Quick and Easy Meals Recap

What a fun meeting, if I do say so myself! I know I picked up some great tips talking to everyone and listening to all the conversations. I learned some great tips from Rebecca just getting ready for the meeting. I think between the two of us, we cover the "cooking for the family" bases; I have a problem with cookbooks and would spend most of my time cooking given my druthers. Rebecca does a great job cooking for her boys, but doesn't necessarily love doing it. I think we both, and probably the rest of you, can agree that anytime you put a meal on the table that everyone tries, and *GASP* enjoys, it feels like a small victory. Heck, it feels like a huge victory some days. I love to cook, and there are definitely days where it still feels like a huge task to get everyone fed. Some days I just don't feel like spending all that time on a meal that people might not love.

Rebecca and her delicious Marinara

Group shot

Making Quinoa with Spinach, Mushrooms and Onion 

Some of the tips that we discussed for getting the tiny people to eat at dinner time were "rebranding"- an idea that I borrowed from one of my favorite cookbooks, Dinner a Love Story, which is also a blog. It's like lying, but for a good cause. A classic in our house is calling Salmon "Princess Chicken" or cauliflower "white broccoli". Basically, adding a color to "chicken" can cover most proteins, which my girls need in order to make something "tryable". Once they try the rebranded item, you can re-introduce it by its given name- "Oh, we also call that salmon", ect. Rebecca and I both subscribe to the "one bite" philosophy- everyone has to try one bite of everything. Rebecca adds the genius "and all of one" addendum; her boys need to finish at least all of one of the things on the plate. For kids who get hungry 15 minutes after dinner is over, try covering their plate with plastic wrap and re-heating their dinner when they ask for a snack later. I was surprised to find this trick worked for me! Rebecca led me to the podcast that taught me this trick by Meal Makeover Moms; their podcasts are available on itunes and also on their website.

I do a lot of larger batch cooking and freeze half of whatever I make. That way, on any of those days ending in "y" that I just CAN'T do it, I can take something out of the freezer and still look like I did! I really did, just not that day. Rebecca and I both love to roast veggies. One trick that I use is leaving the pan I'm going to roast the veggies on in the oven while it preheats. I prep my veggies while it heats up, and then when I pour my veggies on the hot sheet pan, they start to caramelize immediately.  Frozen veggies make a frequent appearance in our house, as well. Some days, it's ok for it to be super simple. Actually, everyday it's ok for dinner to be simple if cooking isn't you jam. A lot of days at our house, it's turkey burgers, roasted green beans and a frozen roll for the kiddos. Or even steamed-in-the-microwave edamame. Dinner doesn't have to be complicated, the most important thing is just finding a way to make it work for you. A plan always helps me; also doing one thing before I leave in the morning like slicing an onion or even just getting the container of couscous out of the cupboard and putting it on the counter. Anything to get the ball rolling at the end of the day.

Slow cooking is a great tool, and my crockpot is a frequent crutch at our house. When I was pregnant with both of my girls, I prepped 12-15 crockpot meals ahead of time and stuck them in the freezer. That way, during those hazy, new baby days, all Greg had to do was take one out and stick it in the crockpot in the morning and dinner was on the way. Even Greg, of the canned-corn-with-old-bay-over-the-sink can handle that.

Let the tasting commence!

Teamwork

Rebecca must be talking, everyone looks interested :)

Ok, now for the good part! Here are the recipes that Rebecca and I used to make all the good food today. I will also email out the collection of recipes (which also include these) and the 3 grocery list/meal plans. I can't take credit for those, I borrowed them from one of my cookbooks, but I hope they're helpful. I am by no means an expert, but I'm always happy to help brainstorm solutions to kitchen problems, and I know Rebecca is, too, so if you have something you need help with, let us know! 

Quinoa with Fried Egg, Spinach and Onion

Cook quinoa according to 2:1 ratio (1 cup quinoa needs to be cooked in 2 cups of water, ect.); bring water to boil, add quinoa and drop the temperature to simmer; cook until quinoa is tender and water is absorbed, about 15-20 minutes per cup of quinoa. Meanwhile, sauté one clove of peeled garlic, cut in half lengthwise in 2 tbsp olive oil and 1 tsp toasted sesame oil until fragrant; remove. Add 1 onion, cut in half and sliced thin, to oil and sauté on low heat for 10-12 minutes until soft and brown. Add a few handfuls of spinach (can also used frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry; could also add sliced mushrooms at this point), a few tablespoons of soy sauce and a sprinkle of red pepper flake (add as much or as little as you want). When the quinoa is done, spoon into bowls and cover with the spinach/onion combination. Add some oil to the sauté pan, and heat to high heat. Fry egg to over easy, adding siracha, soy and red pepper flake while it cooks. Serve quinoa mixture with egg on top and a drizzle of soy and siracha.

Garden Minestrone

• 1 onion, minced 
• 4 garlic cloves, minced 
• 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for serving 
• 1 ½ tsp minced fresh oregano or ½ tsp dried 
• 1/8 tsp red pepper flake 
• 6 cups low-sodium chicken broth 
• 1 (15-oz) can tomato sauce 
• 1 cup dried great Northern or cannellini beans (6 ½ oz) 
• 2 carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2” pieces
• 1 zucchini or yellow squash, quartered lengthwise and sliced 1/4” thick 
• 8 oz swiss chard, stemmed and leaves sliced 1/2” thick 
• ½ cup small pasta, such as ditalini, tubettini, or mini elbows 
• ½ cup minced fresh basil 
• salt and pepper 
• grated Parmesan cheese, for serving

1. Microwave onion, garlic, oil, oregano, and red pepper flakes in bowl, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened, about 5 minutes; transfer to slow cooker.

2. Stir broth, tomato sauce, soaked beans, and carrots into slow cooker. Cover and cook until beans are tender, 9-11 hours on low or 5-7 hours on high.

3. Stir in zucchini or yellow squash, chard and pasta, cover, and cook on high vegetables and pasta are tender, 20-30 minutes. Stir in basil, season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve with Parmesan and additional olive oil.

Turkey Florentine Meatballs

• 1 box frozen spinach (10 oz), defrosted in microwave 
• 1 1/3 lb ground turkey breast 
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped, divided 
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped 
• 1 large egg 
• ¼ cup milk 
• ¾ cup breadcrumbs (3 handfuls) 
• ½ cup grated Parmegiano Reggiano cheese (2 palmfuls) 
• coarse salt and black pepper 
• Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling 

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

2. Wring the defrosted spinach dry in a clean kitchen towel. Place the turkey in a bowl and make a well in the middle of it. Add the spinach, onion, garlic, egg, milk, breadcrumbs, grated Parmigiano Reggiano, salt and pepper. Mix well. Form into 12 large balls and drizzle with EVOO. Arrange on a nonstick cookie sheet and roast for 20 minutes, or until cooked through.

Homemade Marinara

• 1 TBS olive oil 
• Garlic cloves 
• fresh basil leaves 
• 2- 28 oz cans crushed tomatoes 
• 2 tsp Kosher salt 
• 2 tsp balsalmic vinegar 

Saucepan: warm olive oil. Add garlic; cook until golden (about 3 mins). Add basil. Pour in tomatoes with juices. Bring to a boil. Add Kosher salt. Simmer x 45 mins. As sauce thickens, toward end, add balsalmic vinegar. Remove from heat. Serve warm.

Fridge: 2 weeks Freezer: 3 months

Asian Lettuce Wraps

• 1 ½ lbs ground chicken 
• 1 red bell pepper- diced 
• ½ cup soy sauce 
• 2 TBS rice wine vinegar, or more 
• 1 TBS fresh grated ginger 
• 5 dashes Tabasco 
• 1 tsp Asian (toasted) sesame oil 
• 6 large leaves iceberg lettuce 
• 2 carrots, shredded 
• 1TBS chopped green onion 
• 1 TBS chopped cilantro 

Dipping sauce:

• ½ cup chunky peanut butter 
• 3 TBS hot water 
• 3 TBS soy sauce 
• 5 dashes Tabasco 

Cook chicken. (about 10 mins). Drain grease. Stir in red pepper. (about 5 mins). Whisk ½ cup soy sauce, red wine vinegar, ginger and 5 dashes ofTabasco and sesame oil. Pour over chicken. Cook and stir on low 5-10 mins. Serve on lettuce leaves and garnish with green onion and cilantro, with PB dipping sauce on the side.

Last thing! We talked today about our fundraiser with Local Fare starting in October. I will send out an email this week to everyone who expressed interest, but if anyone who didn't sign the sheet would like to try it, here is the deal again: 4 weeks of farm bags, starting the first week in October. $27/bag, so a grand total of $108 for the entire run. Local Fare has generously agreed to give 20% of the proceeds back to MOPS, so this could be a great fundraiser for us! Email me if you'd like to add yourself. Here is a photo of my bag from last week, minus 2 apples that my kids devoured as soon as I got in the door:

YUM!

So thats 4 yellow squash, 4 golden delicious apples, 1 bag of fresh herbs (rosemary and mint mostly), 6 tomatoes, 4 green bell peppers, 4 cucumber, 2 huge sweet potatoes and 1 loaf of French Batard bread from the French Pantry. Not a bad deal for $27, right?

Thanks for reading! Happy Monday!