When I cook, I like to make it easy. (I make Husband do the difficult cooking.) Needless to say, whenever I find an easy-looking recipe, I try it out. I often buy magazines filled with recipes (they’re handy!) and I skim through them before making my grocery list.

Side dishes are always simple–or they should be, if I have anything to say about it. When I found this recipe for almond-topped zucchini, I had to try it.

What you’ll need:

• Zucchini (the recipe calls for three, but I used two), thinly sliced
• 1 tsp. garlic, minced (I definitely used more than that … we like garlic!)
• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 tbsp. butter
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/8 tsp. pepper
• 1/4 cup smoked almonds, chopped

I’ll be honest–I didn’t measure anything out exactly. I just tasted as I went, so you can adjust this recipe to what you like.

First,  let’s get the prep out of the way. I am not a huge fan of prepping. (Husband usually does it, but he was grilling the steaks.) I probably should have sliced the zucchini a bit thinner, but the knife and I? Are not friends. Not a big deal, though; it just means cooking time will be a bit longer.

Mince a clove of garlic. Mmm, garlic. Next, chop the almonds. Hi, I’m the idiot chopping the almonds with a knife; we don’t own a nut chopper.

Next, pour some olive oil into a large skillet. Go ahead and add the butter while you’re at it. Turn it on medium to medium-high heat for now.

Once the butter is melted, add the zucchini and garlic to saute. I also tossed in a few almonds for flavor. Umm, halfway through, I added another clove of minced garlic. I told you, I love garlic.

Mmm, look at those babies. Cook until tender or until you’re too hungry to wait any longer. I promise, this looks beautiful on the plate, and it tastes just as good as it looks. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and top with almonds; it adds to it, honestly.

What’s your favorite side dish?

A co-worker brought this dish to work one day, and it smelled wonderful, so I immediately asked for the recipe. Not only does it smell great, but it’s really easy to throw together, and you can let it simmer all day if you’d like. I love making soups/chili during the cooler months, so this will be perfect around mid-October throughout the winter.

What you’ll need:

• Rotel with chilies – 2 cans
• Black beans – 2 cans
• Mexican corn – 2 cans
• Taco seasoning – 1 package
• Dry Ranch dressing mix – 1 package
• 2 lb. ground beef*
• 1 onion
• Fritos (optional)
• Shredded cheese, sour cream (optional)
• Cayenne pepper (optional)

*If you’re a vegetarian, try it without the ground beef and let me know how it is!

Cooking directions:

• Brown ground beef and onions.
• In the meantime, combine black beans, rotel with chilies, and Mexican corn in a crockpot OR large pot. (We used a large pot because we don’t own a crockpot right now. That’ll be our next purchase!) Mix everything together.
• Once the meat and onions are browned, put them in the pot. Mix everything. Now, add the taco seasoning and ranch mix; once again, mix everything together.
• Cover and cook on low heat all day or medium-high for a couple hours. (We started by cooking on medium-low heat until the soup began to boil, then we let it simmer on low heat for a few hours.)
• Remember to stir throughout the process. We added some cayenne pepper after cooking for a while, but this is completely optional. Add as much as you’d like.
• When ready to eat, serve topped with shredded cheese, sour cream, and/or fritos. Completely optional, but the cheese is wonderful with it.

What’s your favorite recipe for the fall months?

P.S. If you’d like this as a feature on my blog, let me know. I plan to blog about monkey bread next.