Easy side dishes for dinner tonight?

Slice up some vegetables lengthwise (such as eggplant, zucchini, yellow squash, onions, leeks, etc) and coat with olive oil, salt and pepper and a fresh herb of choice and grill them along side your proteins.

Baked potatoes are easy - I just wash them off and throw them into a 400 degree oven for about an hour. I don't wrap them in foil - they taste better without it.

A quick pasta or rice with browned butter, parsley and a grated cheese (reggiano) is nice with grilled protiens.

Speaking of Side Dishes, I have two easy and simple recipes here which I love to make.

Mayonnaise Shrimp

From: Easy Japanese Pickling In Five Minutes to One Day

Make 4 Servings

Ingredients:

10 ounces (300 grams) shrimp

1 tablespoon soy sauce

5 tablespoons mayonnaise

Method:

Mix soy sauce in mayonnaise in a large bowl.

Rinse shrimp.

Peel and devein, leaving tails on.

Chill in mayonnaise mixture 1 to 2 hours

How to cook:

Scrape off the marinade. Saute in a heated pan.

Other Shrimp Marinades:

Sesame Mayonnaise:

Mix:

4 Tablespoons Mayonnaise

2 Tablespoons ground sesame seeds

2 Tablespoons Miso

Onion Sauce:

Mix:

3 Tablespoons grated onions

3 Tablespoons minced parsley

3 Tablespoons vegetable oil

1 teaspoon salt

Coarsely ground pepper

Red Cabbage with Olive Oil Marinade

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:

9 ounces (250 gram) red cabbage

3 Tablespoons vinegar

3 Tablespoon olive oil

1 Tablespoon sugar

2 teaspoon soy sauce

Dash of pepper

Methods:

1. Julienne cabbage. Blanch and drain.

2. Mix vinegar, olive oil, sugar, soy sauce, and pepper well.

3. Toss the cabbage in the vinegar mixture. Let stand until cool.

Notes: Be sure to drain cabbage very well before marinating.

I love this recipe very much and made this recipe once every two to three weeks and brought to work for lunch. My co-workers finished within 15 to 20 minutes.

Grilled Veggies, Sweet Potato Fries and Corn-Cilantro Salsa

Try Bolognese Pasta : You need : - garlic chopped thinly (remove the core, it's better for the digestion), or onion - sausage meat - pulp tomato - tomato purée - olive oil - herbes de province (thyme, basil…) - salt, pepper Directions : - brown the garlic in some olive oil in a pan - when it's brown, add the meat, and mince it in the pan with a wood spoon - when the meat is half cook, add the tomato pulp, the tomato purée, the herbes de provence, salt and pepper (taste your sauce to decide what you want to add) - stir well - let cook slowly while you cook the spaghetti in some boiling water - when the spaghetti are cooked, add the Bolognese in the pasta, and eat when it's warm Bon appétit !

EASY BAKED CHICKEN DINNER

4 boned, skinned chicken breasts

1 can Campbells celery soup

Parsley

butter

Set oven at 375 degrees. Cut each chicken breast in half down the center and place with skinned side down in a heavy baking dish. Spoon soup and spread over entire surface. Dot each piece with butter. (Do not dilute soup. Use soup just as it comes in the can.) Cover tightly with foil and bake for 45 minutes. Remove from oven; turn each piece of chicken over and spoon the soup over it.

Replace foil and return to oven. Reduce heat to 350 degrees and cook for 35 minutes more. Serve 6 pieces with gravy from soup over them. Sprinkle parsley on top and serve with a side dish of boiled rice and a green vegetable. Serves 6.

Withhold other 2 pieces of chicken and the remaining celery soup gravy for chicken chow mein for the next night.

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Easy Spanish Rice

1/2 T. vegetable oil

1/2 C. uncooked rice

1 c. salsa (about half of a 16-oz. jar)

(10 1/2-oz.) can chicken broth

Heat the oil in a medium saucepan. Stir in the rice and cook two minutes, stirring.

Stir in the salsa and broth. Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, covered, stirring once or twice, until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender, 20 to 25 minutes.

They will are good for health, however if you are asking which is better for diet in cases like this all vegetables would do well

Lipton packaged side dishes, called "Easy Sides" are good, fast & easy.

Mashed potatoes, Rice, tossed salad, vegetables, baked potatoes

Soup

Chinese sesame green beans and season vegetables...or better yet, grilled vegetables. Just marinate in olive oil an put on the grill.