I hope your New Year started amazingly beautiful and continues to be that way throughout the year. Usually, I do a recap of the most popular posts, but I changed it. Instead, I am sharing roasted potatoes. Is there any better way to start the year?

I love potatoes. You can prepare them in so many ways and I don’t think there is one dish that I will not like. You already know that if I could dive into the bowl of mashed potatoes I certainly would, I am seriously not joking at all.

I serve these, usually with some leftover protein; either pork chops, chicken, ribs or in this case Xmas leftover Turkey. Boy… was this delicious! It totally makes a complete meal, with a salad on the side, bit of sauteed peas and freshly baked bread… Could the meal get any better? I don’t think so…

If you love potatoes as much as I do then you got to make them asap. These are very flavorful, easy and delicious.

Thank you all so very much for all your support during all these years. Thank you for visiting me, for social media love, for subscribing to my newsletter and YouTube channel. With 918 newsletter subscribers + 536 more on Feedburner, I can only say thank you for following along my crazy homemade food adventures from all over the world. I am touched and honored to be able to share my recipes, and thoughts with all of you. Cheers to one more amazing year!!! I wish you all the BEST!
Also, I need to mention my friends over at Season with Spice. They are AWESOME! And I could not ask for better people to connect with.
Kitchenbowl is a foodie app. I was one of the first people that had a privilege to test their app and I watch them grow into this awesome food community.

I also want to thank from the bottom of my heart for sharing my pictures on social media and their websites.
The FeedFeed
Yahoo Food
BuzzFeed

Recently, I started to work with a fantastic influence program over at Acorn. So far, I am pleased!
And, of course, it was one more kick-ass year with BlogHer.
Overall, it has been a really amazing year! Thank you again and again!!!

Cheers!!!!

Sincerely,

Sandra

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Roasted Potatoes

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American

Keyword snack, meatless, side dish

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes

Total Time 1 hour

Servings 4

Author Sandra | Sandra's Easy Cooking

Ingredients

• 5 large Potatoes approximately the same size (about kg and a half to 2 kg)
• Sea Salt to taste
• 1/2 tsp. Ground black pepper
• 1/8 tsp. Chili powder
• 1/2 tsp. Dry parsley
• 1/2 tsp. Onion powder
• 1 spring of Fresh rosemary use only the leaves
• Oil to grease the pan and drizzle over the potatoes before baking  (about 1 1/2 tablespoons)

Instructions

1. Peel the potatoes and cut into equal size wedges. If you are not going to bake them right away, soak in the cold water so they don't turn dark.
2. Season the potatoes with seasoning/herbs above. You can add to please your own taste. I added a little more than 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt.
3. Grease the baking pan and place potatoes in the single layer. Drizzle a bit of oil all over the potatoes.
4. Preheat the oven at 400F (200C) and bake the potatoes for about 40-45 minutes or until they are crunchy, golden brown and soft/tender on the inside.

One of my favorite Thanksgiving side dishes, besides bowl-full of mashed potatoes and a tub of gravy (DUH!), is this tasty and quite easy green bean casserole.

My kids are crazy about it just as much I am. For us, it is all about the side dishes. Yes, we love oven-roasted turkey, but the sides are the center of attention, at least on our table.

Aleks, my oldest son, makes the best cranberry sauce. On the other hand, my baby girl, Anna, makes her chocolate cupcakes.

CLICK HERE FOR AMAZING DUTCH OVEN TURKEY.

I must admit, they are better and better each time she makes them. So, Daniel and I prep side dishes, while hubby just wanders around and entertain family or help each of us for a bit.

Speaking of side dishes, I have posted on my blog garlic mashed potatoes. Seriously, it is out of this world, so you must try it.

I am always really excited about Thanksgiving dinner. I said it a million times before, but for some reason food that we prepare for Thanksgiving or on holidays in general, always tastes so much better.

Perhaps we are all in the holiday mood – music, the aroma of delicious food and laughter, the most important people in our life all wrapped in one house, so of course, a meal tastes phenomenal.

So, my dear readers, I want to share the easiest side dish and I dare to say, it’s the most delicious green bean casserole, and it’s done in less than 30 minutes. 

If you for some reason do not have an oven, and own microwave, yes, you could do it in the microwave or conventional oven. Please use a microwave or conventional oven-safe dish.

As you can see, it is such a simple side dish that could be enjoyed all year round. You can serve it with chicken, fish or any other protein.

I wish you all happy Holiday season from Thanksgiving to January 7th, where we celebrate Orthodox Christmas.

The kids are quite excited to celebrate both so we always make amazing dinner and delicious sweets.

If you try this Easy Green Bean Casserole or any other recipe from my blog, please tag me on INSTAGRAM. @sandraseasycooking using hashtag #sandraseasycooking. Thank you so much in advance!!!

Yield: 6 Servings

Easy Green Bean Casserole

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Thanksgiving would not be the same without a green bean casserole. This one is easy and very tasty.

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 cans Green Beans 432g in one can (any type -french, regular, string, etc.)
• 1 jar Mushroom Alfredo Sauce (you can use cream of mushroom soup or chicken condensed soup)
• 4-5 Mushrooms sliced (cremini, baby Bella or baby Portabella)
• 2 cups 8oz/1 bag cheddar cheese, shredded
• Freshly grounded black Pepper a pinch or two

GARNISH:

• 1 container French Fried Onions
• 5 slices Chopped Crispy Bacon
• 1/4 tsp. Ground Black Pepper
• 1 tsp. Dried parsley

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C).
2. In a deeper baking dish, add drained green beans.
3. Pour Mushroom alfredo sauce or you may use more traditional which is cream of mushroom soup, or you might try cream of chicken soup which is also called chicken condensed soup. They are all great, and we like it with all of them but lately preferred MUSHROOM Alfredo Sauce.
4. Add sliced mushrooms. It is not neccecery but it tastes really good with the addition of mushrooms. Mix the whole thing together to combine.
5. Top it with cheese completely, from one end to the other, and add ground a bit of ground black pepper on top of the cheese.
6. Press a bit, and bake for 15 minutes, then add 1 cup of French fried onions and cook for an additional 5 minutes.

GARNISH:

1. Make bacon in the air-fryer or oven until crispy then chop in the small pieces.
2. Top the casserole with additional french fried onions and chopped bacon.
3. Add a bit of dried parsley at the very end.

Notes

If you don't want to use canned green beans, you can cook frozen or fresh ahead. For fresh you will definitely need a longer time to cook them. For frozen around 20 minutes of cooking at high temperature. Green beans need to be tender. So, pour water above the green beans, cover and crank the heat. Every 5-7 minutes, check to see if you need to add more water, and of course stir. Taste and see if they are tender or not.

If you are using a microwave, I would add french fried onions after cheese is melted. You would need to cook it in the microwave for 6-7 minutes or until cheese is completely melted and cream of chicken soup starts to bubble up, then take the casserole carefully out and add onions.

French fried onions are already crunchy, so to avoid getting them soggy, add them after. This could be also done at the last minute before serving.

NO SALT necessary. Cheese, as well as the cream of mushroom soup, cream of chicken or in this case MUSHROOM Alfredo sauce, have enough sodium.

If you do NOT eat chicken, you can use CREAM OF MUSHROOMS SOUP as a substitute. It's very good either way. Leftovers: Place chilled green bean casserole in an airtight container and keep it for up to 3 days. On that note... I don't like to keep my food for longer than 3 days.

Bacon is, of course, optional, but if you are bacon eater then this is a game-changer. It tastes amazing with it!

The first image is with mushroom alfredo sauce, bacon and french onion topping, and the second image is with bread crumbs, french onion and it was made with cream of mushroom soup.

Did you make this recipe?

Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Pinterest

There is always that one dish that stands out each year for me, and I have felt that this one was it!

I dream of food probably on a nightly basis, and when I woke up that one morning all I could taste was delicious grilled corn on the cob with all the flavors to hit the right spots, or shall I say the taste that has sweet, savory, spicy, sour and a smoky flavor packed all in one satisfactory bite.

I must say, that I love Mexican grilled corn on the cob, even if I didn’t grow up eating it this way, you really learn to love and appreciate certain foods that your surroundings come to offer you.

However, I wanted to bring the taste of the world simultaneously. So I made kinda fusion corn that blends all the flavors beautifully together. This corn has the delicious influence of Mexico, Thailand, and Italy.

I used as a topping: Olive oil based mayonnaise, together with Sriracha sauce, chipotle powder, all mixed with an aromatic zing that zest of lime gives you and of course, citrusy lime juice.

It is a fabulous mix, indeed. Then, I sprinkled corn with grated Parmesan cheese and garnished with Italian flat leaf parsley and added a little more Lime zest. The balance of flavors was simply incredible!

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Grilled Corn on the Cob with Husks

with Mayo-Sriracha Sauce

Course Party Food, Side Dish

Cuisine American

Keyword side dish, grilled

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Servings 6

Author Sandra | Sandra’s Easy Cooking

Ingredients

• 6 Corns  -or use as many as you want
• Water for soaking the corn

Sauce:

• 1/2 cup Olive Oil Mayo read NOTES*
• 1/2 tbsp. Sriracha
• 1/4 tsp. Chipotle powder or chili powder
• Lime zest from 1/2 medium lime
• Lime Juice from 1 lime

Corn Topping:

• Sauce
• Grated Parmesan Cheese
• Chipotle powder
• Chopped Parsley or Cilantro, or chives/scallions
• Serve with lime wedges

Instructions

1. Preheat well-oiled charcoal or gas grill to medium-high. Use whatever grill you have. I used a charcoal grill. Also, I grease the grate with hickory smoked bacon, instead of oil. It makes a huge difference when you grill. (If you do not eat bacon, use chicken skin or oil).
2. Take few husks off the corn, leaving maybe 2-3 layers. Fill the pot with water/or big enough dish and soak the corn for 15 minutes. This will keep the corn moist enough through the grilling.
3. Make the sauce, by mixing everything together. Cover it, and place in the fridge until ready to be used.
4. Cook corn with husks for 15 minutes, turning every 5-7 minutes, so it cooks/OR steams evenly on parts under the husk. Remove from the grill, peel back the husk and return the corn to mark and lightly char the corn on all sides, turning as needed for 5 more minutes. I like mine chard, so I cooked mine longer.
5. Brush the sauce on the corn. You can dip the whole corn in the cheese, or sprinkle one side and use cheese as needed, as well as the sauce. Garnish with parsley (or cilantro/scallions/chives), little lime zest and serve it with lime veggies, cheese, and sauce.

Recipe Notes

If you do not eat mayo made with eggs, you can try Eggless mayo such as “Just Mayo, ” which I tried and it tastes fantastic, or Nasoya Vegan-Nayonaise (I didn’t try that one though, if you did, please let us know how it tastes). You CAN make this without the husk. I’d boil the corn in salted water just for a minute or two, before placing it on the grill grate. If you don’t have lime, you can certainly use lemons. As I said, you can use cilantro or chives or scallions instead of the parsley. I made more sauce because it is spicy and delicious, and so good to brush more as you’re eating. It stores well in the lidded container and you can keep it in the fridge for a few days. I loved dipping my chicken strips in the sauce, too.