what side dishes do you have?

[catty]

I really struggle to think of anything to have with meals.
this week we have lasagne, macaroni cheese, tuna pasta bake - but thats all we have. I end up making a portion for four ans the two of us will eat it all.
What do you have with these meals to pad it out a bit? Growing up anything I had I also had chips I literally had chips everynight but dont want to do that.

so what do you have with a meal? Be specific as with veg etc I never kniw what kind of veg,
I do make potatoes often but that can get quite boring

thanks

 

[OmarsMum]

Salads, soup, veggies bakes - all go well with pasta dishes.

Veggie bakes- you can go for root veggies / mushrooms, asparagus, Brussels sprouts / eggplants, zucchini, cauliflower, broccoli

Soups- minestrone / mushroom soup/ potato & leeks / lentil soup

Salads- Green leafy salad / potato salad / beets & corn salad / tabbouleh (parsley salad)

 

[Tasha]

Garlic bread, a small jacket potato, steamed vegetables (this will depend on your preference of vegetables), homemade coleslaw, potatoes in a butter and herb sauce, sweet potato mash or sweet potato chips (over cooked).

I also just love having raw veg as a side too, but not many like that

 

[Tasha]

Oh and roasted veg makes a lovely side too.

 

[Kay_Baby]

It really depends on what the main part is. With the pasta type dishes you mentioned I would have a green salad and maybe a nice bread. I'm not a big fan of double carbs.

With other things I really like a big tray of roasted veg as there is so many combinations. I also like to hide veg by mixed it in with rice.

Sweet potato is a great alternative to normal potatoes as well. I turn them into chilli chips, very yummy and way better for you.

 

[Lauraxamy]

Crusty bread, garlic bread, salad, baby potatoes with butter on or garlic butter, mash potato, rice with veg (peppers etc) in, sometimes I'll put nachos out but that's more of a 'treat' side

 

[catty]

Thank you! Need to try some of these this week! I do different potatoes alot but nothing much else, need more variety, will try some of these

 

[Rachel_C]

With things like pasta bake, we wouldn't normally have anything else, or maybe just a couple of handfuls of salad leaves. I tend to put extra veg into the bake so it's all in one.

 

[lau86]

Potato things we do mash (plain, cheese or with spring onions), oven chips, boiled potatoes with bit of butter, roasted sweet potato , m and s do nice potato rosti too
Veg we do boiled broccoli, carrot, peas, sweetcorn, steamed spinach, fried courgette, salad, roasted carrot and root veg
We sometimes do garlic bread
With pasta we tend not to have sides

 

[RaspberryK]

With the mac n cheese I would do salad leaves usually baby ones, sliced tomatoes, cucumber and onion.
With the tuna bake you could either add sweetcorn in with it, or serve sweetcorn or corn on the cob with it and or salad.
Lasagne, would have salad and coleslaw.
With your meals you could portion into 4 and save the 2 for lunches or freeze for an easy meal.
What other meals do you have and I'm sure we can come up with some side dishes.
Xx

 

[Chris77]

We have a lot of salads, steamed veggies, brown rice, wild rice, mashed potatoes and noodles.

 

[Jes.shortcake]

My OH likes when I cut up potatoes and coat them with olive oil, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, and Parmesan cheese and roast it in the oven. Same with asparagus

We also have Green bean casserole, Cheesy Broccoli and rice, and sometimes we'll cook fresh green beans and add butter and garlic to it.

 

[d_b]

We do salad, oven roasted sweet potato fries (one of the few veg dS1 eats) or steamed veggies.. Or I might just do raw veggies on the side. If we're doing a meat I might do rice or potatoes along with a veg. I've been looking for a good bean or quinoa side dish recipe if anyone has one!

 

[Equreuil]

I tend to prefer making one-pot, or skillet meals, or casseroles, to where separate sides aren't needed because it has meat, veggies, and a starch/carb (pasta, potato, etc). Makes it easier on me, as far as thinking of what to make, and as far as prep time goes.

Veggies: Sometimes I'll steam some combination of carrots, zucchini, onion, celery (whatever I've got). A can of green beans boiled with bits of bacon goes over well. Canned sweet corn heated up with a dollop of butter.

for a starch/carb side: rice-a-roni, couscous (the boxed kind is super easy). Mac n cheese can be dressed up a bit by added some bacon, a sprinkle of breadcrumbs and baked.

For lasagna, or any other casserole, I'd probably just do a salad.