side dishes, could anyone please give me and idea or a few ideas on what goes with what for a meal?

Question

I have just got married and I want to become a good housewife/cook. I have no idea what goes with what. If I was to make some sort of meat any meat, what (other than veg) would go with it? not just meat...say a nice pie or quiche and please don't anybody say chips because we are sick of chips :-( also those pasta sauces you can get in the packet (my husband loves them) what would go with the sauce or even savoury rice? Please help because as you can tell...I've got NO idea!!
Thanks

Answer 1

You should try to make a balanced meal therfore follow the food pyramid.
Meat, Poultry, Fish, Dry Beans, Eggs, and Nuts Group Servings
Lean meat, poultry, fish, cooked (3 oz.)
Ground beef, lean, cooked (3 oz.)
Chicken, with skin, fried (3 oz.)
Bologna, 2 slices (1 oz)
Egg, 1 (1 oz.)
Dry beans and peas, cooked, 1/2 cup (1 oz.)
Peanut butter, 2 tbsp. (1 oz.)
Nuts, 1/3 cup

Milk, Yogurt, and Cheese Group Servings
Skim milk, 1 cup
Nonfat yogurt, plain, 8 oz
Lowfat milk, 2 percent, 1 cup
Whole milk, 1 cup
Chocolate milk, 2 percent, 1 cup
Lowfat yogurt, plain, 8 oz
Lowfat yogurt, fruit, 8 oz
Natural cheddar cheese, 1-1/2 oz
Process cheese, 2 oz.
Mozzarella, part skim, 1/2 cup
Ricotta, part skim, 1/2 cup
Cottage cheese, 4 percent fat, 1/2 cup 1/4 serving
Ice cream, 1/2 cup 1/2 serving
Ice milk, 1/2 cup 1/3 serving
Frozen yogurt, 1/2 cup 1/2 serving

Vegetable Servings
Vegetables, cooked 1/2 cup
Vegetables, leafy, raw 1 cup
Vegetables, nonleafy, raw, chopped 1/2 cup
Potatoes, scalloped, 1/2 cup
Potato salad, 1/2 cup
French fries, 10

Fruit Servings
Whole fruit: medium apple, orange, banana
Fruit, raw or canned, 1/2 cup
Fruit juice, unsweetened, 3/4 cup
Avocado, 1/4 whole

Bread, Cereal, Rice, and Pasta Group Servings
Bread, 1 slice
Hamburger roll, bagel, english muffin, 2 servings
Tortilla, 1
Rice, pasta, cooked, 1/2 cup
Plain crackers, small, 3-4
Breakfast cereal, 1 oz.
Pancakes, 4" diameter, 2 servings
Croissant, 1 large (2 oz.) 2 servings
Doughnut, 1 medium (2 oz.) 2 servings
Danish, 1 medium (2 oz.) 2 servings
Cake, frosted, 1/16 average
Cookies, 2 medium
Pie, fruit, 2-crust, 1/6 8" pie 2 servings
How many servings do you need?
The other big mistake people make is overestimating how many servings that they need. According to the USDA, 'the number of servings that are right for you depends on how many calories you need, which in turn depends on your age, sex, size, and how active you are.' So someone on a 1,600 calorie diet should only eat 6 Grain Group Servings while if you were on a higher 2,800 diet, you could eat 11 Grain Group Servings .

For adults1,600 - 2200 calories is about right for many women and some older adults.
2200 - 2800 for men depending on activity level.

Answer 2

It depends on what you're cooking. For example, if you were making a curry, I'd suggest that you have a side of popadums (you grill them for about 10 seconds), pilau rice, and a vegetable bahji. If you were cooking pasta, I'd put in loads of vegetables with the meat and sauce. If you were cooking a stirfry, I would suggest home-made egg fried rice, and loads of veg in the stirfry.
For your pie, I would skip on the potatoes altogether - the pastry will be enough to satisfy the carb rush. I would serve with fresh seasonal vegetables, maybe roasted root veggies at this time of year, or a nice plate of curly kale. For quiche, I'd probably go for lightly boiled new potatoes and salad.
If you miss out the vegetables, you're seriously limiting the food stuffs that can be served as a side. There's so much you can do with them.
I would recommend buying a book on side-dishes to give you some inspiration.

Answer 3

Ideally, each meal should be:
* 50% vegetables,
* 25% carbohydrates(rice, pasta, potatoes, etc), and
* 25% protein (chicken, beef, dairy, fish).

I recommend choosing foods of different colors, for example: beef in a tomato-based sauce (red), steamed broccoli (green), and mashed potatoes (white). This makes the meal visually pleasing and contributes to satisfaction.

Furthermore, it is a good idea to choose foods of different textures, for example: chicken (firm), couscous (grainy), and pureed yams (smooth).

If you make a heavy dish, make sure to include light side dishes.
(When I first got married, I made a meal of all fried items.... bad idea.)

One mistake that many newlyweds make is to cook enough food for 3 or 4 people. What usually happens is that you decide to finish that extra serving or two, and you gain 10-15 pounds the first year. I have seen this happen often. To prevent first-year weight gain, you should buy a cookbook about cooking for two. Alternatively, buy some Tupperware and use it for the leftovers.

Vegetables are important for your long-term health. They are low-fat, cheap, and they'll help fill you up. If you don't like them on their own, try mixing them into rice or pasta, or cooking them in a meat pie or quiche.

Answer 4

Well, the ways you can combine different foods are endless, but here's what I normally do.

With meat like steaks, chops, etc. I'd serve potatoes. Mashed if there's some kind of sauce or gravy, or baked with butter & sour cream on the side, or baked seasoned wedges.

If you have any kind of cut-up meat (beef, pork, chicken, even fish or shrimp!) you can make a stir-fry just by cooking it, adding some fresh or frozen sliced veggies and a sauce, then serve it over plain rice, or any type of asian noodles, or egg noddles.

Fish goes really well with rice, eithr plain, or seasoned, or risotto, just make sure the flavour of your rice goes well with the flavouring added to your fish (if any).

Pasta dishes with tomato sauce are usually complete with just a nice salad added, especially if there is meat in the sauce. If there's not you can always add grilled Italian sausages, or chicken breasts or veal (make it like a chicken or veal parm!)

Pasta with cream or rosee sauces are excellent with chicken or shrimp or other fish or seafood, along with a salad.

Quiche is great with salad if it's for lunch; for a dinner add some protein to your salad like tuna or grilled chicken, etc. It's nice to serve it with some fresh crusty bread with it.

Chicken goes with almost anything. THere are great recipes for grilled chicken with pasta and sauce (you can use the sauce from the packets if you like!) or you can add some sliced up grilled chicken to a salad (caesar, or oriental, or any kind really).

Experiment by putting different things together. Check out Campbells and Kraft websites for great meal ideas, and easy recipes. They'll normally give your serving suggestions with main dish recipes too which can make it easier.
Just remember that variety is important. Try to serve different proteins, veggies, and grains/starches every day - it will keep you from getting bored, but also ensure that you get a wider selection of all the vitamins and minerals that you need.
Most important though is that you & your new husband enjoy your meals together!

Answer 5

I do not know if you have any dietry restrictions but if you do eat pork that goes well with either red cabbage or sauerkraut.

For the red cabbage slice finely cabbage and red onion. Fry both sprinkling with lemon juice as the colour of the cabbage will turn blue and that is hardly attractive. Add some dices of apple and caraway seeds and sugar to taste. Then add just enough liquid to cover and then put a lid on and cook slowly. You could add vacuum packed chestnuts during the slow cooking for added luxury. It tastes better the next day and the day after that!

Serve with a grilled pork chop (or fried!) sprinkled with s and p to taste and maybe paprika powder. Add a little water or stock to the juices of the meat, some mixed herbs and bring to boil. Add creme fraiche.

More next time. Time is running out on this computer and we had a fire alarm so we are not allowed any more time.

Good luck.

Answer 6

I think the most important thing here is to use your imagination.

There are no set rules as to which foods go with each other but if I was to offer one bit of advice it would be to find out what is in season.

For instance if you are in the UK (like I am) and it is November (like it is) then you are going to find things like Goose, Parsnips, Chestnuts, Beetroot, Cranberries, Leeks, Cabbage, Potatoes, Pumpkin, Pears, Quinces, Swede etc etc etc.

The best things about buying "In Season" food is the freshness of the vegetable, the succulence of the meat, the abundance of the stuff which of course leads to a lower price.

All these things will go great together in dishes if you use a bit of imagination. Off the top of my head with some of these ingredients I'd try to make -

Roast Goose with Chestnut stuffing served with Roast potatoes, Roast Parsnips and a Beetroot Gratin. (you can use the fat off the roast Goose for your Roast Vegetables it'll make them extra crispy)

Make a nice gravy by softening a couple of shallots and some garlic in a saucepan, add a good glug of light red wine and some juices from the goose, add a little stock and simmer down until it is reduced enough to coat the back of a spoon........mmmmm I'm hungry now !!

For dessert you could have Poached Pears with Cream or a simple Sponge Pudding with warm Cranberry Sauce.

It all sounds a bit daunting to somebody new to home cooking but once you try a few times you'll get the hang of it and I'm certain that you'll never eat better.

Get yourself stocked up with cookbooks too and not ones that just give you recipes, try some that teach you a bit of technique.

Finally my first point again, use your imagination, we all get it wrong occasionally but when you get it right there is no better feeling. ;-)

Answer 7

Alfredo noodles are good with pork and chicken.

Biscuits are a good easy bread that goes well with hearty soups and stews.

You can make rice with stock/broth the same flavor as the meat you're serving (for example: serve chicken breasts, with rice cooked in chicken broth instead of the water called for) it helps tie the items together and makes the rice flavorful.

Steak and potatoes (escalloped, mashed, baked, french fried, roasted with rosemary, etc.) go together, but you can also serve a garden salad. Maybe some toast to sop up the juices. Baked mac and cheese goes well with steak, too.

If you are serving Italian (say lasagna or baked shells, yummy!) try toasted garlic bread (with or without mozzarella sprinkled on top) and a green salad.

This is making my mouth watter so I better stop here, but I hope I gave you a few ideas! :-)

Answer 8

Cooking is easy if you know how to read, a really good start is Jamie's dinners, or try Delis how to cook. Look at what meat you are about to cook and think about the taste and how you would like to cook it, then what will complement this, It's very hard to say what you would like to put with the food when you do not know someones tastes and if you are using a packet sauce why not try and make one from fresh, it's very easy and if you make a large batch you can freeze it.

Easy Pasta Sauce

1 Garlic clove crushed

half teaspoon of Chile flakes

400g of chopped toms (Salisbury's premium are the best from the supermarkets)

2 tablespoons of olive oil

1 teaspoon of basil

half teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce

table spoon of red wine viniger

fry crushed garlic and chile for 1 minute
add all the other ingreediants apart from red wine viniger and simmer for about 45 mins to 1 hour
then add viniger 2 mins before end of cooking

Remember this is just a base sauce so you can add loads to it for instance if you are just having fussili then add 8 mins before end of cooking corgette and mushrooms or if you want to have a little onion fry this off with the garlic. if your having stuffed pasta then just have the sauce on it's own

If you don't want to buy any cook books then just go to the liberay and borrow as many as you like, try not to eat so many ready meals as they have so many aditives and meats from animals that have rubbish lifes.

For a starter that never fails try parma ham with avacardo

Answer 9

Your pasta sauces or savory rice would go well with grilled chicken breast or pork. try and arrange a meal aound one meat or protein item, a starch (POtatoes, rice, pasta, bread, cous cous) Fi you cook meat and vegetable in a sauce like a curry, stir fry etc then stick to rice or cous. If you cook your meat in gravy go for potatoes, roasted, boiled, mashed, jackets etc. Meat cooked on it's own (steaks of any kind, whole pieces etc) are normally best with potatoes too because they have more flavour than rice. Hope this helps a little.

Answer 10

Standard main meals consist of 3 ingredients: meat, potato and vegetables. I suggest to buy vegetabes of the season, nice fresh and cheap.
If you focus on pie or quiche which is a main meal by itself, make a salad as side dish. Cucumber/tomatoes with a dressing (3 parts olive oil, 1 part vinegar, salt/pepper). Very very easy and ready in minutes.
Good news is the food is healthy!