Category: Meals For Kids

The ‘I-Have-No-Time-To-Make-Sauce’ Sauce. 3 Pasta Sauces You Can Make In Less Than 15 Minutes

I-Don't-Have-Any-Tomato-Sauce Sauce

My husband’s new dentist is in a mall with an Eataly. Yes… THAT Eataly. Last Monday he asked if I wanted him to bring fresh pasta home…I said, ‘sure,’ especially since I didn’t have a dinner plan yet. He brought home LOTS of pasta…more than one night’s worth of pasta so I found myself in need of some quickie-no-forward-planning sauces.

My husband loves food as much as I do and we spent a lot of time pre-kids making fresh pasta. We still do (occasionally) but it’s not a weeknight project.

If you’re a purist, Continue reading “The ‘I-Have-No-Time-To-Make-Sauce’ Sauce. 3 Pasta Sauces You Can Make In Less Than 15 Minutes” →

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For the Love Of Food: 1 Chicken, 3 Easy Meals

Warm chicken salad with steamed zucchini, cauliflower & grape tomatoes.

#MomsSaveTimeCooking #KidAndGrownUpFriendlyFood #HealthyFamilyMeals

It took a while (ok years) to adjust from cooking, as a hobby (making battenburg cake, homemade cheese with my husband, perfecting my croissant dough) to cooking for sustenance (read speedier-to-cook-meals-the-whole-family-can-eat.)

Once I fully embraced this new normal, I started seeking opportunities to make it more enjoyable, delicious, mostly nutritious and yes, time-efficient.

Early on, I wrote a post about how I handle weekly meal planning because the ‘how do you cook everyday’ question is one I’m asked often.

I’d like to share one of my menu all-stars, the humble chicken. I know, I know…it’s not fancy Continue reading “For the Love Of Food: 1 Chicken, 3 Easy Meals” →

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Dinner Blueprint: My Family’s Menus Week of September 16th

Pork tenderloin over warm eggplant, zucchini, fennel & spinach salad

#MomsDinnerHacks #MomsSavingTime #LessDishesForMommy #KidFriendlyFood #OneMealForTheWholeFamily

Every year it’s a big emotional shift to move into fall…. this is not because I don’t like fall, I do…I just don’t like what comes after fall.  I’m that person who is always cold, shivering all year round, hovering under heavy sweaters at the office and still wearing my down coat well into May.  After a long impatient wait, when the average temperature is somewhere north of 80 degrees Fareneheit I’m completely in my element.

There are, however, two things about fall I really look forward to 1. fall cooking and 2. fall baking.

I’m just getting geared up for it all now.   Continue reading “Dinner Blueprint: My Family’s Menus Week of September 16th” →

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My Family Dinners The Week of July 1st

Beef burgers - kid modifications

#MomsFoodHacks #MomsSavingTime #MomsDoingDinnerFaster

For the holiday, I decided to do classic ‘Americana-4th-of-July-week’ kind of food which brought me to burgers… and also barbecued ribs.  We had an amazing string of sunny warm days and there’s now been enough ‘summer’ to practically forget about that drawn out, closed-toed-shoes+coats weather that defines much of the Northeastern year.

Ok… let’s not think about that too long.  I’m fully feeling summer. Let’s forget about the other seasons!

I’ve been shifting to stovetop and the slow cooker when possible (except for baking) in lieu of the oven and am preparing simpler, faster meals….even on the weekends. After all, when given the gift of sun shining until after dinner time, who wants to be confined by four walls?   Continue reading “My Family Dinners The Week of July 1st” →

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My Family’s Dinners Week of June 10

BBQ Chicken Salad with Asparagus, Tomatoes, Cucumber & Carrots

Green garlic, asparagus, early (hothouse) tomatoes, evening sunlight, outdoor concerts…happy almost summer!

I am smiling… can you tell? Because we’re entering my favorite time of year.  Temperatures have been rising here in the Northeast and the whole city of Boston seems lighter, brighter and more vibrant.

Last week we had several decent days in-between bouts of spring rain and the farmer’s market near my office has helped me support local farms, reduce grocery store runs and mix fresh spring flavors to the dinner system. Continue reading “My Family’s Dinners Week of June 10” →

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All of the MHN Recipes In One List

BBQ Chicken Salad with Asparagus, Tomatoes, Cucumber & Carrots

Hello foodies! Although the main point of sharing my weekly dinner menus is to show how you can cook one dinner that satisfies everyone in the family (yes even the picky ones), every night and save considerable time following a ‘system’ — where all of the dishes and leftovers work together for the week. I keep getting requests for an easy way to ‘browse’ all of the recipes.

Here it is! I’ll update this page as I add my family’s latest meals, typically before I post the full menus: Continue reading “All of the MHN Recipes In One List” →

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My family’s Menus The Week Starting April 22nd

This Week's Dinner Menus & Recipes

#MomsDinnerHacks #MomsSavingTime #LessDishesForMommy #KidFriendlyFood

I’ve asked friends, Mom’s at work and even moms at the playground…right now it’s an even split between ‘loved it’ and ‘so happy it’s over’.

How about you?  Did you enjoy the recent holiday? I’m so curious about this… my newest survey is all about holidays and stress… please take it if you’re inclined to weigh in.  Stay tuned for the results…in about 2 weeks.

I was (still) recovering from all of the extra baking and holiday activity last week and craved quick, simple everything.  A little bit of spring is making it’s way into the mix…a sugar snap pea here, a roasted beet there… more spring food soon as the weather improves!

A quick reminder about the rules of saving time with the dinner blueprint system:

  • Make bigger meals (that serve your family at least 2 times on the weekends)
  • Creatively ‘dress up’ leftovers so they don’t feel like leftovers
  • Weeknights, make quick dishes that cook in 30 minutes or less
  • Use as few dishes as possible (always)
  • One cutting board, one knife — limit heavy duty chopping projects during the week
  • Weeknights, use ideally one, at the very most two, pots or pans

Continue reading “My family’s Menus The Week Starting April 22nd” →

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My Family Dinner Menus – Week beginning April 15, 2017

This Week's Dinner Menus & Recipes

#MomsDinnerHacks #MomsSavingTime #LessDishesForMommy #KidFriendlyFood

You’ve come to expect relatively easy, fast, budget and kid-friendly dinner menus from me.  However, this week’s menu isn’t quite that.   It took on a life of it’s own due to the Easter holiday and Shad Roe season.

Typically, even on the weekends I cook main dishes that are pretty healthy, wallet and kid-palate friendly (i.e. Chicken and Pork versus Lamb and Shad Roe).  Still, despite the switch up from our normal routine, I managed to make one meal for the family each night!

If you haven’t read my previous posts about the whole system, here’s a quick review of where the time savings comes in:

  • Basic, flexible formula for a healthy meal each night.
  • A set of quick turnaround ‘go-to’ proteins, grains and veggies that work during the week (30 minutes or less).
  • Always have a set of plan B staples in the pantry and freezer.
  • Smart use of leftovers and weekend meals that feed my family at least twice.

Although this menu requires more effort, my family enjoyed the special holiday meals and my children especially loved the addition of cake to our weekend line up.

If you try any of these recipes or the whole menu, please leave a comment and let me know!

Normally, I start off the weekends with a 2X (feeds the family twice meal) however, my husband had a schedule change and the Shad Roe I bought to surprise him with on Friday night had to wait until Saturday.

Shad Roe has a very short season (a few weeks each year) and is a very strange looking yet delicious delicacy. So, I kicked off the weekend with Shad Roe grain bowls for the grown ups and a ‘deconstructed’ vegetarian grain bowl for the kids. Continue reading “My Family Dinner Menus – Week beginning April 15, 2017” →

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