Tag Archives: sides

I have been a fan of hummus for a long, long time it seems now. Each day at work around 10AM, I get out my carrot sticks and hummus and start chomping away. I swear, my coworkers must think I come from the rabbit family. One time, after I left a voicemail for a consumer and thought I hung up, only to find I was still on the line chomping away on my 17 carrot sticks. I’m sure the person who received that voicemail was a bit confused. Whoops! Well to make the tzatziki sauce you only need a few fresh ingredients…

Serving size: small 6 ounce bowl

Ingredients:

• 1 – 6 oz – plain low fat Greek yogurt
• 2 Tbsp fresh dill, chopped
• 1 small cucumber, skin shaved, diced into small pieces
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• salt, pepper

Directions:

1. In bowl, mix together all ingredients except sugar, salt,  pepper.
2. Season according to taste with sugar, salt, pepper.
3. ENJOY with vegetables, chips, pita bread, gyros, salad and much, much more!

When I made this recipe, it was a small serving size because of using an individual sized Chobani plain yogurt. If you were interested in making a larger batch, I would double the ingredients. That way you could take it to a party or use for a number of people for dinner. Again, this was the perfect size for me because I have been eating it as a snack and also used it on top of a bed of spinach with grilled shrimp for lunch.

If you have been on pinterest in the last few months, I am sure you have seen the potatoes that looked almost crushed. Something like this…

source

They come from The Pioneer Woman and I have been itching to make them. I like potatoes, but with Joe and his diabetes, we don’t eat them too often because of his carbohydrate intake. Well, I made these crushed potatoes as a side dish to go along with some fish and decided to also make a sauce to top off the potatoes and fish. I had a bag of spinach that was looking questionable and figured it needed to be used before going to the wayside. I remembered making the zucchini soup a week ago and wanted to somewhat use that as the reference for my sauce. I placed all the magic ingredients into the blender and yes something magical was created. I like how when you put things into the food processor/blend you have to sometimes cross your fingers because you never know what you are going to get. I have had it before where I place all these yummy ingredients into the food processor, only to realize I don’t know what the heck came out of it after being blended together? Read on for the recipe…

Crushed Potatoes with Drizzled Zucchini & Spinach Sauce

Serving: 6 side dishes

Ingredients:

• 6 small/medium red skinned potatoes
• 2 to 3 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/4 cup parmesan cheese
• 2 medium zucchini, chopped
• 3/4 cup to 1 cup vegetable broth
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 small shallot, diced
• 1 package – 6 oz spinach
• 2 Tbsp tahini
• dash of paprika, oregano/parsley, nutritional yeast (optional), salt and pepper

Directions:

1. In large pot, boil potatoes (skin on) until soft, 30 to 40 minutes.
2. Place softened potatoes on greased cookie sheet and with fork, smash in center – causing potatoes to split apart.
3. Drizzle with olive oil, parmesan cheese, salt and pepper.
4. Bake 15 minutes or until golden brown at 375F.
5. In saute pan, place zucchini, vegetable broth, garlic and shallots on medium heat, cook until tender 10 minutes.
6. Add spinach to pan and allow to wilt down.
7. In blender place zucchini mixture, tahini and seasonings.
8. Mix together until well combined.
9. Drizzle over potatoes.
10. ENJOY!