“Leave out the onions and I’m in!”
“Onions are a must for me and salad would not be complete without them, especially the red ones.”
It’s an age old debate, to add onions or not to add onions! We got quite the conversation going over on Facebook about this very topic and it got me to thinking… Over the years there are so many ways that I’ve come to enjoy those beautiful pungent fellows. I wasn’t always a believer – as a kid you couldn’t have paid me my weight in jelly beans to eat raw onion – but in my adult life I’ve come to love experimenting with them. From the rich sweetness of caramelized onions on a burger to the decadent bite of a homemade onion ring, count me as a fan.
For those still tiptoeing around the onion fringes, there are a lot of flavorful ways to introduce the sweetness of onions into a recipe without feeling the burn of their bite. One of our favorites is a super easy dish from Wendy Garnder. Her Tasty Onion Chicken has just five ingredients: chicken, mustard, Worcestershire, butter and French fried onions. Each chicken breast gets coated in the other ingredients and is then baked, resulting in a crispy, faux-fried texture. Pre-packaged French fried onions are one of our favorite treats and a great way to introduce onion flavor to palettes of all ages.
This is my husband’s favorite chicken dish,” smiles Wendy, “and it’s so easy to fix! I usually serve it with a salad and chicken stuffing or mashed potatoes”.
Don’t have chicken breasts in the freezer? No problem. Wendy says tenders work just as well, and are always a hit with the kiddos.
Another great kid-friendly recipe is good old fashioned onion dip. It’s ideal for dipping veggies and when made at home you know every single ingredient you’re eating.
Jenni James, aka Foodchickie, began experimenting with ways to alter her favorite dip recipe from Food Network’s Alton Brown. The result was perfectly to her liking… and ours too!
“I absolutely love onion dip, and one that is made of fresh ingredients is a bonus,” says Jenni.
To create her creamy masterpiece, Jenni nixes mayo and instead combines sauteed white onions with sour cream and Neufchatel cheese.
“Together they give a luxurious mouthfeel and the onion flavor shines. Try it out next time you make dip and you will be pleasantly surprised– I am, every time!”
Toss in a pinch of salt, pepper and garlic powder and you’ll have a party-ready treat that will be gone in a flash.
Which brings us to perhaps the most decadent of all onion treats, the Deep Fried Onion Ball. Yes, that’s right – home cook Kathy Sills took traditional onion rings and turned them up to 100…then dipped them in ranch.
“I wanted to try something different instead of a plain onion ring!” she smiles.
By utilizing pearl onions, Kathy was able to achieve bite sized balls of fried deliciousness without much of the hassle of traditional onion rings. Similarly, her accompanying Cajun Ranch Sauce is a dippers’ delight yet a breeze to prepare. A simple mixture of sour cream, ranch dressing powder, red pepper and Cajun seasoning, the sauce is cool and creamy with a punchy after-bite. Your guests will be asking for the recipe for sure.
While we may never reach total consensus in the great onion debate, these tasty recipes are certainly help bridge the divide. Be bold, give them a try, then let us hear your vote!