Zucchini and Summer Squash Stir Fry

This easy and healthy side dish is great to eat in summer or even year round. In Texas, summer squash and zucchini seem to crop up from March to November, so any time is a good time to make this dish. It just takes a few minutes to go from cutting board to table, so try it out!

The first thing you have to do is chop up the vegetables. I usually cut them into fourths, about a quarter to a half of an inch thick.

Next you add about a tablespoon of olive oil to a heavy pan and turn the heat on medium high.

Add the vegetables and start cooking. About a minutes after you put them in, add the rice wine vinegar.

Stir and continue cooking for about a minute more and then add the Tony Chachere’s, or other Cajun spice mix.

Mix well and continue cooking about a minute more. Then remove and serve immediately.

You may have to cook in smaller groups, depending on how big your pan is. You don’t want to crowd the pan.

This side dish is great with many meals and has a wonderful fresh flavor everyone can enjoy.

 

Zucchini and Summer Squash Stir Fry

Ingredients:

2 yellow summer squash

2 zucchini

1 tablespoon olive oil

1-2 tablespoons Mirin rice wine vinegar

1 tablespoon Tony Chachere’s Cajun spice, or to taste

 

Directions:

1. Chop vegetables into ¼ to ½ inch thick slices.
2. Add olive oil to heavy pan on medium high heat.
3. Add vegetables and cook one minute, stirring often.
4. Add rice wine vinegar and stir and cook for one minute.
5. Add Cajun spice and cook and stir for one minute.
6. Serve immediately.

Serves 4-6

Easy Spinach Pie or Spanakopita

One of my Mom’s favorite dishes is Spinach Pie. This Mediterranean inspired dish is easy to make and super tasty. It not only works great as a meal, but makes a good side dish or appetizer. To change it into an appetizer I use the Phyllo dough to wrap the filling in small triangles. It takes some time, but it looks great and is easy to serve.

To start out, you need two bags of frozen chopped spinach, thawed. It is okay if it cooks a little when you thaw it, mine always does! Try to squeeze out as much of the water as you can before you add any other ingredients.

Once the spinach is ready, place it in a large bowl and add about half of an onion, finely chopped.

Next add two eggs, two tablespoons of garlic, and salt and pepper to taste.

Last, crumble up the Feta cheese and add it to the bowl as well.

Using your hands, mix everything together until well combined. Set aside.

In a large greased casserole dish, lay out your first sheet of Phyllo dough. Be careful as the sheets are usually very thin and brittle. If you can, try to leave your Phyllo dough out for about an hour before starting to work with it. Cover it with a damp towel to keep it flexible.

Lay down the sheets one by one, brushing each well with a thin layer of melted butter. I use between five to eight layers for the bottom crust and the same for the top crust. Once your bottom crust is sufficiently thick, pour the filling in and spread out until smooth. Then get to work on your top crust.

Once it is all assembled, place in a 375 degree oven for about 45 minutes, or until the crust turns golden brown.

Let sit for ten minutes and then cut and serve. This is also very good reheated in the oven the next day.

 

Easy Spinach Pie

Ingredients:

2 pounds frozen chopped spinach (2 bags)

½ cup finely chopped onion (about half an onion)

2 eggs

2 tablespoons minced garlic

Salt and pepper to taste

8 ounces Feta cheese

1 package Phyllo dough

4 tablespoons (half a stick) butter, melted

 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Thaw spinach and drain well.
3. In a large bowl, mix together spinach and chopped onion.
4. Add eggs, garlic and salt and pepper.
5. Crumble in Feta cheese and mix until well combined.
6. Grease a large casserole dish.
7. In the casserole dish, lay out layers of Phyllo dough one at a time, buttering each layer well.
8. When the bottom crust is complete, pour in the filling.
9. Spread out the filling and flatten.
10. Layer more Phyllo dough and butter until top crust is complete.
11. Bake for about 45 minutes or until crust turns golden brown.
12. Let cool 10 minutes before serving.

 

Serves 6-8

Chicken Fried Rice

 

(Chicken Fried Rice pictured with Beef and Broccoli)

This is a great side dish, or even main dish if you need it to be, that uses up that leftover chicken and rice.

To start out, you need a heavy skillet. Heat a layer of oil, about ¼ inch thick, to medium high. Then add six cups of day old rice, the drier the better.

Stir and cook for two minutes. Then add 4-6 chopped green onion and ¾ cup frozen peas and carrots. Stir and cook until cooked through.

Make a hole in the center of the rice mixture and add 4 eggs. Scramble them up, cooking until chunky before mixing in with the rice.

Add 1 ½ cups finely diced cooked chicken.

Add about three tablespoons of soy sauce and mix in. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Cook until heated through and then serve.

Serves 6-8

Hominy

 

If you don’t live in the south, then you probably don’t know what hominy is. Long story short, it is corn just poofy. Yeah, weird, but it tastes good.

To make hominy start out by melting three tablespoons of butter in a heavy skillet or sauce pan. Add two cans of drained white hominy. Yellow hominy is okay too, but it is usually tougher.

Cook on medium-high for four minutes or until most of the liquid is gone.

Add salt and pepper to taste and serve hot.

This makes a great side dish, especially for fried pork chops!

Pickled Beets

This recipe is a simple one, but one that is great for a side dish for many meals.

To start out, you get a can of sliced beets and pour it into a small bowl.

Add 1/4 cup white vinegar, 2-3 tablespoons of sugar, and salt and pepper to taste.

Chill in the refrigerator for 30-60 minutes before serving.

For an alternative, hot method, set aside 1/4 cup beet juice before adding any ingredients.

In a small sauce pan, heat beets, vinegar, sugar and salt and pepper until it comes to a low boil.

In the juice you set aside, add 1 tablespoon of corn starch and stir until dissolved.

Pour into boiling mixture and stir. Cook for 1 minute or until thickened.

Serve hot.