Easy Fresh Vegetable Side Dishes

Easy Side Dishes Using Fresh Veggies

I recently blogged about how our garden was doing and thought it would be a good idea to make a short blog about ways I cook our fresh garden veggies for dinner. 

I'm sure you've tried at least one of these, and if you haven't tried them all you should! I swear there is no food better than fresh food that you've grown yourself. I think a lot of it is the time and effort you put into it, but in the end...it is so worth it. 

I've been wanting to try my hand at pickling cucumbers and/or okra. I love pickles and pickled okra store-bought, so it would be great if I could pickle some fresh ones myself. 

Frying veggies is pretty common, but they are not the healthiest. Even so, I still do once in awhile since it is so delicious! I love frying zucchini, summer squash, okra, and green tomatoes! 

After washing and slicing up your vegetables, I like to dip mine in eggs that I whisked up. Then, I coat them in flour that I seasoned with salt and pepper. The prep is a little messy, but they're so good! While you're prepping your veggies, make sure you have your oil heating up in a skillet. You can test your oil to see if it's ready and hot enough by dropping just a little bit of flour in. If it starts bubbling like it's frying then your oil is ready. I'm sure you already know that, but if not it's simple enough. 

It's like cooking anything in the skillet: drop them in (carefully don't splatter the oil on you), flip them when they start getting that brown/golden tint to them, and let them cool over some paper towels to get some of the excess oil off of them. 

I normally fry all of my vegetables that way, but I do like some of mine in more of a breadcrumb coating (like okra) more. Top them off with a little salt and that's it! 

Although fried food is so good, I try to incorporate more healthier ways to cook our veggies. One way is by sautéing them in a little olive oil in a skillet. You can cook some different kinds together, add onion, garlic, or just some seasoning. 

I love summer squash boiled. I don't really have a time frame on these. I just boil them until they're tender and drain them. Then, I put them back into the pot and add about (depending on how much you are making) 2 tbsp. of butter with some salt and pepper. 

There is also just washing and cutting them up to eat raw. We love doing this with our tomatoes and cucumbers with a little salt and/or either ranch or mayo. All of these are simple ways to incorporate more veggies into your dinner. It's even better if you have a garden to get these vegetables from! 

Lastes update on our garden: https://bitsofsunshine1407.blogspot.com/2017/08/garden-in-august.html