Category Archives: Quick Dinner Ideas

Last Minute Gifts and Kiddo Food

Merry Christmas, y’all! I’m here at home on Christmas Eve while my boyfriend is working. I’ve been playing with tons of projects like jewelry making (future posts coming), baking dog treats, baking mini cakes and making soaps and other crafts.  My favorite is something I came up with while browsing the aisles at Ben Franklin. It just came to me and I love the way it turned out!

I made some supersized glitter monogram magnets, one for our fridge at home and one for my brother and his wife. My boyfriend’s last initial is “W” and my brother’s is “P”. I started off with 2 wooden letters, about 4″ tall or so.

I put foil underneath to protect the surface of my desk and then coated the letter with Modge Podge and sprinkled all sides and top with glitter.

I decided to try a slightly different technique with the “W” to alter the color so I used that cheap acrylic craft paint in a mix of yellow and gold and painted directly onto the wood.

I then sprinkled glitter on the top and sides of the “W” and let both sit for an hour to dry.  Once they were both dry, I sprayed with a clear spray adhesive (clear spray paint or sealant would work fine as well) and then covered in glitter again. I let them sit to dry for another hour.  You can see that the “W” has a gold tone to it while the “P” retains a more clear/white glitter tone. I imagine this technique would work well with most paint/glitter color combinations so play with it until you get what you’re looking for.

 

 

 

 

For dinner, I just grabbed something quick and easy and it wasn’t until I sat down to eat that I realized how much this dinner was a mash-up of my childhood. I have always loved a good peanut butter and jelly and I used to hate brussels sprouts, but now I’m obsessed with them. They are easily becoming my favorite food.

I got my peanut butter from the little mill at the local grocery store. I love fresh peanut butter and switched so long ago that I just can’t even eat the other stuff anymore. No JIF for me, thanks. And this jam (OMG this JAAAAM!) is so absolutely delicious. We got the jams through our delivery from Dominion Harvest and I’ve been working my way slowly through the strawberry jam. It’s one of the best jams I’ve ever had.

 

 

 

 

Thanksgiving Leftovers Soup

I stood in front of a fridge packed full like a kid’s closet.  A couple of times I opened the door and a bottle of sparkling cider, wine or a boursin would fall out and hit me in the shin.  I cursed this fridge, full of leftovers from Thanksgiving.  Pies, mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, casserole, vegetables, strudels, and a hundred different types of cheese.  I couldn’t find anything, I couldn’t put anything new in there and damnit, I was sick of the same leftovers and I wasn’t going to eat it anymore!

So I decided to make a dish out of my leftovers that didn’t taste like giving thanks.  As someone who doesn’t eat turkey, google searches for leftovers were a wash, so I had to get creative.

I decided on soup.  And o.m.g. I’m glad I did.  It was delicious…thankfully.

Thanksgiving Leftovers Soup

No recipe, but here’s what I did.  I heated some frozen celery leaves I had saved from a stalk a few weeks ago with “no-chicken” broth in a pot and added some Sunny Paris seasoning from Penzey’s and let that heat up.  Tossed in some rustic truffled mashed potatoes (chunky, with skins) and some cheesy corn casserole.  Added black pepper, crushed red pepper and salt.  And boom! Soup!

We had this soup as a side last night with a vegetarian Reuben and it was amazing.  What a hearty, winter meal!

Lemongrass Pea and Napa Slaw

Ever realize at 10:00PM that tomorrow is your work’s Thanksgiving potluck and you’ve prepared nothing?  Well, hey, me too!
So I dug through the kitchen pantry and the fridge to see what sort of concoction I could throw together and came up with something I will definitely be making again because it is truly delicious – how’s that for a win-win!  Luckily, we had just gotten our produce box from Dominion Harvest on Wednesday, which featured local Napa cabbage and big, beautiful radishes that I used here.

 

Lemongrass Pea and Napa Slaw

The beautiful colors of this dish make it a crowd pleaser.

  • 1 cup (dry) Minnesota wild rice, cooked in rice cooker with 1 tsp frozen chopped lemongrass
  • 2.5 cups frozen peas, thawed
  • 1/2 large red onion, chopped
  • 2 large radishes, chopped
  • 6 outer leaves Napa (Chinese) cabbage, shredded
  • 1/2 cup sliced almonds
  • 1 cup light Duke’s mayonnaise
  • juice from 1 lemon
  • 3 TBS rice wine vinegar
  • 1-2 tsp garlic powder, depending on taste
  • 1 TBS finely grated lemongrass (I use frozen chopped lemongrass)
  • 1 TBS dill
  • 1 TBS finely shopped chives
  • 1 tsp toasted onion powder (I like the one from Penzey’s)
  • parsley and pepper to taste

Instructions – Add all ingredients to bowl. Mix. Serve. Eat. Enjoy.

Yummy!

Last minute deliciousness!

Casual Food for Families

I get a lot of questions from moms, whether at work, on Twitter or in person.  They want to know what they can have for dinner that is simple, quick, healthful and delicious.  But just as importantly, they want to know that their kids will eat it. I may make a few suggestions, but they are usually followed by a million objections, such as “That’s too complicated” or “That looks expensive.”  But the truth is that a lot of delicious food is not complicated at all, but in fact quite simple.  And it’s often not that expensive at all, if you shop in the right places.  So let’s take a quick look at a couple of options for your dinner table that you will find decadent but easy and the kids will find interesting but not scary.  Hell, maybe they’ll even help you make it!

Pizza

Everyone loves pizza, especially kids.  But don’t think Papa John’s, think homemade with good-for-you ingredients.  Pizza night is a weekly thing in my home.  Granted I have no kids, but I’m pretty sure my boyfriend and I could count if you wanted us too.  We like fun food, we love classics and we also want things to be healthy and cheap.  So every week, we buy a couple balls of dough from Pizza Tonight (our personal favorite and only $2.50/ball, but there are numerous options at Whole Foods and the like as well) and have pizza time.  We roll out the dough, often competing to see who makes the prettiest pizza canvas, and then each add toppings to our pizza as we like.  After they’ve cooked up, we let them cool on a rack for a few minutes and then share them between the two of us, with leftovers for the next day.  It’s fun because we can be hands on, it gives us something to do together and we can try some new things.  And I bet your kids would like the opportunity to be creative with their food and you’ll still be able to enjoy a fancy, gourmet pizza that is healthy and inexpensive.

taco pizza

Jay's Taco Pizza

Some of our favorites are:

Shrimp and roasted brussels sprout pizza with olive oil, herbs and garlic

Taco pizza with whatever fun, applicable ingredients we picked up at the farmer’s market

Margherita pizza with homemade tomato sauce (super easy, recipe to come shortly)

Leftover pizza with whatever bits and pieces are left in the fridge from previous culinary adventures

Tacos

Another thing that we make a lot at home are fish tacos.  Sometimes we make shrimp tacos or grilled zucchini tacos or use a bag of Morningstar Farms mealstarters with our own taco seasoning blend, but I know my favorite are the fish tacos.  Again, fun for kids and creates an interactive dinnertime.  The fish taco is more sophisticated than a standard ground beef taco (and better for you) but it isn’t so far off that your picky princess will run crying from the dinner table.

fish tacos

Fish Tacos

You can marinade your choice of white, meaty fish in a number of things, but my favorite is simply olive oil, lime, ancho chili powder, jalapeno, garlic and cilantro.  After it’s had a chance to marinate in the fridge for 15-30 minutes, toss on the grill or sear in a pan until just cooked and tender.  Throw them on lightly grilled corn tortillas and top with a tangy cabbage slaw and some cantaloupe or shredded lettuce, homemade tomato salsa and sour cream.  The options are endless so let everyone customize their own!

Dinner parties with kids?  Coming soon!

In the meantime, what do you make at home that feels

more dressed up than chicken nuggets

but that the kids still enjoy?

Super Simple Stuffed Poblanos

I love Mexican food.  Who doesn’t?  I also know that I know nothing about authentic Mexican food compared to a lot of other ethnic foods so I don’t know if what I am sharing with you is actually Mexican in any way except that it involves a poblano.  So bear with me!  All I do know is that this dish is super simple to make, would be great for one person or a family and gives you that super satisfying tummy fullness that comes from gorging yourself on Mexican food.

Stuffed Poblano

Super Simple Stuffed Poblano

(Serves 1)

  • 1/4 c Mexican Cheese Blend
  • 1 T Cream Cheese
  • 2 T chopped green tomato
  • 1/4 c chopped raw spinach
  • 2 T caramelized onions

Mix filling ingredients, stuff pepper, bake in roasting dish for 30 minutes at 400 degrees.

Garnish with sriracha, sour cream and cilantro.

Yummmmmmmy!

 

What’s your favorite Mexican dish you make at home?