Here is a twist on a typical side dish. Instead of a rice pilaf, try it with shredded zucchini. This cooks up quickly and can take the place of a side of rice or couscous, and also works as a side of veggies.

Zucchini is easy to shred using a standard cheese grater. Earthy mushroom and tart apple balance the dish. Toasted almonds would also work well here.

2 large zucchini, shredded
8 oz mushrooms, diced
1 large apple, cored and diced
zest of 1 lemon
salt and pepper to taste
olive oil

Heat a small amount of oil in a large skillet. Add mushrooms and saute 3 minutes. Add zucchini to pan and cook an addition 3 minutes. Season to taste with salk and pepper.  Add apple and lemon zest and cook 2-3 minutes until apple is cooked through.

Tip: after cutting, drizzle apple with a small amount of lemon juice to prevent browning.

As part of my Thanksgiving feast, I wanted to make the traditional mashed potatoes and stuffing, but with a twist. Since I was not making a whole turkey, it was important to impart flavor in both the stuffing and potatoes. Nothing bores me more than a table full of beige food, both in color and flavor. Shy of using food dye, there is not much that can be done to potatoes to make them prettier. Instead, I focused on taking the beige out of potatoes and stuffing by infusing both with flavors from my Simple Garlic Broth.

The timing on this is near perfect: Prepare and begin cooking the turkey, then begin the stock. While the stock cooks, peel potatoes. Once the stock is complete, begin cooking potatoes. While potatoes cook, prep for the stuffing. Prepare stuffing and finish potatoes while turkey is resting. There will be downtown in between the steps to do other things as well.

You’ll notice there are no pictures to this post, but potatoes and stuffing are just not the most photogenic foods out there.

Simple Garlic Broth is my go-t0 homemade stock, which I love to use in everything from soups to couscous to hummus. Over time, I have altered the recipe slightly, but it still remains fairly easy, as the title implies:

Simple Garlic Broth

5 cups cold water
2 heads of garlic
2 tbsp olive oil
2 bay leaves (fresh or dried)
3-4 sprigs fresh thyme
salt, to taste

Break apart and peel the cloves of garlic, crushing each clove slightly with a knife. Combine garlic cloves in a large pot with water, olive oil, bay leaves, and thyme sprigs. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for an hour. Makes about 4 cups.

Remove from heat and strain broth through a sieve, reserving the solids. Add salt to taste to broth. Divide broth, reserving about 3 cups for stuffing and the remaining for potatoes.

Remove bay leaves and stems of the thyme sprigs from the reserved garlic solids. Using fingers, slide off any remaining thyme leaves from the stems, then discard stems. In a small bowl, use a fork to mash garlic cloves into a puree. Add salt to taste then add to the broth reserved for potatoes.

Set aside divided broth until ready to prepare potatoes and stuffing.

Garlic-Thyme Whipped Potatoes

5 lb russet or golden Yukon potatoes, scrubbed and peeled
reserved garlic broth, from above
Cracked black pepper, to taste

Cut potatoes into 1-inch cubes, as uniform as possible. In are large pot, cover potatoes with 1-inch of water. Bring to boil, reduce heat, and simmer until potatoes are tender with pierced with a fork, about 30 minutes. Cover and remove potatoes from heat.

Move potatoes to an unused burner on the stovetop to keep warm until turkey as finished cooking and is resting. Drain potatoes (potato water can be reserved to make gravy) and return to pot. Add garlic broth and solids. Using an electric mixer or immersion blender on medium to high speed, puree potatoes until desired consistency (smooth or slightly chunky, depending on preference). Season to taste with black pepper.

Garlic-Thyme Stuffing

1 package herb stuffing
6 tbsp unsalted butter
1 small onion, diced
2-3 ribs of celery, diced
3 cups garlic broth
Cracked black pepper

In a medium to large saucepan, melt butter over medium-high heat. Add onions and celery. Saute 3-5 minutes, until softened. Remove from heat and add about 1 cup of broth and a third of the herb stuffing mix to the pan. Stir until all of the stuffing mixture is moistened, then repeat. Add remaining stuffing mixture to pan and add enough broth to keep stuffing at desired consistency. The package will state 2 1/2 cups of broth, but you may need to use up to 3. Season to taste with pepper.

Here is one of my side dishes from Thanksgiving this year, full of seasonal root vegetables along with the flavors of fresh ginger and maple syrup. The vegetables can be prepped the night before, or during the day while the turkey is cooking.

While the turkey is cooking, prepare the dish and place it in the oven during the last 20 minutes of the turkey cooking time. Once you remove the turkey, increase the heat to 400F and cook until the vegetables are tender, about 20 more minutes. This gives you time to let the turkey rest and get the rest of the food ready, then pull out the vegetables right before serving.

When preparing the vegetables, cut everything to the same relative shape and size. This will ensure that all the vegetables cook at the same rate, and that way you don’t end up with mushy carrots and rock-hard sweet potatoes.

Ginger Roasted Root Vegetables w/ Pecans
adapted from Food & Wine magazine

1 small butternut squash, peeled and cut in 1 inch cubes
2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut in 1 inch cubes
2 large parsnips, peeled and sliced about 1 inch thick
4 medium to small carrots, peeled and sliced about 1 inch thick
1 container (8 oz) whole baby bella mushrooms, rinsed and halved
1 cup whole pecans
2 tbsp freshly grated ginger (about a 2 inch piece)
1/2 cup olive oil
1 /4 tsp ground nutmeg
Salt and pepper
1/3 cup maple syrup
Ground cinnamon, optional

Preheat the oven to 400F and brush a 13×9 inch baking dish with olive oil.

Combine the prepared vegetables in a large bowl along with the mushrooms and pecans. Add ginger, olive oil, nutmeg, and salt and pepper to taste. Toss all of the ingredients, coating the vegetables.

Add vegetables to the prepared baking dish, then drizzle with maple syrup. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender when pierced with a fork. Sprinkle with a dash of cinnamon just before serving, if desired.

A simple side dish recipe with a mixture of summer and fall seasonal produce, this recipe can also be made with frozen green beans if fresh are not available. Of course, I had to add a little garlic to the recipe.

This dish is incredibly easy to make, with little prep work, and is a serious contender for the Thanksgiving table. It is delicious and sweet, but still retains the freshness of the green beans. Next time, I will try sprinkling this dish with toasted almonds for added flavor and a touch of elegance.

Sauteed Green Beans & Pears
adapted from Southern Living

3/4 lb green beans
2 Anjou or Bartlett pears
2 tbsp unsalted butter
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 garlic clove, minced
Sea salt
Cracked black pepper
Toasted almond slivers (optional)

Snip ends of green beans and cut into 1-inch pieces if desired (if using frozen green beans, prepare according to packaged directions). Peel and core pears, then cut into 1/4 inch thick slices.

In a large skillet, melt butter and mix with brown sugar and balsamic vinegar. Add garlic to pan and saute for about 1 minute, then add green beans and saute 2-3 minutes. Add pear slices and saute an additional 3-5 minutes, until pears are heated and green beans are crisp-tender. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with almonds, if desired.

Another recipe discovered while watching the Food Network on a Saturday morning, this one from 5 Ingredient Fix with Claire Robinson. The premise of the show is that each recipe is quick and easy, with five ingredients (plus salt and pepper). I upgraded by adding onion and garlic, then served this tasty side dish with some chicken.

Orzo w/ Zucchini & Feta
adapted from the Food Network

1 cup dried orzo
1 small onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 medium to large zucchini, quartered lengthwise and sliced
4 oz feta cheese, crumbled
1/2 cup fresh mint leaves, chopped

Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add 1 teaspon of salt and dried orzo. Cook 8 minutes, orzo will be slightly undercooked, and reserve 1 cup pasta water. Drain and set aside.

Meanwhile, heat olive oil in large skillet. Saute onion and garlic 3-5 minutes until soft. Add zucchini and saute 3-5 minutes until slightly soft. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add cooked orzo and reserved pasta water. Bring to a boil, tossing to mix. Add half of the feta and stir until melted into a sauce. Stir in most of the mint, reserving some for garnish.

Season with additional salt and pepper if desired. Remove from heat and top with remaining feta and mint.