Charlette wrote to me and asked,

Could you tell me how you prepare your side vegetables (the broccoli, carrots etc) that you show often with the main dishes? They look so bright and inviting. I'd love to know your recipe and how you prepared them. Thank you.

Charlette, thanks for asking! Most of our meals involve at least one cooked vegetable, and most of the cooked vegetables I serve are prepared very simply.

My main tip is not to over-cook vegetables. I used to add salt and pepper to our cooked vegetables, but I somehow got out of that habit and we still enjoy them. It's one less step for me! :)

Here's a run-down of the veggies we eat:

I always buy frozen green peas. We can't stand the canned ones! We eat peas several times a week, because we both love them. We also buy a frozen carrot/cauliflower/broccoli mixture from Aldi.

We eat either canned or frozen green beans and corn. These garlic green beans call for frozen green beans; this easy green bean casserole uses canned green beans. Of course, when we have fresh green beans from the garden, I use those in either recipe. :)

We like broccoli best when it's freshly boiled/steamed to crisp-tender. Frozen broccoli just isn't as good, in my opinion!

Carrots taste best when they're freshly coooked, too. I love cooked baby carrots tossed with butter and salt!

We also eat some seasonal veggies from the garden -- asparagus (almost always prepared as Asparagus and Onions), cabbage (here's my quick and easy fried cabbage recipe), yellow squash (usually cooked accrding to this recipe, but also in this summer squash casserole), and sugar snap peas (cooked until crisp-tender, or added to egg noodles).

This time of year (March), you're seeing a lot of frozen peas, cauliflower, carrots, and broccoli on our plates. I remember last June/July, almost every meal that we photographed had asparagus on the plate. ;)

Today was busy, but fun! The children and I were eating our breakfast this morning when a friend of mine called and asked if she and her 3-year-old grandson could come for a visit. Thankfully, I wasn't planning to go away or anything today, so I said "sure!" and invited them to stay for lunch, as well.

I had leftover oven-roasted chicken from yesterday, which I had de-boned and was planning to use for something. When I found out we were having guests for lunch, I started some water for pasta, and made a dish of Cheesy Chicken Vermicelli -- a quick and easy casserole that usually goes over well.

I also had some potatoes in the fridge that Joshua had cubed for me, which I had cooked and planned to use for cheesy potatoes. In a matter of minutes, I had a dish of Cheesy Potatoes to put in the oven with the vermicelli.

I cooked some canned corn and some bagged frozen peas, and rinsed off some fresh grapes that I got at the grocery store yesterday. And that was our lunch!

I did prepare most of it while our guests were here, since it was on short notice (and I spent most of that 45 minutes tidying up the house, getting dressed, and caring for the children!).

I was reminded of why I prefer to have the food already made when company comes. I am practically incapable of cooking and visiting at the same time. Is that odd? I can generally multi-task quite well (what mom can't?! ;D) but I always have difficulty entertaining guests while trying to prepare the meal. :)

Sunday

• Farmhouse Chicken (really yummy!!) with cooked veggies

Monday

• Vegetable Bean Soup with Spinach,  Hearty Herb Bread, and green salad

Tuesday

• My Mom's Easy Fried Chicken (I have a bag in the freezer from the last sale! Usually I don't have room to freeze extras. :D) with rice and cooked veggies on the side

Wednesday

• Try-a-new-recipe day :D

Thursday  

• Taco Salad

Friday

•  Quiche with whole wheat pie crust

Saturday

• A new make-ahead recipe (still deciding)

Sunday

• Leftover creamy broccoli cheese soup
• Tammy's Easy Pizza and homemade taco pizza (1 of each)

Monday

• Pan-scrambled eggs

Tuesday

• Taco Salad

Wednesday

• Try-a-new-recipe day :D

Thursday 

• Italian Meatball Soup

Friday

• Oven-roasted chicken

Saturday

• Leftover Spaghetti and Meatballs

Sunday

• Lunch at my mom's house
• Tammy's Easy Pizza (This meant basically no dishes today! Yay!)

Monday

• My Mom's Easy Fried Chicken (Yep -- chicken leg quarters were on sale again! Yay!), rice, and cooked veggies

Tuesday

• Hot Chicken Sandwiches (A favorite with Joshua and a quick and easy use of leftover chicken meat!), cooked veggies

Wednesday

• Leftover fried chicken (we put it in a glass dish, cover with foil, and bake until hot), cooked veggies

Thursday 

• Spaghetti and Meatballs with Italian Garlic Bread (I'll be making extras of these things to take to an aunt who had a new baby last week)

Friday

• Spicy Meatball Sandwiches (one of Joshua's favorites and a great use of leftover spaghetti sauce and meatballs)

Saturday

• Cheesy Chicken Vermicelli, Italian Cheese Bread, cooked veggies, lettuce salad, and Broccoli Cheese Soup (Recipe coming after I get photos!)

Sunday

• I blogged about our Sunday lunch menu here (pizza, taco pizza, and cheesecake)
• Leftover pizza and lettuce salad for dinner

Monday

• Cheesy Tortilla Casserole, cooked peas, and fresh oranges

Tuesday

• Vegetarian Black and White Bean Chili (made in crock pot) and fresh corn bread

Wednesday

• Tacos

Thursday 

• Easy Cheeseburger Casserole

Friday

• Creamy Dijon Grilled Cheese Sandwiches, cooked veggies

Saturday

• Lindsey's guest chef menu (finally!)

Sunday

• Tammy's Easy Pizza, made with Tammy's Spicy Pepperoni (we had company)
• Quiche with Whole Wheat Crust, cooked veggies

Monday

• Pan-Scrambled Eggs, toast, and veggies
• Grilled Garlic Herb Turkey Burgers

Tuesday

• Chicken Fried Rice

Wednesday

• Taco Salad

Thursday

• Hot Chicken Sandwiches

Friday

• Leftovers

Saturday

• Not sure yet, since we may or may not have company coming :)

Sunday

• Taco Pizza Bake, cooked veggies

Monday

•  Pan-Scrambled Eggs, toast, and veggies

Tuesday

• Tammy's Easy Pizza, made with Tammy's Spicy Pepperoni -- yum!!

Wednesday

• Taco Salad

Thursday 

• Soup in the crock pot (yet to be decided) and Creamy Dijon Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

Friday

• Spicy Grilled Turkey Burgers, Italian Garlic Knots, and cooked veggies

Saturday

• Stuffed Shells, Italian garlic bread, cooked peas, and salad

Sunday

• Taco Pizza, cooked veggies

Monday

•  Leftover taco pizza (Yay! A break from cooking!)

Tuesday

• Grilled Garlic Herb Turkey Burgers

Wednesday

• Chicken and Stuffing Casserole

Thursday 

• Baked Nachos

Friday

• Balsamic-Thyme Chicken with rice and veggies

Saturday

• Guests are coming; menu still being decided! :D

Sunday

• Appetizer plate of homemade cheeseball, spicy pepperoni, and crackers
• Oven-Roasted Chicken with Italian Cheese Bread, cooked peas, lettuce salad, mixed fruit, and gourmet potatoes

Monday

•  Hot Chicken Sandwiches, cooked veggies, leftover salad and mixed fruit

Tuesday

• Grilled Garlic Herb Turkey Burgers, cooked veggies, and baked potato wedges

Wednesday

• Chicken Fried Rice (made with homemade yellow rice and leftover chicken)

Thursday 

• Something in the crock pot! Any good suggestions? I rarely use my crock pot, and want to find some delicious meals to make with it. I'd love to hear about a crock pot meal that isn't roast beef or soup!

Friday

• Chicken alfredo over pasta, cooked veggies

Saturday

• Something else in the crock pot. I am determined to start finding good slow-cooker recipes!!!!