Do you always serve 2 sides? (chinese, calories, bread, cream)

[Dirt Grinder]

Originally Posted by Sundaydrive00

This isn't anything against dirt grinder, but fresh mozzarella and ricotta are actually pretty easy to make. Or at least a lot easier then you would think.

LOL - Don't say that and then not tell how to make it.

Here's the thread where I first brought it up: Mozzarella and Ricotta

What I have noticed is the salt and acid determine the flavor and ultra-pasteurized milk doesn't seem to work as well as "normal" pasteurized. There are lots of recipes out there and the ingredients are easy to find. So... RELEASE THE CHEESEMAKERS or was the saying "Release the Kraken?"

[brokencrayola]

We just have dessert now and then. Sometimes I make 2 sides and sometimes just one, it just depends on the main dish and what I feel like making.

[weezycom]

This summer, I've been doing a main and two veggie sides fairly regularly -- one of which is sliced fresh garden tomatoes -- and typically a green veggie but often corn on the cob because it's so good right now. In the winter, I do a lot of soups that are not vegetable soup, per se, but are heavy on the veg and use broth and blenderized vegetables to thicken instead of cream. When I do soups or stews, I serve a slice of bread on the side, but try not to serve bread or pasta most of the time at dinner. I love it, but it loves me so much it grabs me around the waist and never goes away.

[striketeamvic]

Our thought has been that moving away from the obligatory traditional "starch" as a side can help lower the overall calories of the meal as you usually end up with enough starch in the other items in the form of sauces, etc. Adding a complex carbohydrate like beans or lentils (higher in protein) helps make the meal heartier and doesn't affect the body the way potatoes and rice do. Just my 2 cents.

[don1945]

We are a meat, potatoes, and sidedish of vegetables family. The meal just seems incomplete without those 3 ingredients. Last night we had pork chops, mashed potatoes, and brussel sprouts. The night before we had Tilapia, baked potatoes, and spinach (oh, and breaded scallops in shells).

I think it is a cultural thing, our families fed us that way and we just continue the tradition.

Don

[Dirt Grinder]

Originally Posted by don1945

...oh, and breaded scallops in shells...

They must be hard on the teeth if they're still in the shell.

[Butterfly4u]

I was thinking about this last night actually.
We had mannacoti, tomatoe sauce on it, and peas on the side.
That's all we had.
The cheese is the protein, the mannacoti shells are your carbs, and
the peas are your veggy.
We rarely eat desert.
That was balanced right?
And another question, bread is a carb, right?
So, if you eat a hamburger with a roll, you have meat and carb.
You just add a green veggy and it's balanced.
So you don't have to make a ton of dishes, except when your in the mood.

[beera]

It really depends on what I'm cooking. If I make tacos for dinner we usually don't have any sides, sometime some corn or rice with it.

Or if I make a stir-fry that's your meat, veggies, and starch all together.

If I do something like a steak or grilled chicken the sides can be things like deviled eggs, salad, grilled veggies, etc.

Desserts are very rare. But there is always fruit to snack on. Now and then I may have some ice cream, but it's usually like a skinny cow or smart one which is like 100-140 calories. But that's 1-2 times a week.

[cindersslipper]

We eat differently down here in Australia.

A meal would be meat, starch, veges OR salad - not usually both.

IIRC you guys eat your salad first, as kind of a starter? Of is that last, as kind of a finisher? We eat the salad with the meal.

I really like my own homemade bean salad, which is a vege/starch mix and just delicious with any meat. If I made that, I would have a green salad too.

Salads are mainly summer here. Veges are the choice in winter.

[no kudzu]

In restaurants salads are served before the entree however i think most families serve a salad on the table with the meal if for no other reason than to keep the server-usually mom- from having to jump up and down getting and removing plates. I sometimes put a small salad or sliced tomatoes on a large dinner plate if I'm only serving a meat and 1 veggie. I serve salads year round but winter tomatoes are mealy and hardly worth bothering with.