In need of inspiration for something other than a bean or potato side

[Robin G]

Going to a Pot Luck, and I would like to take a side dish, but something other than potato or bean side dish. Any recipes for say a rice side dish? Thanks Robin

[Bobbie Mayer]

I like to bring grits baked with cheese.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-b...cipe/index.html

That's not my recipe but same basic idea; Paula Deen has a garlic one, too.

Or macaroni and cheese is good.

(Neither are rice, I know!)

[SherryNPaul]

As a Scandinavian-heritage midwesterner,
Beans, potatoes, and peas are central diet items... (along with pork... and red meat... and fish....chicken, ok, if you must...)
But, I expanded my horizons.
How about a nice rice pilaf?
Cook white (or brown) rice as usual. Set aside.
Saute an appropriate amount of diced pepprers (more colors, the better) and onion, a little canola or olive oil, toss in a wok or big skillet with parsley, a bit of garlic (some minced, some dry powder), and a toss or two of Mrs. Dash (the original.) Add the rice. Heat till hot, put in a warmed casserole,, and head for the table.
Some people I know call it "confetti rice" I have no idea why, probably the colors. There are no defined perameters... but I'd say, for a casserole to feed eight (the usual), two cups UNCOOKED rice, prepared as normal, at least one cup diced variety peppers, and a half medium onion, peeled, diced and sauteed. Mixed peppers and onions are available in the freezer section of the grocery store if you're short of time and prep space (most of us are). Thaw, saute, and add the rice.

Now, if you'd like potato recipes.... I'm happy to share.
Or beans.
Or peas. Ertestuing, anybody???
Sherry
PS
I love your little fiberglass trailer emoticon in another post....

[potteralice]

i cheated at the last potluck and brought a birdseye steamer package of rice and veggies. i added some frozen peas and a jar of sliced mushrooms.

the previous time i sliced carrots on the diagonal and heated them with brown sugar and butter. very colorful glazed carrots.

[Robin G]

Thanks everyone for some ideas, It's not that I don't like tatters or beans. I just wanted to do something different. But gladly take any yummy recipes for those as well.

I think I will try the confetti rice. Sounds good. I have a wonderful recipe for beans that I end up taking all the time because its requested by the hostess. But this time the people we are going with don't know of my Ranch beans so I thought I would try something different. Thanks again,



Sherry, all you have to do is save the icon and you tooooooo can have the trailer icon. I got it from a european egg site.

[curtis c]

my favorite camping side is. sautéed zucchini with garlic. takes about 5 min start to finish. chop up the zucchini in ether 1/4 inch slices or sticks. put them in the hot oil. try not to let it brown, same with the garlic. peel and chop the garlic and add garlic right before the zucchini is done. simple and very tasty. we also do this with fresh green beans. boil and blanch the beans first.

[Georgana D]

Not a camping recipe, but a good one. My Aunt Marion would make this for holidays and my uncle and I would finish the whole thing! I never knew what she called it so I call it Marion's Marvelous Macaroni.

1 box elbow macaroni cooked
1 lb. bacon cooked and crumbled
1 lg can peeled tomatoes
1 lb Cracker Barrel cheese shredded (the red label)
celery seed
parsley
milk

Grease 9x11 baking dish.
Layer macaroni, bacon, cheese, tomatoes (I squish them in my hands), sprinkling celery seed and parsley on each layer. Top with cheese.
Add milk to top of pan. Cover with foil (tent slightly), and bake [at] 350 for about an hour.
Yummy stuff.

[Anne3358]

Going to a Pot Luck, and I would like to take a side dish, but something other than potato or bean side dish. Any recipes for say a rice side dish? Thanks Robin

Here is a recipe I do a lot when we camp:

[b]Grilled Vegetable with Middle Eastern Couscous

1 (ea) medium size red onion*, yellow peppers & zucchini
Toss all vegetable in olive oil before grilling

1 cup of couscous to 1 1/2 cups of liquid. Could be water or vegetable broth
2 tbsp of Feta cheese
1 tbsp of Olive Oil
1 tsp of Lemon juice or 1/2 lemon
Salt & Pepper to taste

The onions take about 4 min then add the peppers for another 3 minutes and last add the zucchini for a couple minutes.

Heat the liquid. When boiling add the couscous for two minutes and stir. Reduce heat to low for another two minutes and stir. Turn to warm and check after a couple minutes, stir. This type of Couscous takes about 5 minutes to cook. Middle Eastern Couscous is also known under different names like Israel Couscous and Pearl Couscous. The couscous can be made first.

Once vegetables and couscous are finished, combine in a serving dish. Add olive oil, lemon, salt & pepper and cheese ..... toss and serve.

*cut the onion in half and then cut 1/2" slices for grilling
---------------------

I love this recipe because it's easy to prepare and can be 'expanded' to fit larger groups. I like to use red onions because 'grilled red onions' taste wonderful. Yellow and red peppers look fantastic in this salad.

[Des Nolan]

I often take a curried rice salad to pot-lucks. The recipe calls for a tin of shrimp but I sometimes make it without.

CURRIED RICE SALAD

Cook 1 cup of rice in 2 cups of chicken broth and 1 Tbsp. of curry powder.

Add dressing of:

1/4 cup salad oil
3 Tbsp. vinegar
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper

Let stand at least 1 hour.

Add:
1 tin drained shrimp
chopped green onion
chopped cucumber
finely chopped celery

Toss and serve

Diane

[Monica M]

Okay, I don't know if your potluck is a "trailer" prepared dish, or something coming from home as my recipe requires an oven, so I am just going to throw it in the mix...

My previous landlady served this with Thanksgiving dinner and I had to know how to make them!

Bacon wrapped green beans...

Just use regular canned green beans (cut, not french style)

A pound of bacon cut in half so that when each slice is pealed away it is only half the length of a whole slice

Wrap about four to five green beans in a (half) slice of bacon and use a toothpick to hold in place

Place these wrapped beans in a cassarole (sp) dish with the beans standing on end

In a small pot, warm butter and melt in some brown sugar

Drizzle the butter/brown sugar mixture over the green beans (not too much, you just want a hint of the sweetness)

Place in the oven until the bacon is gently but fully cooked

Enjoy! It is delicious!

[Robin G]

Dang, Now I am really confused! They all sound soooooooooo good. Well the pot luck is this weekend, but I might just have to take a couple of different dishes. Thanks everyone for all the good looking recipes. Robin

[Carol Ann in TO]

Another:

Kernel Austin Salad
1 T olive oil
4 cups frozen corn (thawed and drained)

Char the corn in the oil on med/high heat – aprox 8 minutes

Add to the corn:

½ cup red onion
1 hot pepper
1 tsp garlic
¼ tsp cumin
¼ tsp chili powder

Cook one minute more.

Dump all that into a bowl and add:

1 cup of quartered grape tomatoes
1 cup rinsed black beans
2 T lime juice
1 T BBQ sauce
1 tsp sugar
Salt and pepper to taste

Chill for at least 2 hours.

[Donna D.]

How about this.

Grilled vegetables, like red peppers, green peppers, onions, squash, mushrooms. In the last few minutes throw in some cut-in-half cherry tomatoes. Toss with Newman's Cesear Dressing. Serve warm or cold.

Yummm. We like doing this with asparagus too!

[David & Leslie]

These ideas all sound yummy! I used to take a deelish Green Chili Rice casserole to share, but the recipe is in storage with the other 'stix & bricks' kitchen stuff. My recipe involved baking, but I "googled" and found this stovetop version ... Have fun, LdB

Green Chili Rice
35 min | 5 min prep

SERVES 6

1 cup uncooked rice
2 cups chicken broth
1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chilies
1 small onion, diced
1 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cumin
3 green onions, sliced
1/3 cup fresh cilantro leaves
Combine rice, broth, chilies, onion, oregano, salt and cumin in a large saucepan.
Bring to boil, uncovered.
Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer until liquid is absorbed (about 20 minutes)
Stir in green onions and cilantro.

[Keith Williams]

Dang, Now I am really confused! They all sound soooooooooo good. Well the pot luck is this weekend, but I might just have to take a couple of different dishes. Thanks everyone for all the good looking recipes. Robin

I haven't had breakfast yet, and I'm drooling from reading all these recipes. You know, Robin, I'm not that far away and if I could find out where the Potluck is, I might just have to come crash it and sample what you bring.

Here's one my Mom used to take to every Potluck when I was a kid.

* Slice bananas long ways.
* Spread a thin layer of Mayo on the flat face.
* Sprinkle ground up Peanuts on the Mayo.

Serve in a cute little flat dish of some sort and enjoy. I hate Mayo but I liked these. Can't get any quicker than this.

EKW

[Alf S.]

Hi: All... Here's a Rice Salad from Kraft.
Cook rice(4 cups cooked rice needed) per pkg. instructions& cool (any colour)
We like Brown Minute Rice!!!
Blanch Asparagus/or Peas/or Grn. Beans
chop or add to rice.
Dress with (1 cup) Miracle Whip/juice& rind of 1 lemon
dash of Dijon& chopped chives/grn. onions/ parsley.
Mix thoroughly and chill.
All amts. are to taste and adjustable.
Alf S. North shore of Lake Erie p.s.
This is a mix& match type of salad so Asian style spices
and/or fruit combos are variations!!!

[georgia g]

It will be potluck time at the campground in PA and my fave to bring is a brocolli salad. To taste...cut up broc, chopped red onions, crumbled bacon, shredded cheese, and a sweet and sour dressing. mayo and sugar combo. I know there is a recipe for it but I use a sugar substitute until it tastes right although the sugar does make a creamy dressing. I like it because it is easy and no one else ever brings it. oops forgot the vinegar that makes the dressing sweet & sour.

[Bobbie Mayer]

I haven't had breakfast yet, and I'm drooling from reading all these recipes. You know, Robin, I'm not that far away and if I could find out where the Potluck is, I might just have to come crash it and sample what you bring.

Here's one my Mom used to take to every Potluck when I was a kid.

* Slice bananas long ways.
* Spread a thin layer of Mayo on the flat face.
* Sprinkle ground up Peanuts on the Mayo.

Serve in a cute little flat dish of some sort and enjoy. I hate Mayo but I liked these. Can't get any quicker than this.

EKW

We used to do this but mixed peanut butter with the mayo.. makes it less sticky and tastes better.

[Pamela H]

Something I haven't seen suggested is a pasta salad. My favorite is shrimp pasta salad, mayo based. But more stable is orzo with olive oil, lemon, cucumbers tomatoes, feta cheese, maybe a little olive and onion. Won't go bad in limited refrigeration.

Pam

[Robin G]

Wow, such great recipes! I ended up taking the confetti rice which was a hit! Like I said I would probably take two dishes which I did, and just did a marinated Green Bean which is always a great dish. I have saved all these recipes, to try out on the hubby. Thanks everyone for your great recipes. Robin