healthy sides

An incredibly fast and easy side dish, these Balsamic Spinach and Mushrooms are a new favorite in our house that&#x27;s packed full of flavor and nutrition!

Balsamic Spinach and Mushrooms

oz fresh baby spinach (approx 8 cups packed)

oz fresh mushrooms, sliced

olive oil

fresh garlic, minced

onion powder

salt

pepper (to taste)

balsamic vinegar (more

Heat olive oil in a large, wide saute pan or skillet on medium high heat.

Add mushrooms and saute for about 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally until mushrooms begin to soften, brown, and are cooked through.  Add salt and onion powder and garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring to ensure it doesn&#x27;t burn.

Turn down heat to medium and add spinach and turn with tongs until wilted (add in bunches if it all doesn&#x27;t fit in the pan at once)  Just before it&#x27;s done, drizzle on balsamic vinegar and give a final toss.

Plate and serve immediately.

No prep whatsoever, just throw your butternut squash into the Instant Pot and just see how much easier it is to cut and peel!

How to Cook a Whole Butternut Squash in the Instant Pot

butternut squash (look

Pour 1 cup of water into the pressure cooker pot.  Place a low rise trivet inside, place butternut squash on top.

Secure the lid and turn pressure release knob to a sealed position.  Cook at high pressure for 25 minutes.

When cooking is complete, use a natural release for 10 minutes and then release any remaining pressure (could also use a full natural release if you don&#8217;t mind it getting really tender).

Let squash cool slightly, peel with a knife or vegetable peeler.

Cut squash in half at the neck.  Cut rounded bottom in half and scoop out seeds.

Use immediately, refrigerate, or freeze (see notes).

I may never bake a butternut squash again, this was super easy &amp; I had no trouble peeling the cooked squash.  Thank you!  oh, and I made the instant pot nacho cheese sauce...score!  my children don't know they are eating butternut squash in their mac n cheese!  About to try it on chicken nuggets &amp; fish sticks and there is lots of sauce leftover.  I didn't have the jalapeno ingredients so, I left it out, one of my children (expert in our kitchen) said it was 'a step below mild salsa'.

Thank you for this! I have a recipe I love (think it might be from Chez Panisse) that is cubed butternut sauteed briefly with walnuts, ginger, and thyme and tossed with vanilla and lemon juice. It's a lovely, delicate blend of flavors, but I was always sure I would chop off a finger one day trying to deal with cutting down the squash. Now I can make it more often, without the fear!

If it wasn't tasty enough with the butternut squash, you added caramelized onions! I'm thinking some parmesan cheese on top next time would be yummy.

Thank you for this great post. Your ketchup recipe is a staple in my kitchen! I just made another batch yesterday 🙂

I have made this over and over again! So simple and easy! Thank you!

So, can I use an acorn squash the same way in my instant pot?

Japanese Spinach

spinach (about 8 ounces)

mirin

½ Tablespoons soy sauce

water

dashi powder

sesame oil

Put the mirin, soy sauce, dashi powder, and water in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over high heat. As soon as it starts to simmer, turn off the heat and stir. Set aside.

Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add the spinach and stir the pot. As soon as the spinach is wilted, approximately 30 seconds, drain the spinach in a colander and cool under running water.

Squeeze as much water as possible from the spinach and place on a cutting board and form into a thick log. Cut the spinach log into 3-4 pieces. Set the spinach into a serving bowl.

Pour the sauce gently around the spinach, garnish the top with katsuobushi flakes, and serve.

Super simple, delicious way to get more vegetables on the table. Took me less than 10 minutes to make. The sauce is delicious and soaks into the spinach nicely!!

Forget about tasteless beets out of a can; with this simple, no-fuss recipe, you&#39;ll cook them to perfection and make an epic cold beet salad you&#39;ll want to eat again.

Cold Beet Salad

beets

black pepper

citrus vinaigrette

extra virgin olive oil

white wine vinegar

orange juice

lemon juice (2 lemons)

shallots (1 large)

honey

Preheat the oven to 400F. Create tin foil squares large enough to encase each beet.

Rinse the beets with water, removing any sand and debris. Pat them dry with a clean kitchen towel, and use a large knife to remove the green stems. If the beets are extra large, cut them in half but keep the skin on.

Place each beet in a tin foil square, drizzle with olive oil, and season with salt and black pepper. Wrap the foil tightly around the beet and place them onto a large baking sheet.

In a lidded jar, combine the olive oil, vinegar, orange juice, lemon juice, shallots, honey, and salt. Place the lid on the jar and shake well to combine. Refrigerate until ready to use and for up to a week.

Prep:

Roast the beets for 45 minutes to an hour until they’re fork tender. Check at 45 minutes, poking the beet with a fork. Larger beets will take longer. When done, remove from the oven.

Roast:

Let the beets cool for 10 minutes before unwrapping them from the foil -they&#39;ll be too hot to handle out of the oven.

Use a paper towel to grab one beet, then use your free hand with another paper towel to remove the skins; they should easily come off.

Slice the beets into 1/2-inch thick slices or half moons and place them in a bowl. Refrigerate for 1 hour to chill.

Chill:

Pour 1/3 cup of the vinaigrette over the sliced beets. Toss them in the bowl to coat them with the vinaigrette and serve cold. You can return the beets to the fridge until ready to serve.

Assemble & serve:

I'm really not a fan of beets, but this salad is so delicious! Thanks for the recipe!

This cold beet salad was a huge hit at Thanksgiving this year! Thanks for the recipe.

This salad is absolutely refreshing! The flavors are vibrant and so satisfying. It’s a perfect side dish or light meal, thank you for sharing this delicious recipe!

This beet salad was a great addition to our dinner last night. Even my daughter liked it!

Creamy, rich, nutty, smokey, hearty, and utterly delicious describes this one here, my friends!  This is my Creamy Barley Recipe with Bacon and Gruyere Cheese and it is definitely a must-try side dish!  This recipe takes a healthy, let&#039;s face it, rather unappealing and chewy grain, and turns it into something so delicious, it&#039;s almost naughty.  The garlic, bacon, and gruyere cheese work together to give barley the make-over it deserves!  Everything, including boiling the barley, can be prepped ahead, so that right before eating, you just need to spend 15 minutes making the sauce, then mixing it with the barley.

Creamy Barley Recipe with Bacon and Gruyere

Dry Barley, pearled

Bacon

Extra-virgin olive oil

Garlic,

Gruyere Cheese, shredded

Milk, 1% ((any milk fat content is fine))

Cornstarch

Pepper

Chicken or Vegetable Broth

Chives, finely diced

Dice the bacon.  Finely slice the chives.

Boil a large pot of water for the Barley. Once the water is boiling, add a teaspoon of salt. Add the Barley and stir. Bring to a boil and then turn down to a simmer uncovered for 30-40 minutes until it reaches your desired tenderness.  Drain off the excess water and then set aside or store in the fridge until ready to make and add to the sauce.

Prep Ahead Steps

Preheat a large frying pan. Add the diced bacon on medium-low heat. Stir so that the bacon doesn&#039;t burn. Render the fat and crip the bacon, about 10 minutes. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon leaving the fat behind and place on a plate lined with paper towel.  Set to the side or store in the fridge if doing this in advance.

Make the cornstarch slurry by whisking in the cornstarch to the milk.  set aside.

To the pan with the bacon fat, add the garlic (add the olive oil if more fat is needed).  Stir the garlic and cook on low heat for 2 minutes.

Whisk in the broth, ground pepper, and milk cornstarch slurry.  Continue to whisk as it heats and start to thicken, about 2-3 minutes.  Then whisk in the shredded cheese and half of the chives.

Add the barley and the bacon (reserve some for topping) to the sauce, mix together and warm through.  Taste for seasoning and add a dash of salt and pepper as needed.  Serve and garnish with the remaining bacon and chives.  Enjoy!

Top 5 healthy sides recipes from across the web

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Balsamic Spinach and Mushrooms

How to Cook a Whole Butternut Squas...

Japanese Spinach

Cold Beet Salad

Creamy Barley Recipe with Bacon and...

Top 5 healthy sides recipes from across the web

The most viewed healthy sides recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

Top Tags

Balsamic Spinach and Mushrooms

How to Cook a Whole Butternut Squas...

Japanese Spinach

Cold Beet Salad

Creamy Barley Recipe with Bacon and...

The most viewed healthy sides recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine