sides with meatloaf

[tritecliche]

im feeling uninspired. the supper request is for meatloaf, which will be done with a ketchup/chili sauce kind of glaze, so nothing that needs gravy, please. however, i am at a complete loss as to what to have alongside. im bored with my general offerings of sauteed green beans, fresh creamed corn, zucchini a thousand ways, and roasted cauliflower. any suggestions for something new? or something that is always a hit at your casa?

[kurisu10]

At my house, I sometimes make more of an italian style meatloaf and put a little balsamic vinegar in with the ketchup. I usually make a side of garlic mashed potatoes with no gravy, and sometimes sauteed zucchini in olive oil with balsamic, salt and pepper for flavor.

When I'm in the mood for something other than mashed potatoes, I make a red-potato and green bean 'salad' that I usually serve warm with olive oil, thyme, dill, salt and pepper
usually accompanied by oven-roasted or steamed carrots.

[LaLa]

Corn pudding is great with meatloaf. Oh and butter beans or succotash.
Tonight we had tomato pie , rough mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, salad with buttermilk dressing and green onions, and mini cornbread muffins with our meatloaf...yum!

[Phurstluv]

What's tomato pie, LaLa?? Dinner sounded good!!

[LaLa]

Tomato Pie is the greasted thing ever....homemade pie crust with tomatoes and sweet onions then a mixture of mayo , chedder and montery jack and some basil...baked for about 15 minutes....OMG

[Phurstluv]

Oh, I must try that. Can I have more specifics, please?? How much mayo & cheeses? Is storebought crust acceptable? Are tomatoes sliced?? Thanks, LaLa!

[DishDelish]

mmmm, tomato pie. my sis made that once a loooong time ago and it was delish!

[DishDelish]

Mashed potatoes, potato dumplings, baked potatoes, or twice baked potatoes

Fresh garden salad or pea salad ... or I sometimes make a mustard cream sauce for broccoli which is delicious

Fresh fruit of fruit salad

Now I'm craving meatloaf! ;)

[cimui]

Pea salad... that sounds nice. Do you use snow peas or the rolly polly ones or something else?

[DishDelish]

I must confess, they are usually frozen from Costco as I live in AK and we don't always get great peas. But surprisingly fresh tasting! =)

[Phurstluv]

Surprisingly, frozen peas are closer to fresh, than the fresh you will find in the stores! By the time they're harvested, packed & shipped, they're already turning starchy. Might as well use frozen unless you can get them at a Farmer's market, or grow them yourself!

[DishDelish]

That makes sense. My Mom told me the other day that she prefers frozen strawberries for this reason because the mold in the fresh bother her.

[laliz]

Garlic cheese bread

chopped romaine w/chunky blue cheese dressing, sprinkled w/crispy bacon bits

[JungMann]

I make roasted cauliflower a lot, but when I want to shake it up, I do cheese cauliflower with a hit of chipotle. Spinach sauteed with raisins and pinenuts also works in a sweetness that can play off your glaze whilst the bitter greens lend a counterpoint.

[cimui]

Or even more decadent: roasted cauliflower pureed with milk and butter (i.e. http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/gu...). But I tend to think of these as fall / winter dishes. (I guess this überhot weather makes me kind of not want to turn on my oven or eat heavy dishes like meatloaf at all.)

[JungMann]

When I puree roasted cauliflower I add cream cheese and a bit of sour cream. I like to roast very dry to get a more potato-like texture and the cream cheese and sour cream adds just the right amount of richness and moisture.

[cimui]

Yeah, I bet that's good. Heavy cream works well, too. Can't wait for autumn.

[MrsCheese]

I have to have mashed potatoes and corn or green beans with meatloaf. It's a requirement in my house. Especially the mashed potatoes.

[CreativeFoodie42]

If you'd like a little kick, what about some wasabi mashed potatoes? Add a little wasabi powder (to taste) for a spicy twist to a predictable side.

[alkapal]

i want something crunchy to contrast textures with the meat and the taters.

i'm thinking this would be good: sweet-sour (non-mayo) cole slaw, with julienned jicama, red bell peppers, carrots and celery -- made with shredded cabbage and that broccoli "slaw". here's a springboard of recipes: http://southernfood.about.com/od/cole...

it's also good to pile on the "leftover meatloaf" sandwich later on. ;-).

[Phurstluv]

Speaking of crunchy, how about some fried onion strings? Or onion rings, for that matter!

[bayoucook]

Mac and cheese. Sliced tomatoes.

[Uncle Bob]

Yep...Or a baked sweet tator, butter beans, and hot buttered cornbread!!

[bayoucook]

Yes, that!

[Uncle Bob]

Pour the tea....I'll be there before the ice melts!

[janniecooks]

Lots of good suggestions, here's a few more. Roasted carrots are quite nice, roasted with just oil and S&P, or add rosemary or thyme or both. Roasted broccoli or cauliflower.

Pan roasted broccoli (bring 1/2 c water, 2 tbsp butter and S&P to boil in a skillet, add cut-up broccoli (peel stems first), cover and reduce to simmer for five minutes, remove cover and cook on high. stirring/tossing every now and then, until water evaporates and broccoli is well browned. Pan roasting in this way also works well with asparagus or green beans.

Or a medley of pan roasted root vegetables: potatoes, carrots, onions, garlic, turnips, beets, with red peppers added halfway through.

[infernooo]

Honey and butter glazed carrots
Baby peas and corn, mashed potato
Sandwich bread and pickles

[shaebones]

Mased potatoes and peas....always.

[LindaWhit]

Is there anything else? Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and peas is one of my favorite meals. This is almost as sacrosanct as the dishes served at Thanksgiving dinner! I have no problem playing around with the recipes for the meatloaf or mashed potatoes (roasted garlic here, stuffed with roasted red peppers and goat cheese there), but it's gotta be these three things together.

[hotoynoodle]

a chopped salad of romaine hearts, diced tomato, scallions, oilves and feta cheese with lots of lemon and olive oil.

roasted portabellas stuffed with spinach and cheddar

corn/black bean/avocado salad

carrot/jicama/corn dressed with lime and garlic

baby potatoes stuffed with sour cream/scallions/bacon

corn fritters

[ipsedixit]

How about something light and crunchy to balance the meatiness of the meatloaf? A coleslaw perhaps? Or a fresh corn, bean and avocado salad?

Personally, fried rice is always a hit in mi casa when it comes to meatloaf, but YMMV ...

[sparkareno]

baked or twice baked potatoes with all kinds of toppings. as long as you're heating up the oven, might as well throw something else in there. And maybe some green beans w/ browned butter & toasted pecans

[Socialkim]

I like to have a black bean and corn side dish when we have meatloaf. Grab a can of black beans and drain well, easiest in a sieve. Add a can of corn, also drained, unless you have fresh and don't mind cutting it off the cob. Finely dice about a 1/4 cup of cilantro, squeeze the juice of a small to medium lime over it all and toss with EVOO and salt and pepper. Very summer flavor, very complimentary to the garlic mashers that are a required meatloaf accessory!

[shanagain]

Lately I've been making chipotle smashed potatoes. Potatoes, butter, sour cream, chopped chipotles, bacon, shredded cheddar and green onions w/chopped cilantro for garnish.
ETA: Zero calories, of course, for a nice, light complement to your meatloaf. ;)

[chowser]

I like chipotle smashed sweet potatoes, too, with meatloaf. Using this technique for either:

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/20...

[greygarious]

I assume you're doing mashed potatoes, which go hand-in-hand with meatloaf. Creamed spinach is nice alongside them. Also glazed carrots.

[goodhealthgourmet]

Catalan-style greens...either spinach or chard. the sweet & sour flavors would work really nicely with the meatloaf glaze.

i don't follow specific recipes for most of my cooking, but this one is pretty close to my usual method:
http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/sw...

my other thought was broccoli rabe sauteed with olive oil, garlic and red chili flakes.

[Funwithfood]

A favorite side dish in my family is baby potatoes tossed with olive oil, smashed garlic, and fresh rosemary then baked. Really tasty.

[Phurstluv]

Love southern braised greens or broccoli rabe, yum! Just bought some turnip, mustard & collard greens to make next week - maybe have to make meatloaf with it!

We usually have either mashed or cheesy scalloped potatoes when we make meatloaf. I just found a recipe of taking new baby potatoes, nuking them, then splitting them, not entirely, then stuffing the slit with a small slice of Brie, then putting them under the broiler! sounds so easy and really delicious.

How about roasting some broccoli florets or fresh baby brussel sprouts? You can always saute those too with some bacon.

[TomSwift]

If you can find heirloom tomatoes, a plate of sliced tomatoes with a touch of balsamic always works with our meatloaf this time of year.

[cimui]

Along the same lines: http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/rec...

I didn't include any capers and used a crumbly (full fat) goat cheese instead of feta, but the basic recipe's the same. It's a lovely combination of flavors.

Agree with ipsedixit and alkapal that something crispy would be great for the textural contrast, too.