without flavorings like butter, herbs, salt, pepper, grated cheeses, etc.  Grill right on top of hot coals, or on a grill grate set, turning a few times, about 10 – 15 minutes

Method – Naked

This is my favorite way to prepare corn on the grill because I like the nutty, smoked flavor that a bit of charring on the kernels brings. However, this method is not “steaming” like the other ways to grill corn, so the final result is not quite as juicy and, it can’t be cooked directly on coals. But, I feel like this is how we do it down here in Texas and it tastes so good — yeehaw!

How to: Pull back husks and remove completely or braid and tie off for a decorative effect. Pull away most of the silks – the remaining will burn away on the grill! Cook corn over a medium-hot grill (about 400F degrees) for about 10 to 15 minutes, rotating frequently to prevent burning and encourage all-over light charring. In the last few minutes you can brush with a flavored olive oil and sprinkle with herbs or do that while still warm before serving.

Grilled Corn with Ancho Vinaigrette is a southwestern inspired side dish for your next bbq or summer celebration.

I love serving my grilled corn with slightly spicy-sweet Ancho Vinaigrette – you can get my recipe here:

CalCornia Shrimp Pizza makes a speedy mead for busy weeknights - grill or make in the oven.

I’ve also been known to grill waaaaaaay to much corn and I’ll shear off the kernels and use in recipes like my Cali-Corn-ia Shrimp Pizza!

3 Ways to Grill Corn Perfectly + Ancho Vinaigrette Drizzle #ClBlogger @cooking_light

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cooking light cornAlso, check out Cooking Light’s collection of in-season ideas for Cooking with Corn.

So, how do you usually make your grilled corn – foil, husked or naked? Also, do you use those little stab-in handle thingies or just eat right out of hand? Got any corny jokes? Please share in the comments below – XOXO, Jennifer 

 

 

 

 

 

Powerful Purple Foods & Sweet Potato String Fries Recipe

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Powerful good, those purple foods! No, no, not chemically-colorfied candies and goodies, but natural, wholesome fruits and vegetables from Mother Nature’s edible rainbow. If you’ve been passing up purple foods in the produce section, judging them too weird or trendy, it’s time to circle back! Load your basked from the prolific selection of purple foods available today including healthy-diet darlings like purple sweet potatoes (one of my favorite), purple cauliflower, purple carrots and long-time favorites such as purple grapes, eggplant, plums, berries and more.

Purple Food and Why You Should Eat It -- all the healhty benefits!

Fittingly it’s a “P” word that makes purple foods so healthful – polyphenols!  Purple fruits and vegetables are filled with polyphenols, important plant-based micronutrients which researchers say may help prevent degenerative diseases (like certain cancers) and protect your heart and overall cardiovascular health. One of the most abundant polyphenols in purple foods is a sub-classification named anthocyanins. Also found in foods like cocoa, nuts, olive oil and tea, anthocyanins are health-promoting, natural chemical compounds that aid in cell protection and healing.  Nutritionists recommend include purple fruits and vegetables into your diet at least 4 to 5 days a week alongside dark green, orange and yellow foods for maximum benefits.

Purple Asparagus from Friedas.comI love the Purple Asparagus from Friedas.com, it’s noticeably sweeter than it’s green siblings.Developed in Italy, the the large spears are purple-burgundy toned with a a creamy white interior.

 

Purple Sweet PotatoAnother one of my favorite foods with the good-for-you purple hue is a purple sweet potato. This dark tuber is royally delicious and once reserved only for the feasts of Incan kings in Peru. These days, purple potatoes reign supreme in the supermarket and, according to the USDA, can have in excess four times the antioxidant power of traditional white potatoes. Plus, potatoes of any color are such a great source of nutrition for athletes including complex carbohydrates to provide energy for workouts and potassium, iron, and other nutrients to help keep a hard-working body in balance. Eat them just like you would any other potato!

I also like to spiralize a purple sweet potato (or finely slice) my purple sweet potatoes and make healthy string fries. The easy recipe is featured below along with a few other links in my recipe collection that are popping with the power of PURPLE! Enjoy!

Purple Power Sweet Potato Strings make a healthy side dish to dinner or crowd-pleasing appetizer

Here are two other recipes to try!

Purple Cow Protein Smoothie

Tuscan Grilled Eggplant

Powerful Purple Foods and Why You Should Eat Them #recipe #InspireTasteLove

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What is your favorite purple food? What are you doing this weekend, any races or events?! Please share in the comments below — xoxo, Jennifer

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Purple Sweet Potato Fries
Prep Time
10 mins
Cook Time
15 mins
Total Time
25 mins
 
Purple sweet potato fries make a healthy side dish to your entree or a crowd-pleasing appetizer. Baked and not fried!
Course: Appetizer, Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Servings: 4 servings
Ingredients
  • 2 large purple sweet potatoes
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground white pepper
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
  • 2 ounces crumbled blue cheese
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 400 F degrees.
  2. Wash and dry purple sweet potato. Use spiralizer or mandoline to create string-sized pieces -- or, alternately, julienne very finely. Place on large rimmed baking sheet.
  3. Toss sweet potato strings with olive oil, bake at 400 F degrees for about 15 minutes, using a spatula to toss around halfway through baking.
  4. Crumble blue cheese on top while sweet potatoes are still warm.

Spiralized Cucumber, Grapefruit and Avocado Salad

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(Edited 1/19/2021)

Spring has really sprung here in Austin, so naaaaaaturally I’m talking spiralized salads . . . . and trail running shoes.  

You'll love this Spiralized Cucumber, Grapefruit and Avocado Salad with Creamy Avocado Ranch Dressing. It's vibrant and very convenient, relying on the delicious, juicy grapefruits and other veggies found in the produce department this time of year.

You’ll love this Spiralized Cucumber, Grapefruit and Avocado Salad with Creamy Avocado Ranch Dressing. It’s vibrant and very convenient, relying on the delicious, juicy grapefruits still hanging around the product department. Read on to get the spiralized cucumber salad recipe and Altra Superior shoe review.

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Lucky Day Kale Pesto Potato Fries Two Ways!

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 Kale Pesto Oven Fries an be spiralized or cut into wedges for a quick and easy potato side dish. This Irish inspired recipe is fun for St. Patrick's Day.To celebrate the plucky and persevering Irish culture, I’m sharing a “green” potato recipe I recently created for my friends at Litehouse foods – Kale Pesto Potato Fries Two Ways with Blue Cheese Sauce. You can just thank me later, you lucky leprechauns!   Kale Pesto Oven Fries an be spiralized or cut into wedges for a quick and easy potato side dish. This Irish inspired recipe is fun for St. Patrick's Day.

The inspiration for this super easy recipe is “colcannon,” a traditional Irish dish made from creamy mashed potatoes and kale or cabbage. Potatoes and Irish culture or forever linked, as we all learned in history class – at one point leading up to the mid-17th century Great Potato Famin, it was said that the average Irish laborer ate 10 pounds of potatoes a day and for three-fifths of the population it was the primary fuel of life.

Okay, eating such a potato-centric diet causes dietary imbalances, but potatoes ARE a smart choice as a side dish to protein and other fruits and vegetables in your healthy diet. Tubers are packed with wholesome nutrients including complex carbohydrates for quality energy and vitamins and minerals, especially iron, magnesium, vitamin B-6 and vitamin C.Kale Pesto Oven Fries an be spiralized or cut into wedges for a quick and easy potato side dish. This Irish inspired recipe is fun for St. Patrick's Day.

It’s no blarney, you are guaranteed to love my Kale Pesto Potato Fries Two Ways with Blue Cheese Sauce  — just remember not to call them French fries, Irish fries is more fitting! The kale pesto is a snap to make in the food processor, and can easily be done while the potatoes are baking in the oven. Make  another batch or use leftovers on pasta, fish, chicken, pizza and more. BTW, the pesto is nut-free so everyone can enjoy!Spiral Cut Potatoes

As for prepping the potatoes – you can use a spiralizer, a mandolin, finely julienne by hand or cut into fatter wedges, it’s the cook’s choice! I’ve used tried-and-true Russet potatoes in this dish, you could use whatever variety potato you like – on super busy days, I’ve also even hacked the recipe with frozen shoestring potatoes.

Kale Pesto Oven Fries an be spiralized or cut into wedges for a quick and easy potato side dish. This Irish inspired recipe is fun for St. Patrick's Day.

To add a blast of bold to the Irish recipe, I serve Kale Pesto Potato Fries Two Ways with the Big Blue Ultra Premium from Litehouse Foods. This incredibly creamy and rich dressing is made with extra chunks of handcrafted Artisan Blue Cheese for maximum flavor—a bowl filled for dunking is like a pot of gold at the end of a cheese-lover’s rainbow.

jennifer and dean jamaica honeymoonOh and speaking of history, did I mention my husband and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary last night! Where does the time go? And I wonder how many potatoes we’ve eaten through the years – haha! I also think you’ll get a laugh out of this honeymoon picture and the 1991-style bangs! By the way, check out these blogs I’m linking up with today Happy Fit Mama, The Fit Foodie Mama, Hello to Fit, Fairy Burger, Chocolate Runner Girl , Jill Conyers,

 

Kale Pesto Potato Oven Fries #recipe Do you prefer Curly or Wedges? #StPatricksDay

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What are you doing to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day? What you you slather kale pesto on? Spiral or wedges? Please share in the comment below, I’d love to know! XOXO– Jennifer

This post was sponsored by Litehouse Foods. 

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Kale Pesto Potato Fries Two Ways
Prep Time
10 mins
Cook Time
40 mins
Total Time
50 mins
 
Celebrate St. Patrick's Day or any dinner with this quick and easy Irish inspired recipe made with kale pesto, potatoes and blue cheese dressing. A delicious side dish!
Cuisine: American, Irish, Italian
Servings: 4 servings
Ingredients
For Potatoes
  • 4 medium Russet potatoes about 2 pounds
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 teaspoons sea salt
  • 2 teaspoons coarse black pepper
For Kale Pesto
  • 2 cups washed and dried kale (no stems)
  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 Tablespoon minced garlic
  • 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
  • 3 tablespoon fresh lemon juice from about 1 lemon
  • 1/3 cup raw almonds
  • 1/2 cup premium blue cheese dressing I used Litehouse Big Blue
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line large rimmed baking sheet with foil or parchment paper.
  2. Scrub, dry and leave peel on potatoes. Use spiralizer, mandolin or sharp knife to cut potatoes into ⅛" to 1/4” thick pieces. If preferred, cut potato into 1/3” wedges. Place the strips (or wedges) in large bowl and sprinkle with olive oil, salt and pepper, tossing to coat well.
  3. Bake thin fries for 35 to 40 minutes, using tongs to toss halfway through cooking time. Wedge fries may need to cook for 5 to 10 additional minutes.
  4. Thin fries are done when at least half are crispy and golden brown. Thicker wedge fries will be turning golden brown on the sides.
  5. While fries are baking, add kale, olive oil, salt, garlic, parsley, lemon juice and almonds to food processor and pulse until very finely chopped and ingredients incorporated.
  6. Remove fries from oven and toss with pesto while still hot. Serve with blue cheese dressing drizzled on top or served to the side as a dip.

10 Reasons to Give Thanks for Sweet Potatoes and 9 Recipes

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10 Reasons to be Thankful for Sweet PotatoesPerhaps the official vegetable of the holiday season, sweet potatoes are a delicious addition to a healthy diet any day of the year.   It’s easy to eat well with sweet potatoes — they are packed with essential vitamins, minerals and other important nutrients that are naturally designed to help your body attain peak performance.  If you don’t like sweet potatoes, keep an open mind (and mouth) and look beyond your grandmother’s icky-sticky, marshmallow sweet potato casserole — there are so many delicious ways to enhance the taste of this sweet, mildly earthy tuber. In a list I originally compiled for Core Power, here are my top 10 reasons to be thankful for the humble sweet potato — my favorite reason may be #5 – a healthy source of complex carbohydrates. Unless logistically impossible, I always include sweet potato with my night-before-a-big-race meal. Also, don’t forget to read down to discover my collection of Family Favorite Sweet Potato Recipes:

  1. Inexpensive Eats: The cheap price tag on sweet potatoes (less than $1/lb.) chops the “it costs too much to eat healthy” argument to the core.
  2. Year-Round Availability: While peak season for sweet potatoes is in the fall, this produce department staple is easy to load-up on year round thanks to a long shelf life and global economy.
  3. Stockpile Friendly: Don’t rush out and buy a lifetime supply, but do fill your cart when you see a sale — sweet potatoes stay good in the pantry for a season or two. Freshness can be maintained for up to six months when stored in a pantry, cabinet, unheated garage or other dark, cool space ideally in the 50 F degree range.
  4. Versatile Veggie: Sweet potatoes are awesome baked and eaten plain or can be cooked with much for creativity. Try them mashed, grilled in planks, oven-roasted in wedges, or add chunks to salads, stews and sandwich wraps. Sweet potato puree also adds lots of interest to smoothies, soups and baked goods. See my round-up of personal sweet potato recipes below!
  5. Healthy Complex Carbohydrates: Natural sugars in sweet potatoes are the “good” kind of carbs that are slowly released into the blood stream, providing sustained and balanced energy to fuel your body and brain. No blood sugar spikes and subsequent sugar crashes with this tasty tuber!
  6. Amazing Antioxidants: Orange-fleshed sweet potatoes are a super source of beta-carotene (from vitamin A) that can help protect eyes and damage from the sun, among other things. Purple-fleshed sweet potatoes feature powerful anthocyanins which have important antioxidant anti-inflammatory properties.
  7. Vitamin Rich: Sweet potatoes are packed with vitamins, high in vitamin A, vitamin B5, B6, thiamin, niacin and riboflavin. In fact, this veggie offers 100 percent of the daily value for Vitamin A, a powerhouse shown to be beneficial for anti-aging, eyesight and cancer prevention.
  8. Quercetin Factor: Quercetin, a dietary flavonoid, is abundant in sweet potatoes. Studies have shown that quercetin can help lower LDL cholesterol, reduce inflammation and serves as a natural antihistamine to fight seasonal allergies. Additionally, studies on athletes have shown that this phytochemical bolsters health during the 3 to 72 hour window of impaired immunity following heavy training and also may help increase endurance.
  9. Potassium: Potassium is a mineral that helps your body balance fluids and minerals, maintain a health blood pressure, and keep your neuro-muscular system function normally. A medium, baked sweet potato offers about 450 mg of potassium (about12 percent of your daily value) — even more than the famous banana!
  10. Iron: Grown under the soil, sweet potatoes are a great source for iron, a mineral needed for oxygen delivery throughout the blood system. A surprising number of athletes are low in this important mineral (foot strike can actually be a contributor to deficiency) and an iron boost can help restore energy, resistance to stress and optimal immune functioning.

Family Favorite Sweet Potato Recipes for Thanksgiving, Holidays and everyday weeknight dinners.

Cinnamon Chicken Cashew Sweet PotatoI also love this no-recipe “recipe” from the CookingLight.com blog, Simmer & Boil — Cinnamon Chicken and Cashews on Baked Sweet Potato. Just toss a half-teaspoon or of ground cinnamon with warmed shredded chicken, pile on top of a baked and fluffed sweet potato, sprinkle with cashews and dig in!  What an quick and easy solution for busy weeknight dinners during the holiday season!

 

10 Reasons to Give Thanks for Sweet Potatoes + 9 Recipes #CLbogger @Cooking_light

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What is the one Thanksgiving dish you can’t live without? Do you have any big plans for the holiday?  Please share in the comments below – XOXO, Jennifer