So I am making a chicken dish tonight with a cranberry, apricot sauce, but I have no idea what to make with it. Obviously we will have a veggie like brocolli or something, but I think it also needs some kind of starch dish. My family are not big fans of rice, and we are kind of sick of the same old mashed potatoes or pasta side dishes. And my husband doesn't want stuffing. What kind of side dishes do you make with chicken? I thought of a sweet potato mash, but I thought one of you might have something more exciting. Thanks.
I ended up going with roasted sweet potatoes and they were delicious. But I got a lot more ideas for other meals. Thank you all so much!
what about corn? Or you could steam some fresh vegetables like yellow squash, zuchinni squash; or broccoli and cauliflower with cheese sauce. Hash brown casserole is a good one, too, or pasta salad.
What about Cous Cous?
You can add in some feta, some dried apricots and cranberries, some slivered almonds, a basic lemon or raspberry vinegrette dressing? Yum!
I have an awesome potato dish for you, and it's super easy.
Two cans of "new potatoes"...I like Butter Kernel brand...and I like to buy the sliced ones because of ease, but you can buy the whole ones and slice them yourself.
Layer slices in a casserole dish, top with dabs of butter (margarine) scattered throughout, pepper, and parmesan cheese. Repeat until you've used all your potatoes, ending with the top layer of little dabs of butter, pepper, and the parmesan. Bake at 350 for at least 30 minutes, but it can be left in longer...it's hard to screw this one up. I know it sounds simple, but everyone I've ever made this dish for has been shocked by how delicious it is and how different it tastes.
For a change up on pasta side dishes, try a cold pasta salad. There are all kinds of recipes...I usually enjoy one that has oil and vinegar, bacon bits, parmesan, etc.
I would do a couscous or quinoa side dish. I'd mix in some veggies (like chopped cucumber, feta, tomatoes, or whatever you have) and olive oil and a little balsamic vinegar. Or I'd roast sweet potato pieces till they were golden brown and a little crispy. Or you could cook up some butternut squash.
Roasted potatos - Lipton has some great seasonings you can put on them. Mashed sweet potatos. I know you said no rice, we we like to cook brown rice in a veggie or mushroom stock with some onion, garlic etc - it gives the rice a nice flavor.
Mmm! I second the roasted potatoes idea. Combine your favorite herbs for seasoning. Coat potatoes with 1 Tbsp olive oil (or vegetable oil) and toss with seasoning. Cook in the oven at 350.
We've been eating a lot of baked potatoes in my house lately. I know you said you're not huge rice fans, but have you ever made rice-a-roni from scratch where you melt a little bit of butter, brown some vermacelli that's been broken, add rice, whatever seasoning works with your main dish & chicken stock, bring to a boil, reduce, cover & simmer for 15-20 minutes? It's easy, doesn't have all of the extra salt that the boxed variety has, & you can tailor it specifically to your family's likes.
pasta salad
chips - not often that we do it, but - hey, why not?
coleslaw
beans
I'd go with the sweet potato dish!
you could do scalloped potatoes
baked sweet potatoes
We do a lot of orzo as a side. Another option could be a french baguette that you can add the sauce to?
