Veggie Dish that can stand alone OR go with chicken & potaotes?

[SollysMom]

I'm a vegetarian and my husband is omni.  I recently found a super-easy dish to make for him that he really likes - just chicken breasts and quartered potatoes baked in olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic, and parsely.  When I make that for him, I usually make baked sweet potato "fries" for myself and some kale cooked with olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, and salt.  I'm usually still hungry after eating just the sweet potatoes and kale.  I think the chicken/potatoes would be great for company, and I'd love ideas for a vegetable "side" that can be my main course but a side dish for everyone else.  Something that could be baked in the oven alongside the chicken/potatoes would be great, or something that can be done on the stovetop with minimal effort (the kale I do, for instance, is just put everything in a big pot with water and cook until done).

Thanks in advance for any replies! 

[catnip]

This sounds like a job for baked lentils.

[SollysMom]

Thanks for the reply!  We have honey baked lentils all the time, don't know why I didn't think of them!  I'd love any more ideas people have, especially ones that have more actual veggies in them.

[SundayCrepes]

What about throwing in some nuts with the kale? I haven't had kale in a long time, so I'm not sure about that.

How about some soup? http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com/2011/02/cream-of-broccoli-soup-recipe-with.html

[jess in hawaii]

Ratatouille would go well, I think. I have often made it along side chicken and potatoes, it has tons of veggies, and would also go well with the kale (though probably not so much the sweet potatoes, but it could work). You can even throw in some garbanzos and/or top it with cheese -not traditional options, but very tasty

[SollysMom]

Originally Posted by SundayCrepes 

What about throwing in some nuts with the kale? I haven't had kale in a long time, so I'm not sure about that.

How about some soup? http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com/2011/02/cream-of-broccoli-soup-recipe-with.html

Not sure about nuts with the kale... Maybe pine nuts would work?

I love the idea of soup.  Maybe a broccoli/cheddar soup, salad, and fresh bread would definitely be enough for me, and would go well with the chicken/potatoes for my husband or guests.

Originally Posted by jess in hawaii 

Ratatouille would go well, I think. I have often made it along side chicken and potatoes, it has tons of veggies, and would also go well with the kale (though probably not so much the sweet potatoes, but it could work). You can even throw in some garbanzos and/or top it with cheese -not traditional options, but very tasty

I think ratatouille would be great!  That's a fantastic idea.  I'm really lazy when it comes to chopping veggies (I buy the ready-to-use bags of kale LOL) but if I did it in advance/earlier in the day it would be great.

I also found a recipe for butternut squash casserole with nuts in the topping that I thought could work, along with a salad, but I don't know if the flavors would really go well together.  I like the soup or ratatouille ideas better.

[Koalamom]

When my vegetarian brother comes over, I always have some frozen beans on hand- 2 cups. Stir fry some onions and garlic and throw in the beans. Our favorite is black eyed peas. It is yummy with cumin and a little salt and pepper. It stands strong next to the ground beef.

[SollysMom]

I love beans, but do you think it would be too starchy alongside potatoes?  I love veggie dishes that combine something green with dried fruit and nuts, if anyone has any great

recipes!

[jess in hawaii]

I don't have a specific recipe, but spinach is good with dried cranberries or apricots and almonds or hazelnuts. You can sautee it or make a salad, they are just good flavor combos to experiment with.

Or for a more traditional approach, you could do Green Beans Almandine or Citrus Glazed Carrots and maybe add a bit of citrus to the green beans or some sesame seeds to the carrots, too.

Oh, and thinking of carrots made me remember a recipe I used to love but haven't made in ages... Carrot Salad, with grated carrots, coconut, currants and orange,lemon, honey dressing.

Which made me think of Balsamic Beets....

lol.

[SollysMom]

Oooh I love spinach/cranberry/almond salads so I bet they'd be great together cooked too.  Maybe sauteed in some olive oil and OJ?  Salt, pepper, and cinnamon?  (would cinammon be out of place?  or should I go a different route and try garlic?)

[jess in hawaii]

I'm not big on garlic but I love cinnamon, so I'm probably not the one to ask.... lol. Nutmeg (just a smidgen) is traditional with spinach (my style is pretty rooted in classical cooking). Course ground black pepper is essential. Oh, and red onion... definitely red onion :)   yeah.... sauteed with olive oil and OJ.....  I hope it come out as good as it sounds!

[SollysMom]

Originally Posted by jess in hawaii 

I'm not big on garlic but I love cinnamon, so I'm probably not the one to ask.... lol. Nutmeg (just a smidgen) is traditional with spinach (my style is pretty rooted in classical cooking). Course ground black pepper is essential. Oh, and red onion... definitely red onion :)   yeah.... sauteed with olive oil and OJ.....  I hope it come out as good as it sounds!

I'll definitely have to try this!  Sounds delicious :)

[SollysMom]

Experiment #1 tonight - did the chicken and potatoes for DH plus broccoli/cheddar soup.  I teach a Yoga class on Thursday nights and don't like to eat anything heavy beforehand (you're supposed to do Yoga on an empty stomach but that's impractical for my family life) so I figured the broccoli/cheddar soup would be filling enough but not too heavy.  I made the yam fries still because I was in the mood, but if it were for company I would have skipped the yam fries and done salad and fresh bread.  This worked out really really well.  I still think I want to try ratatouille though too!