Winstead Wandering

Prone to Wander

Parmesan Roasted Carrots

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This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #FeedYourFoodie #CollectiveBias

Whether you’re making a fancy spread or a quick meal, Parmesan roasted carrots are the perfect easy and tasty side dish.

Whether you're making a fancy spread or a quick meal, Parmesan roasted carrots are the perfect easy and tasty side dish.

Just a few months ago I had two preschoolers. Now, I have two elementary school students and an infant. If I thought life was busy before, I had no idea the craziness the world of dance classes and homework and parent meetings would bring. I know life will only get busier as the kids get older, which is why it’s so important to me to establish routines while they’re young.

One of those non-negotiable routines is family dinner time. It’s important to me that we begin this tradition now; I want it to be a habit so that, when the kids are older and even more active, it’ll already be something we’re used to doing.

Whether you're making a fancy spread or a quick meal, Parmesan roasted carrots are the perfect easy and tasty side dish.

Some nights this is more easily accomplished than others. Some nights, it seems I have to choose between cooking an elaborate dinner or sitting down to eat with the family. The choice is easy: I opt for family time and grab a frozen entree to eat, like LEAN CUISINE® MARKETPLACE Cheese & Fire-Roasted Chile Tamale, LEAN CUISINE® MARKETPLACE Chicken Tikka Masala, or LEAN CUISINE® MARKETPLACE Southwest-Style Potato Bake.

Whether you're making a fancy spread or a quick meal, Parmesan roasted carrots are the perfect easy and tasty side dish.

I love these meals because they’re genuinely so good. Not good-for-a-frozen-meal good, but good. Lean Cuisine Marketplace Cheese & Fire-Roasted Chile Tamale is my favorite, but the meals are unique enough to suit any mood. They’re all protein-packed, made with organic ingredient options, and full of flavor, which is why I usually toss a few in the cart nearly every time I’m at Walmart. To round out the meal and add a homemade component (because I just can’t resist), I like to pair my Lean Cuisine Marketplace meals with a simply-prepared vegetable, like these Parmesan roasted carrots.

They’re pretty simple to prepare and they roast in the oven in the time it takes to prepare the rest of your meal and whatever the family is eating. The carrots are bathed in garlic butter, roasted until tender, sprinkled with Parmesan cheese, and then roasted a little more. They’re the perfect complement to any of the Lean Cuisine Marketplace meals.

Whether you're making a fancy spread or a quick meal, Parmesan roasted carrots are the perfect easy and tasty side dish.

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easy roasted ranch carrots

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Easy roasted ranch carrots are tossed in a tasty blend of ranch seasonings and roasted to perfect crispy tenderness for a delicious twenty minute side dish.

Easy roasted ranch carrots are tossed in a tasty blend of ranch seasonings and roasted to perfect crispy tenderness for a delicious twenty minute side dish.

Growing up, I wasn’t such a big fan of cooked carrots. I loved to eat them raw, so much so that my mom used to call me Rabbit. I just couldn’t get on board with the mushy texture and bland flavor of the boiled or baked carrots, though.

These easy roasted ranch carrots are different. First, they’re roasted instead of boiled, bringing out the natural sweetness and producing a caramelized crust. They’re coated in ranch seasonings and cooked to the perfect crispy tenderness. To top it all off, the melted butter makes the whole dish rich and flavorful. [Read more…]

parmesan and panko crusted baked vegetables

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Green beans and asparagus are coated in crispy bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese and baked until tender for a healthy side dish with a satisfying crunch.

Green beans and asparagus are coated in crispy bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese and baked until tender for a healthy side dish with a satisfying crunch.

If you’re in the “a vegetable with a few added calories is better than no vegetable at all” camp, you’ve come to the right place. I make my home in that camp.  I’m Head Counselor of that camp. I fly that camp flag with pride.

Today, I’m showing my camp spirit by sharing with you how to take ordinary asparagus or green beans, dust them with flour and soak them in egg, and then crust them with crispy panko bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese. It’s a dish our whole camp can get behind.

When I made this dish, I used a combination of green beans and asparagus, because that’s what I had. The two work well together because they’re of similar thickness, but you could choose to use both or one or the other.

Green beans and asparagus are coated in crispy bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese and baked until tender for a healthy side dish with a satisfying crunch.

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pan-fried romaine lettuce {a frugal side dish}

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Pan-fried lettuce…that sounds crazy, right? The idea that you’d take a vegetable traditionally served chilled, a vegetable that’s typically consumed along with an assortment of garnishments designed mostly to hide the flavor, and intentionally heat it, wilt it, and season it only with ingredients intended to enhance it’s natural flavor.

Pan-fried romaine lettuce is a fun and unique spin a boring salad. It's just as fast as gathering all the ingredients for a good salad, but it tastes so much better.

Well, call me crazy, because I love this stuff. It’s such a unique, quick, and inexpensive side dish. The romaine is seasoned only with the garlic-infused olive oil, salt, and pepper. It’s pan-fried at high heat, so the romaine gets hot and wilted without losing it’s natural crunch.

You could throw in any spices you like, but I prefer to keep it simple. I tend to crave crunchy, salty foods and, while I won’t try to pretend this lettuce is a substitute for potato chips, it does fill a little of that void.

Pan-fried romaine lettuce is a fun and unique spin a boring salad. It's just as fast as gathering all the ingredients for a good salad, but it tastes so much better.

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no clean-up baked garlic green beans

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These baked garlic green beans are easy, healthy, and delicious. The best part? They only use a few ingredients and you don’t have to dirty any pans or bowls to make them.

Green beans are ranked right up with carrots and bell peppers as one of my favorite vegetables.

I love that they have a crisp crunch and fresh flavor of their own, but that they’re easily enhanced by whatever seasonings you add to them.

These baked garlic green beans are easy, healthy, and delicious. The best part? They only use a few ingredients and you don't have to dirty any pans or bowls to make them.

These no clean-up baked garlic green beans hit all the right notes. The prep and clean-up couldn’t be easier. The beans are tossed with seasonings right on a foil-covered baking sheet, so you have no bowls or pans to wash.

The beans are coated with olive oil, garlic, salt, and pepper; just a few classic flavors to bring out the fresh snap of the green beans without taking over.

These baked garlic green beans are easy, healthy, and delicious. The best part? They only use a few ingredients and you don't have to dirty any pans or bowls to make them.

[Read more…]