Donโt you think that if you presented this heart toast to your kids on Monday morning then you could check off the how-to-make-this-day-special box on your Good Parent List and be done with it? Anyway, I think we have the girls covered, but what about you guys? Iโm loving the comment boards these days (thank you to anyone and everyone who has weighed in) and decided that it may be time for another giveaway. Perhaps you are in the market for some modern furniture? Some table linens for the dinner table? Some sleek Alessi glassware from which you may sip your Manhattans a la Andy?ย Allmodern.com has graciously offered DALS readers the chance to win a $75 gift certificate to their site. All you have to do is send me one of your tried-and-true go-to weeknight family dinner recipes โ the dinner that is so easy you can tell me how to make it in just about the same amount of words as a tweet. The reader who turns in a recipe that passes the litmus test (i.e. one my daughters select and โ hereโs the hard part โ enjoy the most)ย wins. As always, you can send me the recipe in the comment fields below, post on the DALS facebook page (please start your post there with โCONTEST ENTRYโ)ย or email me directly (jenny AT dinneralovestory DOT com.). Winner and recipe to be announced on March 2. Thanks all and Happy Valentineโs Day!
Another reason I love Trader Joeโs! Their Canadian White Bread practically comes in a heart shape. All you have to do is cut off the sides. No cursed cookie cutter required.
Well, this is not a dinner idea (though Iโm always a fan of breakfast for dinner) but I thought Iโd share my flash of inspiration from last Valentineโs day. Heart shaped pancakes pierced by Cupidโs bacon arrow. http://onbeingblythe.squarespace.com/journal/2010/2/14/because-he-needed-another-reason-to-roll-his-eyes-at-me.html
โShake n Bakeโ pork chops w/steamed green beans is a go-to meal in our house.
Preheat oven to 400 degree.
โShake n Bakeโ pork chops
pork chops- bone in or out
4 c. dry bread crumbs
1/3 c. vegetable oil
1 T. salt
1 T. paprika
1 T. celery salt
1 tsp. ground black pepper
1/2 tsp. garlic salt
1/2 tsp. minced garlic
1/4 tsp. minced onion
1 pinch dried basil leaves
1 pinch dried parsley
1 pinch dried oregano
Mix the dry ingredients together. Wash chops and pat dry. Dip in oil to coat each side of chop then dredge in dry ingredients mixture. Place on foil lined rimmed baking sheet. Cook uncovered for about 20 minutes (boneless) or 40 minutes (bone in).
Steam green beans then toss with just a smidge of 100% maple syrup.
Enjoy!
lemon chicken pasta (modified from giada) is our tried & true recipe. itโs perfect for a weeknight meal, pretty enough for company & tastes great as leftovers, too ๐
*cook 1 lb spaghetti
*shred 1 roasted chicken (from deli) or a couple of roasted chicken breasts
*in a large bowl, whisk:
1/2 c lemon juice
2/3 c olive oil
2/3 c grated parmesan
*drain pasta (save 1 c of cooking liquid)
*add pasta & chicken to lemon sauce, mix and add reserved cooking liquid as needed
* garnish with 1T lemon zest and some chopped parsley
*serve with extra parmesan at the table
My standby โ โRicotta Pancakesโ (that have no ricotta). They are high in protein, so they make a good breakfast-for-dinner meal without having to also cook sausage or eggs.
Whirl in a blender until smooth:
3 eggs (or 6 whites)
1 cup cottage cheese, plain yogurt, and/or sour cream
1/2 cup flour (white makes for smoother pancakes, but wheat is fine)
Since the thickness of the dairy portion varies with what you use, sometimes the thickness of the batter needs to be adjusted with more flour or some milk/OJ (if you arenโt sure, make a pancake and see how it goes).
Pour batter onto greased & hot griddle, and flip when bubbles stay open on the top. I think it works best to make smaller pancakes with this batter (~4โณ inches in diameter). Keep cooked pancakes warm in a 200 degree oven until serving time. Good topped with maple syrup or fruit compote (dump a bag of frozen berries, a splash of water, and a spoonful of sugar into a covered saucepan & bring to a simmer when you start gathering ingredients).
This makes a good amount for two adults and one toddler โ might want to double it with kids who eat more.
Cook 1 lb pasta. In food processor, puree 1 can drained artichoke hearts, juice of 1/2 lemon, 2 cloves garlic nuked 30 secs in 1/2 cup olive oil, handful parsley (or spinach), salt & pepper. Toss with drained pasta. Pass the parmesan.
White Bean Chili
Sautee 1 med. onion, diced, in olive oil until soft. Add 1 lb. ground turkey or chicken, 1 tsp. ground coriander, and 1/4 tsp. white pepper. Cook until no longer pink. Add 1 15 oz. can white beans, drained (canellini or great northern work well), 1 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes, drained, and a 1/2-3/4 cup of your favorite salsa and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. Add fresh lemon juice and salt to taste.
The addition of salsa letโs you play with the flavor and customize the spiciness to your familyโs liking. My kids like to scoop the chili up with blue corn chips instead of a fork or spoon. But if youโre feeling ambitious, cornbread or biscuits go really nicely, too. Leftovers combined with some jack or cheddar cheese make a great burrito filling, esp. topped with sour cream, fresh tomatoes and avocado.
Egg Fried Rice โ Place a little olive oil and sesame oil in the bottom of a cast iron skillet and sautee 4 cups of leftover rice. Add 2 cups of frozen peas, 2 carrots (peeled and shredded), and some chopped baby bok choy. Cook until rice is golden brown and veggies are soft. Add a few teaspoons oyster sauce, soy sauce and/or hoisin sauce and top with a fried egg.
Pasta With Sausage & Arugula:
In about 1 T of olive oil, saute 1 pound sweet Italian sausage , removed from casing and crumbled, until cooked through. Transfer to a bowl or plate. Add chopped onion to the pan and saute until soft, add 1 clove pressed garlic and stir for about 1 minute or less. Add sausage back in. Add a package of arugula or spinach until wilted. Meanwhile, cook a pound of penne or other fav pasta. Stir in 1/2 cup pasta liquid to sausage, toss drained pasta into sauce, stir in 1/2 cup parm. Pass more parm. For fussy kids, do your split screen thing with sausage on one side of plate, pasta on the other.
Cook a lb of pasta, any variety, al dente please. In a generous amount of olive oil saute some garlic. Throw in some dried red chiles if you like that sort of thing. Combine pasta and olive oil/garlic. Serve with grated pecorino romano.
(This is a weekly standard. It is so beloved that my second grader will taste parmesan and ask suspiciously, โthis isnโt pecorino is it?โ)
Shred the meat from a rotisserie chicken. Mix with a can drained corn, half of a tub of sour cream, half a can of enchilada sauce, and a cup of shredded cheese. Divide filling between 6-8 tortillas, roll โem up, and line โem up in a greased dish. Top with another ยฝ cup of cheese and the rest of the enchilada sauce. Voila, Mexican Night.
Our go-to is ham and pea pasta. While the pasta water is coming to a boil, you saute chopped garlic and sliced up ham in olive oil (sometimes I sneak in some shallots, too) โ use more olive oil than you think you want. Add some dried oregano and thyme and pepper. Cook the pasta โ in the last two minutes, toss in frozen peas. Drain the pasta and peas and mix them into the hot olive oil with the ham. Serve with plenty of โsprinkle cheeseโ (as parm is known at our house).
Iโd say we eat this about twice a month. With chopped ham steak some nights, with julienned lunch meat others. It is one thing that we almost always have all the ingredients for and that all of us will happily eat!
Jerk chicken chili โ Sautee one onion with 2 T jerk sauce (or to taste). Mix in two cans (or 4 cups cooked) white beans with meat from 1/2 a rotisserie chicken. Serve with grated cheddar and tortilla chips (or chopped radishes for a healthier crunch)
courtesy of tasty kitchen: put a 5-ish lb. pork loin in the slow cooker. dump a jar of salsa verde and 3 tbsp. lime juice on top. cook on low for 7-8 hours. shred with 2 forks when done and stir in some chopped onion and cilantro. et voila! serve as tacos, bbq sandwiches, in a hash, or anything else your heart desires. unbelievably easy, unbelievably delicious!
Awesome. I love how delicious these sound. Esp the short, tweet-able ones. Keep โem coming!
Found this one on OhJoyโs website.
saute garlic in olive oil, add cubed butternut squash turn the heat up and cover the pan โ start to let some brown bits form on the squash. throw in some edamame (frozen or fresh!) add pepper to taste. put a little goat cheese on top of each serving. itโll melt and give the whole thing a slightly creamy tang. takes 15 minutes and tastes amazing!
Canโt Lose Tortilla Soup
1/2 onion, 1 garlic โ saute in evo
Dump in 1 qt veggie or chick stock
1 can (rinsed) black beans
1 can tomato sauce
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can corn (optional)
2 zucchini chopped
Cook til zuchs are done. Kids get to top the bowls with (and this is critical) crumbled tortilla chips and grated cheese.
Can add leftover chicken if you want.
Pasta with White Clam Sauce, Saute 1 to 2 cloves of minced garlic in 1/4 c olive oil and 1/4 butter add 3 cans of chopped clams( drain first two cans but keep juice from last one), 1/3 cup white wine, some fresh chopped parsely if you have it and a couple of shakes of red pepper flakes. Serve over your favorite pasta with grated cheese, yum!
โMac and Cheeseโ with Peas and Tomatoes
Boil water and add one pound of pasta โ cook according to directions
Save one cup of pasta water for later and when pasta is done โ take hot pasta and mix with one cup ricotta cheese
While pasta is cooking, Saute 2 minced garlic cloves in olive oil
Once garlic has softened, add in about a cup of frozen peas (or more if you think your kids really like them) โ season with salt and pepper
After the peas have cooked about 4 minutes, add in the reserved pasta water and let simmer for a few minutes (not too long)
Cut a pint of grape tomatoes in half and throw in with the pea mixture (turn off heat)
Then add in the pasta mixed with the ricotta into the pan until everything is mixed together
Serve with some grated lemon zest on top (rare if I have this in the house, but if I do, it is a nice touch!)
My son does not like tomatoes, so we just pick them out. In my opinion, this is really good hot the first time around, but leftovers are best cold.
Enjoy โ and I hope my directions make sense. I have made this so many dozens of times it is hard to come up with the order of what to do when!
Love this site!!
Saute onions, celery, garlic. Add juice from 2cans clams, basil, parsley.Add clams to sauce. just before pasta is done. Serve on pasta with lots of parm
Contest Entry โ โTrite and Trueโ Mac โnโ Cheese
Cook whole wheat pasta according to package directions.
In the meantime, saute sliced mushrooms and diced broccoli in a mixture of olive oil and butter (Iโm sort of a butter snob and I love Organic Valley Grassfed), along with shakes of parsley, basil, and salt and pepper. While that is cooking, make a roux of butter, flour and milk โ cook, stirring, until it is thickened, then add in a cup of grated cheese. No skimping on the cheese here! Mix it all together.
Pork shoulder in crock potโฆ
Put pork and 1 jar of pepperonciniโs in crock pot
Cook on low for 7 hrs.
Pull roast out, shred & return to pot
Add 1 onion, chopped
Cook 1 more hour
Serve w/ burrito fixings. Serves a crowd and kids love it!
This is the only meal that everyone eats and no one complains about any of it. From the 3 & 5 yoโs to the adults.
Can apple pie filling
6 pork chops
bag stuffing
put apple pie filling on bottom of casserole dish. brown pork chops and place on top of apples. cook stuffing according to directions and put on top of everything. cover and cook at 350 for about an hour or until pork is done.
Sun-Dried Tomato and Artichoke Chicken Linguine
Chop sun-dried tomatoes, artichokes, and grilled chicken into bite-sized pieces. Saute tomatoes and artichokes over medium heat in olive oil. Add salt, pepper, garlic, and basil.
Add linguine, chicken and more olive oil if necessary.
Also great as a vegetarian meal. You can add other veggies as well. Still tastes great.
It was a relief to see my kids inhale the very same dinner that my mom made for me just about every week when i was a kid. This Chicken Piccata was on the menu every single week and I never got sick of it. I tweaked this Bon Appetit recipe from 1981 to fit our busy schedules, it is a great 30 minute meal. I also loved these parslied potatoes, this is the food that I make for myself if I am having a pity party (table for 1!).
Chicken Piccata with Parslied Potatoes
1 pound red skinned potatoes, sliced in half and boiled in salted water till a knife cuts through easily. I start these before the chicken.
Slice 3 skinless boneless chicken lengthwise so they are thin-ish cutlets. Dredge in flour and salt and pepper. Melt butter in a skillet and brown the chicken, 3 pieces at a time (doesnโt have to be cooked all the way through). Remove and set aside. When chicken is finished, add the juice of 2-3 lemons, 1/2 cup chicken stock and a 2 spoonfuls of capers, scraping up the brown bits from the pan. Taste it and declare this is the best batch youโve ever made. Then place the chicken and a pat or two of butter back into the sauce and let it simmer for 5-8 minutes.
Parslied Potatoes
Once the potatoes are cooked through, drain and toss with chopped parsley and a good amount of butter and salt and pepper. Use any extra parsley to sprinkle over the piccata dish.
Bacon Pastaโฆ. (aka Bucatini allโAmatriciana)
While pasta water comes to a boil, saute chopped onions, red pepper flakes and minced garlic in some olive oil and butter. When soft add chopped up bacon until cooked (or turkey bacon or pancetta if Iโm feeling fancy. I try to keep some in the freezer. I often just cut up the bacon with kitchen sheers). Then add crushed tomatoes and cook while the pasta cooks. I use bucatini if I have it but if not any long pasta. Toss all together with some parm or pecorino. Yummy for everyone.