Grain Free Cheese Sauce

In the spirit of my month of side dishes I wanted to share my broccoli with cheese recipe. But really everyone knows how to steam broccoli, so the sauce is the true star of the show. The butter, cream cheese and cream combination in this grain free sauce is my base for just about every creamy sauce that I once used a flour rue for; alfredo, broccoli & cheese soup, nachos and more. I simply play around with my cheese options to create the flavor I want. When I was creating this recipe a few years ago, I wanted to keep things simple, something that I could remember without looking at my notes every time, just like the rues I had been making since high school.

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Sugar Snap Peas and Gorgonzola

Sugar snap peas are a family favorite around here, we love adding them to a stir-fry, salads, and snacking on them just as they are (usually with a little something to dip them in). Their sweet crunch makes them irresistible and also lends itself nicely to gorgonzola or blue cheese. For this particular combination I have allowed the cheese to caramelize as I sauté the sugar snap peas. Cooking sugar snap peas is a fast process so this side dish is big on flavor and quickly on the table.

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Apple Cheddar Jalapeno Salad

We have a lot of apples right now. We spent a beautiful day last weekend picking a ton of apples, most of which will be turned into applesauce, apple butter, and if possible a batch or two of cider. First I have to figure out how to use my kitchen aid attachment for making the applesauce (that is tomorrow's project), until then I have apples to use. I made a quick lunch out of leftover tacos that I had previously served with avocado. My kids love avocado, so we didn't have any leftover and one lonely fish taco is not a meal. So using what I happened to have on hand I made a salad (or kind of a slaw, perhaps?) that goes exceptionally well with tacos and is a touch fancier than the avocado and sea salt I served the day before.

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Garlic & Olive Oil Red Potato Salad

I debated what to call this basic potato salad; Mayo Free Potato Salad? 6 Ingredient Potato Salad? My Husband's Favorite Potato Salad? In the end I decided to just list half of the ingredients in the title. I know there are a lot of potato salads in the world and I have nothing against any of them, I really like mustard and dill potato salad, sour cream potato salad, mayonnaise based potato salads and greek potato salads. But this one wins out in our household. Seasoned simply with lots of garlic, sea salt, pepper, and high quality olive oil, with the crisp crunch and bite of green onion this dish pairs well with almost any main course (add leftover ham to it the next day and it becomes lunch).

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Pan Seared Cauliflower and Spinach

My focus for November is side dishes! I have fallen into a rut since the birth of our youngest; I either serve a simple salad with a ferment or a steamed and buttered vegetable with a ferment, or even just a ferment. I also tend to cook a lot of one pot meals (with vegetables in them!). I haven't given sides much thought at all over the past several months unless we were having company over. I love veggies, so it is time that I shine a proper spotlight on them for my family. I am excited to start digging out some of my older long unused side dish recipes, to experiment with what I have on hand, and to head back to Nourishing Traditions for inspiration.

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