Cheap Side Dishes

Sometimes it may be hard to think of things to cook for your side dishes. There are many side dishes you can make for cheap. I have a section with some side dish recipes. Here is a list of a few cheap sides. I always make a vegetable for every dinner I cook along with a side dish. If you have a bigger family, I'd suggest making a main dish, two sides, and a vegetable.

• White Rice- Combine rice with twice as much water in a saucepan. Boil. Cover and simmer on low heat for 20 minutes, without uncovering at all.
• Macaroni and Cheese - I load up on the Kraft brand when there are sales. They taste a lot better than the store brands.
• French Fries- I think they go well with Hamburger Helpers. To save even more money, make your own french fries. Here is a link to some home made french fries: Homemade French Fries
• Baked Potatoes- Very cheap side dish. Can top with whatever you like, for example: butter, sour cream, chili, cheese, peppers, onions, etc...
• Flavored Rice- You can usually buy these for less than one dollar for the store brand. 
• Pasta Salad- In some stores you can find these for $1. Or you can make you own. Macaroni Salad Recipe
• Mashed Potatoes- I buy the powdered kind because it is very quick and easy to make. 
• Biscuits- You can buy the 4 pack of biscuits for pretty cheap. Or if you'd like you can make your own.
• Stuffing- The boxed stuffing doesn't cost too much for the store brand.
• Ramen Noodles- A very cheap side dish.
• Beans- Canned or dried beans make good side dishes. Dried beans just take a lot longer to cook.

Grilled Portobello Mushrooms

This is a good vegetarian dish, or a side dish as I would make it. You could even make mushroom burgers with these by putting them on a hamburger bun. I suggest cooking these up if you are planning any BBQ parties. That way you can have something to serve your non-meat eating friends as well as the meat eaters.

Servings: 3

Ingredients:

3 portobello mushrooms

1/4 cup canola oil

3 tablespoons chopped onion

4 cloves garlic, minced

4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Directions:

Clean mushrooms and remove stems, reserve for other use. Place caps on a plate with the gills up.

In a small bowl, combine the oil, onion, garlic and vinegar. Pour mixture evenly over the mushroom caps and let stand for 1 hour.

Grill over hot grill for 10 minutes. Serve immediately.

Jalapeno Poppers

I've been making my own jalapeno poppers for years. I have tried many different batters, from boxed fish and onion ring batters to my own home made batters. I've filled them with cream cheese only, adding cheddar cheese and bacon only a couple of times. I have not tried this recipe yet, but will try it out next time I make them. It sounds really good. Just make sure you use gloves to deseed the peppers. Deseeding them does diminish some the heat, so if you choose, you can use Pepper Jack cheese or add some of the seeds to the cream cheese mixture to make them hotter.

Servings: 10


Ingredients:

12 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 (8 ounce) package shredded Cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon bacon bits
12 ounces jalapeno peppers, slice down side and deseeded
1 cup milk
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup dry bread crumbs
2 quarts oil for frying

Directions: 
In a medium bowl, mix the cream cheese, Cheddar cheese and bacon bits. Spoon this mixture into the jalapeno peppers.
Put the milk and flour into two separate small bowls. Dip the stuffed jalapenos first into the milk then into the flour, making sure they are well coated with each. Allow the coated jalapenos to dry for about 10 minutes.
Dip the jalapenos in milk again and roll them through the breadcrumbs. Allow them to dry, then repeat to ensure the entire surface of the jalapeno is coated.
In a medium skillet, heat the oil to 365 degrees F ( 180 degrees C). Deep fry the coated jalapenos 3 to 4 minutes each, until golden brown. Remove and let drain on a paper towel.