Reeni, who writes one of my favorite blogs, Cinnamon, Spice, & Everything Nice, was recently musing about how side dishes are worthy of more attention, and I completely agree!  Side dishes can be an afterthought and our regular rotation includes couscous, quinoa, brown rice, and sweet potatoes. How boring – it’s definitely time to mix things up! I brainstormed for a bit and finally decided to create a mushroom and cheese tart with a mashed potato crust.

Now I’m not one to normally use potato flakes, and have actually given my mom a really hard time about using them in the past, but I decided it would be important to be able to control the amount of the moisture in the pie crust, so I picked up a box. I mixed the flakes with water, butter, and salt, and then pushed them up the sides of a tart pan. Then I baked the crust until it was golden brown and filled it with layers mushrooms, garlic, leeks, and gruyere. I couldn’t resist topping it off with some crumbled goat cheese (surprise, surprise!). The tart was a hit and a lovely way to spice up our side dish rotation!

Mushroom Tart with a Mashed Potato Crust
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
4 cups mashed potato flakes
2 1/2 cups water
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 leeks, white and light green parts only, chopped
24 ounces mushrooms, roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups shredded gruyere cheese
4 ounces goat cheese, crumbled
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350˚F. Mix potato flakes, water, butter, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a large bowl until smooth. Press dough into a 10-inch greased tart pan with a removable bottom and bake at 350˚F for 40 to 45 minutes or until potato crust is golden brown and cooked through. Push down with the back of a spoon, if needed.

Meanwhile, heat olive oil over medium high heat in a very large nonstick skillet. Add leeks and mushrooms to the pan and sauté 7 to 10 minutes or until tender. Add garlic and sauté one additional minute. Stir in remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt.

Heat oven broiler. Place half the mushroom mixture in the cooked potato tart crust, followed by the gruyere cheese, and remaining half of the mushroom mixture. Top evenly with crumbled goat cheese and rosemary. Broil for 2 to 5 minutes or until cheese is melted and tart is warmed through. Makes 8 servings.

Nutrition: 255 calories, 17.0g fat, 2.4g fiber, 11.7g protein per serving
Cost: $1.52 per serving

I can’t believe Thanksgiving is less than a week away! If you’re anything like me, you’ve probably already planned your menu, but I wanted to share this tasty mashed potato recipe just in case you’re still looking for a way to mix things up a bit! It was inspired by one of the TV shows both my hubby and I enjoy watching together – Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations on the Travel Channel. When Tony had a show on Chile a few months ago, he devoured mashed potatoes with pumpkin, celery, and spinach in wine country – yum! They sounded so tasty that I actually immediately grabbed my laptop and wrote down the flavor combination.

I was really pleased about how well they turned out and I will definitely be making them again! I’m not a huge celery fan, but I do like fennel and I think it’s a nice substitute for celery. The pumpkin flavor really came through, but wasn’t overpowering, and I love that the greens were mixed right in for a little added nutritional boost!

Pumpkin Mashed Potatoes with Fennel and Spinach
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
10 red potatoes, scrubbed and cut into chunks
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 bulb fennel, trimmed and finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 15-ounce cans pure pumpkin puree
1 10-ounce package frozen spinach, cooked and well drained
1 cup buttermilk
2 teaspoons salt

Directions:
Bring a large stockpot of water to a boil over high heat and boil potatoes for 18 to 22 minutes or until tender. Drain and place in a very large bowl.

Meanwhile, heat olive oil over medium high heat in a medium skillet and saute fennel for 6 to 8 minutes or until tender. Add garlic and saute one additional minute.

Mash potato chunks in the large bowl with a fork. Mix in fennel, pumpkin puree, spinach, buttermilk, and salt. Makes 8 servings.

Nutrition: 228 calories, 1.7g fat, 8.6g fiber, 7.4g protein per serving
Cost: $1.05 per serving

Our friend Mick recently brought us a cute little jar of pure maple syrup from his family’s shop up in Vermont. I used some on pancakes and a little to make Ashley’s excellent Maple Almond Butter Cookies, but really wanted to do something savory with it as well. This quick and easy side dish is full of some of my favorite ingredients: whole wheat couscous from Trader Joe’s that takes under 10 minutes to prepare, delicious dried figs, and crunchy toasted walnuts. I will admit that turkey bacon isn’t as good as the real thing, but it’s a staple in our house since it’s so much lighter. Thanks Mick for the syrup – we’ve really been enjoying it!

Maple Fig Couscous with Toasted Walnuts and Bacon
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
1 cup chicken stock
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup whole wheat couscous
2/3 cup chopped walnuts
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 slices turkey bacon, sliced into small pieces
1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2/3 cup chopped dried figs

Directions:
To prepare couscous, combine chicken stock and salt in a sauce pan, and bring to a boil. Remove from heat, pour in couscous, and stir well. Cover and let stand for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, place the walnuts in a dry skillet and heat over medium-high heat for 3 to 5 minutes, stirringly frequently until toasted (or you can bake them at 350ºF for 10 minutes). Remove toasted walnuts from the pan, and add the olive oil and chopped bacon, and cook for 3 to 5 minutes or until crispy. Remove skillet from the heat, and whisk in the maple syrup, vinegar, mustard, and figs.

Fluff couscous with a fork and stir in the maple vinaigrette mixture and toasted walnuts. Makes 6 servings.

Nutrition: 320 calories, 14.0g fat, 6.2g fiber, 13.2g protein per serving
Cost: $0.66 per serving