Side Dish Recipes

Ingredients

• 2 ripe avocados
• 4–5 green onions, chopped fine
• 1 small tomato, chopped fine
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• ¼ cup mayonnaise
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• Dash of hot sauce, optional

Directions

Mash avocados with a fork. Add finely chopped green onions and tomatoes. Blend with avocados. Add mayonnaise, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and hot sauce and mix well.

Serve with pork rinds.

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Ingredients

• 1 bag of pork rinds, crumbled in pieces
• ½ head of lettuce, chopped
• ¼ of a tomato, diced
• ¼ cup of sliced black olives
• 4 oz. of cheddar cheese
• ¼ lb. of cooked taco meat
• Taco sauce or Salsa.

Directions

Mix together and serve for a delicious low carb salad.

Comments from our Recipe Testers

Great for a quick meal!

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cook time: 15 minutes

prep time: 1.25 hours

servings: 12 to 16

Ingredients

• ½ lb. cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1 avocado
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped white onion
• 1 serrano chile, finely chopped
• ¼ teaspoon fresh lime juice
• sea salt to taste
• 2 cups (2oz.) crushed chicharrones (cracklins)
• Crackers of your choice

Directions

Place the cream cheese between 2 sheets of parchment paper. Using a rolling pin, roll to form a rectangle about 6 inches by 8 inches and ½ inch thick. Remove the top sheet.

Cut the avocado in half, remove the pit, and scoop the flexh into a bowl. Mash until it is rather smooth, leaving some small chunks to add texture. Stir in cilantro, onion, chile, lime juice, and salt. Spread the avocado mixture evenly over the cream cheese. Using the bottom sheet of paper, roll up the cream cheese to form a log.

Coat the roll completely with the crushed chicharrones. Cover lightly with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 15 minutes before serving with crackers.

The roll can be made in advance and refrigerated for 6–8 hours, then set out at room temperature for 30 minutes before serving.

Comments from Our Recipe Testers

Easy to mix; challenging to roll together.

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cook time: 15 minutes

prep time: 30 minutes

servings: 10

Ingredients

• 20 medium size mushrooms (fresh)
• 1 bag (2 3/8 oz.) pork rinds
• 5 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped onion
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon M.S.G. powder
• 1/2 cup fine bread crumbs

Directions

Wash mushrooms under running water. Drain on paper toweling. Removes stems and chop fine.

Put pork rinds through fine blade of food grinder.

Melt 3 tablespoons of butter in a small skillet. Add chopped onion and chopped mushroom stems to melted butter and saute until onion is transparent and mushrooms release their juice.

Add the pork rinds, pepper, and M.S.G. Blend thoroughly until mixture is moistened. Fill mushroom caps with this mixture.

Melt remaining butter in skillet, add bread crumbs and mix together.
Dip filled mushrooms into buttered bread crumbs.
Place in a 9 inch pie pan and bake for 15 minutes in a 350° oven.

Dust with paprika and garnish with parsley sprigs.

Delicious as an hors d’oeuvres or appetizer. Serves 5

Comments from Our Recipe Testers

Yields about 20 mushrooms.

Adapted from Mrs. Mary L. Lucas from Dayton, OH
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Ingredients

• 2 cups cottage cheese
• 2 hard–boiled egg yolks
• ¼ cup mayonnaise
• 1 or 2 tablespoons ground hot peppers or Tabasco Sauce
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped onion
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• A few drops lemon juice

Directions

Mash cottage cheese and egg yolks with pastry blender. Add mayonnaise and mix well. Add peppers, onion, salt, pepper or Tabasco Sauce and lemon juice. Beat well.

Serve chilled with pork rinds as an appetizer.

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Yield: 2½ to 3 cups

Adapted from Mary Rudolph
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cook time: 30 minutes

prep time: 25 minutes

servings: 8 to 10

Ingredients

• ¼ cup all-purpose flour
• 1½ cup yellow or white cornmeal
• ½ tsp. baking soda
• ¼ tsp. salt
• 1 cup sour milk or buttermilk
• 1 cup cracklins (crumbled)
• 1 beaten egg, room temperature

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

In a bowl combine flour, cornmeal, baking soda, salt, sour milk or buttermilk. Stir in the cracklins and the egg. Blend thoroughly.

Pour batter into a medium–size baking pan (8½ by 4½ inches), greased if not using a nonstick pan. With a rubber spatula, smooth the surface.

Bake 30 minutes, until it is well–browned. (Reduce oven by 25 degrees if using a glass pan.)

Preparation time: 25 minutes

Cooking time: 30 minutes

Yield: 8 to 10 servings

NOTE: Cracklin’ Cornbread is best eaten warm. It can be frozen successfully but should be reheated in a 300° oven for 15 minutes before serving.

Comments from Our Recipe Testers

Serve with butter or jam. Closer to traditional southern cornbread.

Adapted from “The Complete Book of Breads”, Bernard Clayton, Jr., Simon & Schuster, 1973
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Ingredients

• 5 ripe plum tomatoes, chopped
• 3 green onions, chopped
• ½ small red onion, chopped
• ¼ cup snipped fresh cilantro
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 small jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped
• 1/8 tsp. black pepper
• 1 bag of pork rinds

Directions

Combine all ingredients and chill at least 1 hour before serving. Can be stored refrigerated for up to two days. Serve with plain pork rinds.

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Ingredients

• 3 Green Plantains or Green Bananas
• 3 Minced Garlic Cloves
• 1 Pinch of adobo or salt
• 1/4 Lb Salted Pork (Chicharrones) or Bacon
• 1 Tablespoon of olive oil

Directions

Peel plantains under running water and cut into slices. In a deep fryer or frying pan heat vegetable oil to approximately 350 degrees(F). Fry plantains until firm, not hard—about 4 minutes. Remove and drain them from oil. In another pan cook salted pork or bacon with a bit of salt or adobo until pork fat is liquid. Add minced garlic and olive oil. Remove from heat. In a mortar and pestle or food processor mash the plantains and salted pork with pork fat. Form into small balls and serve as a side dish or use for “Mofongo de Camarones” recipe.

Makes 3 Servings.

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