Help me out of the vegetable / side dish rut

[Anonymous]

WOHM with PreK & elementary aged kids -> -> -> not much time to cook! I meal-plan for the week, prep the night before, etc. I have about 20-30 minutes when I get home from work to get dinner on the table.

I tend to cook a main dish and a vegetable (and sometimes a carb side dish also, like rice or pasta). Kids aren't into most casseroles or "one-dish" meals. I have a good variety of entrees, but I feel like my vegetable side dishes are stuck in a rut. In a given week, we usually have:
- Broccoli 1-2 times, roasted or steamed
- Asparagus once every week or two, steamed or grilled
- Roasted brussel sprouts or kale (kids are not big fans, but I love it - I'll usually have some raw sliced veggies for the kids on this night)
- Sweet potatoes or squash (roasted or steamed/mashed)
- Green beans (usually steamed)
- One stir-fry with whatever meat and veggies I have left over from the rest of the week
We also have a salad nearly every night, usually lettuce / tomato / bell pepper / cucumber, but sometimes I mix it up with caprese or beet & goat cheese.

I tend to repeat this week after week ... after week... after week. Late spring and early summer are easier as the farmer's markets are filled with interesting options, but this time of year I just don't deviate from this routine much.
I'd like some new ideas! I'm open to new veggies, or new preparation/seasonings as long as it can be done in that 20-30 minute window. Also, preferably all ingredients easy to get from a regular grocery store like Giant, where I do my once-a-week grocery shopping. I prefer fresh vegetables, but am open to frozen.

What are your favorite or interesting vegetable sides?
Thanks!

[Anonymous]

What about roasted, mashed or sauteed cauliflower?

You could also quickly slice and saute zucchini or squash with garlic. Or, halve them, top with olive oil, bread crumbs, Parm and halved grape tomatoes, and roast until tender. Broil the last minute or so.

[Anonymous]

+1 to 13:39.

We basically just eat roasted broccoli, but between the 3 of us (2 adults, 1 four year old), we eat maybe 3 heads every time we make it. Broccoli basically takes up the entire vegetable drawer!

[Anonymous]

Roasted cauliflower! Add apple and radishes to your salads. Roasted beets and squash and purple potatoes are really pretty together (cut all into dice and then roast).
Roasted/sautéed radishes are good too.
Try making a peanut (if not allergic) sauce for the green beans to mix up the flavor (look up a Thai peanut sauce recipe but it's pretty much pie aunt butter, soy sauce, red vinegar and some warm water to dilute).
I hear you on te cooking rut as I get into that too.

[Anonymous]

OP here - great ideas so far! I'll try adding cauliflower to the rotation... my mom always served it steamed with cheese sauce, but roasting sounds better

I make a ton of zucchini and yellow squash in the summer thanks to an overflowing garden. By September we were all ready for a break, but I could start adding it back in now. Especially with different prep, I almost always grill it in the summer.

Love the idea of peanut sauce for green beans!

I've never tried cooking radishes - I've only had them raw, and the flavor is a bit strong for me (except for the baby ones at a farmers market, which tend to be milder). Does cooking mellow them out or change the flavor at all?

[Anonymous]

Wow, I think you're doing really well with variety. Much better than our household.

[Anonymous]

Another vote for roasted cauliflower. I'm a recent convert and swear it tastes like candy!

Have you tried kale chips? My kids love those.

Roasted butternut squash is perfect this time of year and easy if you buy it precut or peel and cut ahead of time.

Various kinds of slaw (brocolli or cabbage). Check out the super slaw recipe on epicurious (it's kind of involved, but can be simplified for a weeknight)

[Anonymous]

How about glazed carrots and parsnips (light on the honey/sweetness) ? Or roasting carrots and parsnips. (Parsnips are SO yummy and very under-appreciated, imo)

We also make a succotash which the kids like.

Peas are yummy.

Edamame?

In the summer, I'd add in sugar snap peas or snowpeas to the raw veggie option.

[Anonymous]

I like roasting a variety of vegetables together, like cut-up asparagus, bell pepper, yellow squash, red onion, etc. I also like sugar snap peas and red bell pepper sautéed in olive oil and seasoned with just salt and pepper. It's really good!

[Anonymous]

You are doing a GREAT job.

Some ideas...

A new sauce for your green beans or sugar snap/snow peas - jarred peanut sauce or a masala curry? Lemon juice and slivered almonds? Pan sauteed with soy sauce and some rice wine vinegar?

Ratatouille - super easy and keeps really well, so you can have it as a side and a main (delish served over polenta).

A big pan of roasted vegetables, whatever you want + some onion and some fresh herbs.

More salads - spinach with Asian dressing; simple French salad with green beans, radishes, and chives; red cabbage cole slaw.

Roasted tomatoes topped with a bit of parmesan and some basil. You can also grill thick slices of red cabbage - drizzle with EVOO, salt and pepper, and top with a bit of goat cheese.

I also love fresh beans, especially fava or cranberry beans, prepared really simply.

[Anonymous]

My mom used to bake a halved squash and sprinkle it with butter & brown sugar inside. Yum.
Spaghetti squash
Cauliflower
edamame
lima beans
cucumber salad
sautéed carrots
coleslaw
baked potatoes / roasted / mashed / hashbrowns
rutabaga
turnips
beets / beet greens
corn

all that being said, you r menu sounds great to me!

[Anonymous]

grilled eggplant

[Anonymous]

This is a great thread. Another variation on sweet potatoes is fritters. I take leftover baked sweet potato and mix with an egg and some flour and whatever seasoning you like. Then I drop them into a saute pan with a good amount of oil to shallow fry them. They usually thin out like pancakes and the egg helps give them lift. You can sprinkle them with cinnamon sugar for more of a dessert, or some parm cheese.

[Anonymous]

OP again - yes, I do think we have a pretty balanced menu and variety within each week. It just hits me when I go to the store every Sunday, and realize that I'm getting the same produce every....single....week.

I do tend to season my veggies simply, usually just EVOO, lemon juice and salt. I think I need to amp that up a bit. I love the ideas for peanut sauces, curries, glazes.

Parsnips and rutabagas are two things that I don't have a lot of experience with. I'll definitely start experimenting with them. Roasting or glazing the parsnips with carrots sounds like a great way to introduce new flavors in a format that everyone already loves!

I forgot about edamame, which everyone loves when we go out. Will add that to the rotation as well.

I usually consider potatoes or corn to be the "carby" side, not the "vegetable" side. Like, I would serve chicken with potatoes and broccoli.... not chicken with rice and potatoes. Just my preference.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is a great thread. Another variation on sweet potatoes is fritters. I take leftover baked sweet potato and mix with an egg and some flour and whatever seasoning you like. Then I drop them into a saute pan with a good amount of oil to shallow fry them. They usually thin out like pancakes and the egg helps give them lift. You can sprinkle them with cinnamon sugar for more of a dessert, or some parm cheese.

OP again - this sounds fabulous! The kids will think I'm giving them pancakes for dinner!