Side Dish Recipes or Ideas

[Green Tea]

I'd love some ideas for side dishes for large crowds. The main dishes will be the usuals-grilled chicken, fried chicken, burgers, hot dogs. Does anyone have great crowd pleasing recipes? The cost doesn't matter, but NO mayonnaise! Oh, and garden salads already covered.

 

[pklein09]

This one is a big hit in my family. I'm not a mayo fan...won't touch the stuff...literally. I don't do as many peppers, adding zucchini, summer squash, and asparagus instead. On occassion, I've also eliminated the eggplant. It's all up to your tastes. I know it's a lot of ingredients, but it's well worth it.


Ingredients
1 small eggplant, peeled and 3/4-inch diced
1 red bell pepper, 1-inch diced
1 yellow bell pepper, 1-inch diced
1 red onion, peeled and 1-inch diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/3 cup good olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 pound orzo or rice-shaped pasta

For the dressing:
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons)
1/3 cup good olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

To assemble:
4 scallions, minced (white and green parts)
1/4 cup pignolis (pine nuts), toasted
3/4 pound good feta, 1/2-inch diced (not crumbled)
15 fresh basil leaves, cut into julienne
Directions
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Toss the eggplant, bell peppers, onion, and garlic with the olive oil, salt, and pepper on a large sheet pan. Roast for 40 minutes, until browned, turning once with a spatula.

Meanwhile, cook the orzo in boiling salted water for 7 to 9 minutes, until tender. Drain and transfer to a large serving bowl. Add the roasted vegetables to the pasta, scraping all the liquid and seasonings from the roasting pan into the pasta bowl.

For the dressing, combine the lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper and pour on the pasta and vegetables. Let cool to room temperature, then add the scallions, pignolis, feta, and basil. Check the seasonings, and serve at room temperature.

 

[lisalis]

Have you ever made the cheesy hashbrown potato casserole? You can double the recipe and put it in the crockpot if needed.

Mix together the following ingredients and bake in a 350 degree oven for an hour and fifteen minutes:
1/2 cup melted butter
2 lb. hashbrowns - shredded or country style
1 onion chopped
1 1/2 c cheddar cheese
1 can cream of chicken soup
3/4 tsp salt
1 cup sour cream
Dash of paprika over the top of mixture

 

[swilshire]

Cornbread salad is always a crowd pleasure and pretty inexpensive. We make it different every time, but you can Google it and find lots of recipes. Typically you would add some mayo, but we left it out once when we were out and it was still yummy.

Sheila

 

[momto2inKC]

The Maui scalloped potatoes they used to serve at 'Ohana are a real crowd pleaser! When going to a large gathering we usually double this recipe.
Maui Scalloped Potatoes ('Ohana)
4 med. baking potatoes
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, firmly packed
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 med. sweet onion (about 2/3 cup), chopped
1 tablespoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon fresh chopped chives
Preheat oven to 375*. Butter bottom and sides of 9x13 glass baking dish.
Wash potatoes thoroughly in cold water and pat dry.
Pour heavy cream into a very large mixing bowl.
Slice the potatoes 1/8 inch thich and add them to the mixing bowl; toss in cream until each slice is coated.
Add cheddar cheese, parmesan, onion, salt, and pepper. Toss until all ingredients are evenly mixed.
Spread evenly into baking dish.
Bake on the center oven rack for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until potatoes are tender and brown on top. Remove and let stand 5 minutes.
Top with chopped chives.

 

[Green Tea]

These all sound good. My SIL brings a cheesy hashbrown dish to a lot of things so that one might be covered. My kids think she is a goddess with something that rich and cheesy! The roasted vegetable thing sounds like it would be perfect and not something I've seen at this gathering before.

I have not head of cornbread salad before. I will go google that!

Thanks all!

 

[mhsjax]

These all sound good. My SIL brings a cheesy hashbrown dish to a lot of things so that one might be covered. My kids think she is a goddess with something that rich and cheesy! The roasted vegetable thing sounds like it would be perfect and not something I've seen at this gathering before.

I have not head of cornbread salad before. I will go google that!

Thanks all!

Just so you know, cornbread salad sound really disgusting when you read it, at least to me, but man that stuff is wonderful.

 

[akcire]

Lemon Yogurt Pasta Salad

Quick, easy, cheap, and something kids and old people like too. Always a big hit at the church potluck, even when a triple batch is made it gone quickly.

http://www.pillsbury.com/recipes/fruit-n-yogurt-pasta-salad/2ec64f5f-b4c3-429b-bd8e-d97fa9e34be2/

 

[Darcy03231]

I always get rave reviews when I bring this, but you have to like garlic!

Bean Dip

Section 1:

1 can (14 oz) black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (14 oz) chick peas, rinsed and drained
1 can (14 oz) pink beans (or pinto or kidney beans) rinsed and drained
2 cans (11 oz) shoe-peg corn, drained (or mixed yellow and white)
8 oz feta cheese, crumbled
1 bunch green onions chopped

Section 2:

6 garlic cloves, chopped or pressed (do not substitute jarred garlic!)
1 tsp. black pepper

Section 3:

1/3 cup vegetable oil, 1/3 cup cider vinegar, 1/3 cup sugar.

Combine section 1 in a large serving bowl and set aside; combine section 3 in a small sauce pot and bring to a boil, stirring gently until sugar is dissolved; pour section 3 over section 1 and stir gently to evenly distribute; add section 2 and stir again. Let marinate overnight. Remove most of liquid if desired. Serve with tortilla chips for dipping. Tostatos scoops work the best.

 

[The Princess]

Everyone of these side dishes sounds wonderful...may have to give them all a try myself.
Hope more recipes keep coming.

 

[Kellydelly]

You can't go wrong with a fresh fruit salad, cheesy potatoes, and pasta salad . I also do grilled potatoes: sliced potatoes, onion, butter, seasoning and parmesan cheese. You could do these ahead and keep them warm in the oven.

 

[Green Tea]

Have you ever made the cheesy hashbrown potato casserole? You can double the recipe and put it in the crockpot if needed.

Mix together the following ingredients and bake in a 350 degree oven for an hour and fifteen minutes:
1/2 cup melted butter
2 lb. hashbrowns - shredded or country style
1 onion chopped
1 1/2 c cheddar cheese
1 can cream of chicken soup
3/4 tsp salt
1 cup sour cream
Dash of paprika over the top of mixture

I made this recipe last night for dinner. Well, sort of......I lightened it a bit for a regular dinner, not a special event. It turned out delicious; all loved it and since I'd never made it, or anything like it before, they didn't miss the fat.

I used the butter as stated. Used fat free chedder, fat free chicken soup, and non fat greek yogurt for the sour cream. I know it would be BETTER as written, but it was still really good. A keeper for sure. Thanks!

 

[Thumper_Man's Wife]

I know you mentioned garden salads are already taken care of, aside from pasta salads that others have already mentioned (easy enough to boil the pasta and add some italian dressing and a mixture of seasonings to it yourself to your desired taste), one of my go to items is a vegetable salad.

Veggie Salad:

1 head cauliflower
1 head broccoli
1 large cucumber (or two small ones if those are on hand)
3-4 stalks of celery
bottle of Brianna's Home Style Poppyseed salad dressing.

Cut the cauliflower and broccoli into tiny pieces, (I usually try to cut them really small, this gives me more salad at the end of the day), dice the cucumber and celery to accompany the other veggies. Toss in a big bowl, and dress the salad to coat. Place in fridge for a couple of hours to allow the veggies to soak up the dressing and serve cold or room temp.

You can add any other veggies you like to this. I have added radishes, or even cherry or grape tomatoes and it turns out great.

Another favorite and simple recipe is ranch potatoes.

Take a bag of red potatoes and dice them in bite size pieces.
Place in a big bowl and drizzle with olive oil.
Sprinkle 1 packet of ranch dressing mix over the potatoes and mix with your hands to make sure everything is coated.
Place on a baking sheet in one even layer
bake on 400 degrees for about 20-25 minutes or until fork tender and serve warm.

 

[luckey-lasvegas]

This is super yummy and easy to make!

http://www.rachaelraymag.com/Recipe...pe-search/salad-recipes/tomato-and-orzo-salad

Here's another variation.

http://community.tasteofhome.com/community_forums/f/30/t/653278.aspx

 

[blessedby3]

I was going to post Hashbrown Casserole...but many others already did. I make this everytime we have a cookout and my people expect it. It really is quite yummy
My recipie is a bit different so I will post it:
2 lb hashbrowns thawed (I use the shredded)
1 stick butter melted
2 cups shredded mild cheddar cheese
2 cups sour cream
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/3 cup diced onion
salt
pepper
Mix all ingredients together and put in casserole dish.

I have never used paprika on mine. I crush Ritz crackers on top and bake it at 350 for 1 hour.

 

[momxx5]

Hashbrown casseroles are always a big hit.
Awesome large pan of homemade mac & cheese
Large pan of "baked beans" (can beans with brown sugar, etc to fancy it up)

I have a super easy but extremely crowd pleasing is my mom's potato salad recipe. I know you said no mayo.......I use Miracle Whip Light.

My daughters favorite....broccoli casserole!! Again, easy to make and easy to serve making lots happy.

Good luck.
Let us know what you decided to make.

 

[ENSOCK]

Pork n beans:
Fry down a lb of bacon until cooked but not too crispy, remove bacon and pour off alot of the grease. Brown 2lbs of ground meat, chopped onions, bell peppers in the same pot. Add 4 large cans of pork n beans, the bacon back, 1/2 cup bbq sauce, 1/2 cup ketchup, 1/2 cup brown sugar and some squirts of mustard. Add salt and pepper to taste. Pour into a large pan and bake. You can adjust the sugar, bbq sauce, ketchup and mustard to your liking. It is alot of meat but everyone loves it.

don't forget to do garlic bread or cheesy bread also!