BBQ Side Dishes And/or Dessert Recipes

Homemade Brownie Bites. Either make a couple different kinds of brownies from scratch (no thanks!!) or box mix (yeah!) and cut them into "bites". Super huge hit at all parties and they are $16.99 if you buy a platter from the bakery at the store. Good luck and have fun!!!

This is a good side dish for a BBQ. It's light, no mayo and very easy to make.

Orzo salad

• 1 box of orzo
• ¼ cup plus 3 Tbs. olive oil
• 2 cups of baby spinach
• 1 pkg. feta cheese
• ½ cup dried cranberries (Craisins)
• 12 fresh basil leaves, torn
• ¼ cup toasted pine nuts
• 3 Tbs. lemon juice
• salt and pepper to season

1. Cook orzo (9 minutes) and drain.
2. Spread the orzo on a cookie sheet coated with cooking spray.
3. Drizzle 3 Tbs. of olive oil on the orzo and let it cool.
4. In a big bowl, mix together the remaining ingredients.
5. Serve chilled.

A pack of ramen noodles (without the salty flavor packet), cooked. Or use spaghetti, cook and cool. Either way, break up the noodles so they aren't super long. Add to a bag of broccoli slaw (in the prepared salad section next to the cole slaw). Add a few veggies to taste - slivered pepper strips or carrot strips if not already in the slaw). Add a bunch of craisins or dried cherries or raisins - whatever you want. A few slivered almonds unless there is a tree nut allergy - but the 'crunch' is a nice texture. Mix with olive oil & vinegar (or oil/lemon juice). Toss.

Keeps well (no mayo), or put it in a bowl that sits in a second bowl of ice. If you go heavier on the slaw and lighter on the noodles, it won't look like a pasta salad.

Baked beans are my favorite. Add brown sugar, a little mustard, ketchup, and Worcheshire sauce (a little) bake slowly in 350 over for a couple of
hours. Yummy!!!!! I just eyeball the ingredients. I would say about a
cup of brown sugar to two big cans of beans. As far as the others go,
if too little or too much, not a problem.

Coleslaw - 2 packages of Fresh Express coleslaw mix (there are several varieties, I pick the ones with the most color - lots of carrots, broccoli, red cabbage) and a bottle of Marie's coleslaw dressing. Very sweet and tangy and super yummy. I hate coleslaw but LOVE this. If I have to bring a side, this is what I bring.

If I can bring an appetizer instead, I make buffalo chicken dip. You can google a recipe - basically it's canned chicken (or you can cook your own), hot sauce, cream cheese, cheddar cheese and either ranch or blue cheese dressing. Bake it and serve with hearty crackers, carrot sticks and celery. To DIE FOR!!

spinach and artichoke dip with tortillas.

steamed artichokes or steamed artichoke hearts - you can wrap them in foil and they will stay warm for a while...you can even cut them in quarters so there is "more"...

broccoli and bacon salad - I don't have the recipe in front of me - so i'll have to "EDIT" my answer if you are interested..

if you want something hot - broccoli casserole is great too!!! Broccoli - cream of mushroom soup, chopped onion, grated cheese, teaspoon or two of cayenne pepper and crumbled cheez-its or regular crackers... bake for 35 minutes or until golden brown.

My pasta salad is medium shells, sliced olives, ranch dressing, bacon bits, sliced cherry tomatoes and tablespoon of italian dressing.

EDIT:
Here's the recipe for the broccoli salad...

Ingredients:
· 2 bunches broccoli, florets only (5 to 6 cups florets)
· 1 medium red onion, chopped
· 1/2 cup raisins
· 10 to 12 slices bacon, fried and crumbled

Dressing:
1 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons sugar
Preparation:

Separate florets from broccoli stalks. Save the remainder of the broccoli for another use or freeze for later. Combine salad ingredients; top with dressing mixture. Chill and serve.

I make a simple pasta salad. it is really good and fresh

1 lb cooked aldenta pasta (whatever shape..shells are my fav)
1 pkg cherry tomatoes sliced in 1/2
1 cucumber peeled sliced then the slices sliced in 1/2
1/2 onion sliced thin then rough chopped (if you like)
1 bottle wish bone italian dressing
chilled in fridge for a few hours
add some shredded cheese
feeds about 8

*also really good the next day but you may need to add more dressing.

Asian Noodle Salad (makes enough to feed about 20):

I promise if you make this dish, you will be THE HIT! It's sophisticated enough to appeal to both foodies and just the average eater. I find it's just as yummy without the noodles (it's your call). Note: don't add sauce until you're ready to serve because the nuts and other items will go limp after a bit.

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2008/03/my_most_favori...

P.S. If you want a "go-to" dessert, make her "The Best Chocolate Sheet Cake Ever". You'll be lucky if you don't eat it all before you head out of the door.

Keylime Pie (google the recipe from the Seawatch Restaurant in FL)
Tray of brownies and cookies
Fruit platter with a yogurt dip
Shrimp with cocktail sauce

Depending on how ambitious... we did an icecream sundae bar at our last party and it was a huge hit!
- chocolate and vanilla ice cream
- sprinkles
- chopped nuts
- fudge
- whipped cream
- maraschino cherries

Don't turn your nose up at beans - my husband and I are both foodies and these are 1 of his favorite things in the world! I am also including a lemonade cupcake recipe that is amazing - they are so light, fluffy and moist. They are perfect summer/cookout treats! I didn't add as much sugar to the frosting as it calls for - I used a little and made a light glaze which I criss crossed across the top (put the glaze in a ziploc and snip a tiny hole in one corner and use like a piping bag - easy and no mess!

4th of July Beans

4 strips of bacon (I used 6 b/c I had skimpy strips of bacon)
¼ cup of vinegar
½ cup of brown sugar
2 large onions cut into rings (I used 1 onion b/c it was HUGE)
1 can of dark red kidney beans, drained
1 can of large butter beans, not drained
1 can of Bush’s baked beans, not drained, taller can (I used the Bush’s original baked beans)
½ tsp baking soda
Pinch of garlic salt (I used garlic powder)
½ tsp of dry mustard

In a large skillet, cook the bacon. Right before it turns crisp, add the ¼ cup of vinegar. Then add the ½ cup of brown sugar and ringed onions. Turn down heat and cook for about 15 minutes on a low heat; stirring occasionally.

You can bake these in the oven or in a crockpot (I used the crockpot). Decide what dish you are going to cook these in and pour in the 3 cans of beans, add the bacon mixture, baking soda, garlic salt/powder and dry mustard. Stir together. For the oven, cook them @ 375 for 1 hr. and 15 mins. For the crockpot, cook on high for 2 hours.

Cupcakes:
1 stick of butter, softened
¾ cups sugar
½ tablespoon lemon zest
1/3 cup frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
¼ cup sour cream
¼ cup milk
1½ cup cake flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
Frosting:
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 tablespoon butter, softened
1½ teaspoon lemon zest
6 teaspoons frozen lemonade concentrate
4 cups confectioner’s sugar
4 teaspoons lemon juice

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl, combine the flour and the baking powder and baking soda. In a stand-up mixer at medium high speed mix the butter for about two minutes. Add the sugar and continue to mix for another two minutes. Reduce the speed of the mixer and add the lemon zest and then the egg and vanilla. Mix until well combined. Add the lemonade concentrate and the lemon juice and continue to mix. At this point the batter will look a little lumpy and weird. Fear not. Add the sour cream and mix. Lower the speed of the mixer to low and add the milk and flour alternately ending with the flour. Fill a dozen lined muffin tins approximately 2/3 full. This recipe does not rise too much. Bake at 350 degrees for 14 to 15 minutes. At 14 minutes, do the toothpick test. This means, poke a toothpick into the center of one of the cupcakes. If it comes out clean, take them out. If not, give it another minute and check again. Remove the cupcakes from the oven and let the tin cool off for a few minutes. Then remove the cupcakes and let them cool completely before icing them. The icing is the really lemony part of this recipe. Feel free to scale back on the extra lemon juice. But, I really think the extra punch is what makes it different. In a stand up mixer, cream the butter and cream cheese. Add in the lemon zest, lemonade concentrate, and lemon juice. Reduce the speed of the mixer and add in the confectioner’s sugar one cup at a time. I used all four cups because I wanted a firm enough frosting to pipe. I have made these with as little as 2½ cups for a more glaze-like finish. Use a spatula, a knife or a piping bag to ice the cupcakes.

An adder to Patty's beans - add cooked, crumpled sausage to the beans (I also add chopped green pepper and onion). Still a side dish but can kinda cover for a more substantial part as well!

5 cup salad always goes over big when we bring it to BBQs. Equal parts drained, canned mandarin oranges, drained, canned pineapple chunks, coconut (sweetened), mini marshmallows, and sour cream. Mix all together and let sit in the fridge overnight. Yummy.
Someone else mentioned coleslaw. I buy t he bagged coleslaw and jarred dressing but then right before we leave for the event I toss a seeded chopped tomato and some chopped green onion in the coleslaw. Yum and tastes so fresh.
Bruchetta (sp?) is always fun- esp. if it's a little more sophisticated. A tray of the bread and a bowl of the topping (and you can play with the topping- doesn't have to be traditional). Self assembled.
Yum. Now I'm hungry. LOL

If you have a Pyrex dish that keeps things warm, I have 2 great recipes for you….

Turkey Dip

Low Fat Ground Turkey (cook like you are making tacos)
Add Taco Seasoning (we use the HOT)
Dump in a jar of Salsa (again, we like it hot)

Take a bag of tostitos for dipping or even fresh bread sliced into bite size pcs. Not only does this go sooo fast every time we make it, but we have given the recipe out a dozen times. So simple, tasty and not too bad for you.

Someone brought this to a party we had and omg, were they good!!! I have yet to have the right occasion to make them, but can't wait to do so.

Use whatever kind of hot peppers you want. The original recipe called for pablamos, but the girl used jalapenos (you can remove the seeds to tone down the spice factor)
Wash and clean the peppers, slice them in half and pat them dry.
1 - 8 oz cream cheese (You can use lite if you want)
1 package of bulk pork sausage -- Hot or spicy
Brown the sausage. Add the cream cheese. Mix together. Stuff the peppers. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until the pepper are cooked thru.

black bean and corn salad with red onions, and cilantro. Drizzle some lime juice and olive oil over the mixture and add almonds and or avocado and your are set to go.
I don't have a detailed recipe for this. I threw it together last weekend and it worked well for a potluck.
Plenty of colors and flavors.

This is a fancy & delicious (but easy) dessert you could make:

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/almond-cream-puff-ring/detai...

And this is one of my family's all-time-favorite side salads which has almonds, fresh bread crumbs & balsamic vinegar to dress it up:

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/cabbage-tomato-pasta-toss/de...

Most of my friends are foodies, but when we hold a cookout, it always amazed me that the first thing that always went were the deviled eggs! I throw together the cooked yolks, a good mayo and good horseradish, mix them up, then let them sit in the fridge overnight. I put them together inabout 10 minutes, and top with a touch of cayenne for a little extra kick and color. I don't make them so spicy that the kids couldn't enjoy them, but I can say I've made one to three dozen over the years and I've never taken home more than six when I've made the big batches.

We went to a smoked pork bar-b-que on Father's Day at my daughter's. I was at a loss what I could add. I made Baked Pineapple, it's a side or dessert. I have several shelves of cookbooks so I just went looking, but you can also try allrecipes.com or cooking.com. It's like a bread pudding with pineapple, but you mix very gently and use larger bread cubes. It's supposed to be fluffy not dense. Hope this helps. Mine sure disappeared quickly!