I need a good and/or easy side dish recipe

[Sylvus]

So we tailgate every weekend for Michigan football (haha, we're bad, lolz) and I usually bring all the meats to grill, as well as a salad or something of some sort. The first week I made my famous Taco Salad, which is delicious, and last week I made an "Oriental Salad", which is named as such because it has Ramen noodles in it. If anyone is interested in the recipes, I can post them later (when I'm at home and actually have them with me). I can't decide what I want to make this week, but I want to do something different.

Preferably some sort of a salad that I can make up tonight to take with me in the morning, and hopefully it won't be too difficult to make.

Little help?

[Knarlz]

For Michigan football I'd recommend tossed salad!
Haha, erm no really.
A bag or 2 of Dole salad, maybe pre slice up some cucumbers and tomatoes to add. 2 or 3 types of bottled dressing so folks could use what they want.
Relativly cheap, easy, fast and portable.

[Boogahz]

Knarlz, are you implying that Michigan should go to the Tossed Salad Bowl this year?

[Pherr the Dorf]

Hot or cold... I will hook you up because I feel bad your football team sucks so badly

[Sylvus]

Served cold would probably work best, as I don't have *too* many options for heating it up once we're there, outside of a grill.

[Pherr the Dorf]

Go Cold because it will be easier

Start with blanching off some green beans, dice some red potatoes (the size of... dice) and cook them off aside in salted water till cooked and not mush then cool them in ice water (stop the cooking), add some halved kalamata olives, maybe some strips of rehydrated sundried tomatoes then make a dressing of 2 cups olive oil, 3/4 cup white wine vin, 2 tbsp dijon, maybe a pinch of thyme and blend it all the dressing stuff together in a blender... Toss it all together tomorrow a few hours before you gonna eat it but not much longer than that.

Easy and holds well

[Pherr the Dorf]

ohhh and like 5# red potatoes and 3# green beans 1 1/2 cups kalamatas and a half cup or so of sundrieds

[rhyae]

easy ones for the future: ( i dont measure stuff)

Broccoli pasta:
Boil pasta and drain (tri color rotini is nice)
toss in fresh broccoli florets
pour some Italian dressing over it
chill
You can also add chopped green onion or olives or fresh tomatoes for color and flavor

German potato salad:
Cut up and boil yellow potatos, something that stays firm after boiling
finely chop some white onion
add salt and pepper
add some chicken broth and some quality vinegar
toss lightly and chill

Cucumber tomato:
cube up some cucumber and tomatoes
chop up some onion
throw in some olives ( i like the kalamata)
salt and pepper
add olive oil and a nice vinegar, and a splash of white wine
add some lemon juice or zest
chop up some parsley or fresh mint
chill and serve


Also they have prepackaged salads in the produce section, ceasar usually, all in one bag.
Devilled eggs are good too

[Animale]

I have a side dish that is pretty easy to do and is applicable to a wide variety of vegetables.

Green Veggie (brussel sprouts or long asian green beans work well, also normal green beans)
1-2 tbs butter
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
garlic salt (I like Lawry's salt with parseley, others work ok too I guess)

Basically, take a green veggie (I like either brussel sprouts or those long asian green beans). For the brussel sprouts you need to steam them for a bit and cut in half, the green beans you just slice into ~ 2-3 inch segments.

Put ~ 1-2 tbs of butter in a pan, melt on high heat
Add the veggie, stir fry until tender
Add the garlic, continue to stir fry. The garlic should brown and the veggie start to brown as well.
Add the garlic salt.
Continue cooking until the garlic and the garlic chunks in the garlic salt are brown/black and crispy. Hopefully some of the smaller pieces of the veggie are also browned and crispy. Basically, you end up with a kind of crunchy, buttery, salty dish.

Remove and serve.

Yummy.

Can also serve cold, although not as good. Is ok reheated, but it loses the crispiness. If you have a pan, can do this on a BBQ grill, isn't too hard.

[Aabidano]

Easy as a salad or as a hot dish, we use it both ways. Everything is approximate and I may have posted this before.

Pepper stuff

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into strips
16 oz bowtie pasta (1 box)
1ea red, green and yellow bell peppers sliced into strips. Use big peppers or two of each
4 plum tomatoes, 1/4ed and sliced
1 large red onion, sliced into strips
3 cloves garlic
16 oz shredded mozzarella
8 oz crumbled feta
1 cup parmesan
1/2 cup italian salad dressing
Handful fresh chopped basil - (2 bunches)
Black pepper to taste
Olive oil

optional -
5-6 chopped seranno, or other mild "hot" peppers
3 tbsp fresh, chopped ginger root
1 cup sliced mushrooms, white or portabella

Slice up all ingredients and place in bowls so it's easy to get to while you're cooking. Begin to cook pasta according to directions on box.

Put 2-3 tbsp olive oil in a large wok or pan, once it's gotten hot add chicken, cook 3-4 minutes until it's white all over and beginning to brown. Add the peppers and continue to cook until they start to turn translucent around the edges, 3-4 minutes. Add the onions and continue to cook until they start to turn translucent as well, another 4-5 minutes. Add garlic and cook until you begin to be able to smell it then add the basil and ginger, stir it in and remove from heat.

Drain noodles and put them, the fried ingredients and tomatoes in a large bowl, and toss with the italian salad dressing, if everything doesn't have a light coating add some more dressing. If serving hot add all the cheese and fold gently being careful to avoid clumps. If you're going to serve cold let it cool off a bit before adding the cheese, you want it hot enough to melt a little bit.

Grilling the chicken and veggies is nice too.

[Psyloche]

I like to make Pasta Salad for any time we grill stuff and have people over. It's pretty simple, can easily be made and set in the fridge (or cooler in your case) to be served later. I typically go with the bacon ranch and have sometimes used the classic or chipotle. Sure it's nothing fancy and out of the box, but hey it's easy and these fuckers are coming over to eat the burgers, chicken and/or other things anyway. I'd suggest not putting as much mayo as they recommend though, because really you don't need *that* much, it's all preference though.