Sauteed Green Beans with Almonds

14 oz package of Petite Whole Green Beans, Italian Cut Green Beans, or 1 lb Fresh Green Beans (topped and tailed)

3 Tbs Butter (more or less, to your liking)

1 Tbs Olive Oil

1/4 Cup Toasted Slivered Almonds

Salt (to your liking)

Melt Butter with Olive Oil in saute pan. When melted, add Green Beans and saute for about 6 - 10 minutes until desired doneness is reached. Salt to taste. Place cooked Green Beans in serving dish and top with Slivered Almonds. Serves 4.

VARIATIONS: Green Beans Almondine: Simply saute the Almonds in the Butter/Olive Oil before adding Green Beans. 

Green Beans with Red Pepper: Add 1/2 Red Bell Pepper, chopped into small dice and 1 Cloves Crushed Garlic when you add Green Beans to Butter/Olive Oil.

Cheddar and Herb Monkey Bread

This monkey bread is so easy and fast to assemble, thanks to canned biscuit dough. It is also very versatile and can be changed to suit your family's taste. I made my monkey bread using sharp cheddar cheese, chives, parsley, and garlic. Everyone loved it and the bread looked so beautiful when it came out of the oven.

Delicious Hash Brown Casserole

This casserole is one of my family's favorite side dishes, it is so creamy, cheesy, and delicious, who wouldn't want to eat it! Usually hash brown casseroles can be quiet heavy in the calorie department, but I have lightened it up a little bit and found that there is no real difference in taste. Now you can eat this family favorite without worrying about the added inches to your waist line!

1 (2 lb) bag frozen hash brown potatoes, thawed
1  (10.75 oz) can low-fat condensed cream of potato soup; I can't always find the low fat kind so original will also work
1/2 cup melted butter; 1/4 cup for the topping, 1/4 cup for the casserole
1 (8 oz) container Greek yogurt
2 cups low-fat shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese
2 cups crushed corn flakes
Cooking Spray
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly coat a 9x13in casserole dish with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, combine the hash browns, cream of potato soup, 1/4 cup melted butter, Greek yogurt, shredded cheese, salt and pepper to taste. Stir until all the ingredients are well combined. Place the mixture in the casserole dish.

In a bowl mix together the crushed corn flakes and 1/4 cup melted butter. Top the hash brown casserole with the corn flake mixture. Bake the casserole in the oven, uncovered, for approximately 40 minutes or until the casserole is heated through and bubbly. Enjoy!