City Slickers
"Life is a great big canvas; throw all the paint you can at it." - Danny Kaye
Grab My Button
10 Quick (Almost No Brainer) Meals to Please Kids and Grown Ups
I think it is important that a mom’s arsenal of evening meals should contain some quick, easy, recipe-less options. I rely on my recipes pretty heavily, but some nights I just need to get something out and don’t have the time between a late afternoon playdate and dinner time to focus on reading about what I need to do. I normally serve these main dishes with fresh fruit or a veggie, and sometimes both, or sometime none if the meal seems pretty balanced.
1. Hot Dog Mac-n-cheese, Side: Shredded Carrots with Lemon Juice and Salt
Prepare box of mac-n-cheese according to directions. Microwave hotdogs. Slice and place on top of prepared mac-n-cheese. Squeeze lemon juice from one lemon on carrots, season with salt.
2. Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup
Many ways to add variations on the grilled cheese, such as adding turkey bacon and tomato slices for extra protein.
3. Black Bean Nachos
Lots of variations exist for this one too. Tonight I chopped up an tomato and avocado, and added a dolp of sour cream. I didn’t add the avocado and tomato to the kids nachos, but they did have a side of corn for their veggie.
4. Quesadillas and Beans and Rice
Again, the grown-ups can add more veggies such as mushrooms and spinach, while the kids version would have veggies more to their liking like broccoli or cauliflower.
5. Veggie Burger Topped with Hummus, Shredded Carrots, and Sprouts, Side: French Fries, Broccoli
This is a new one I’ve started using. I really like how I can make the Veggie Burger look monstrous by adding the hummus, shredded carrots, and sprouts. Again, minimal cooking on my part, just quick easy assembly. I roast the broccoli and the fries at the same time.
6. Frozen Pizza, Fresh Fruit, Salad Greens
I was using this one almost every week, because I don’t have to do much on this one. Put the pizza in the oven, chop up a cantaloupe, make sure the greens are clean.
7. Le Pig in Low Fat Croissants, Carrot Sticks, Tater Chips
Pillsbury makes low fat crescents, and Hebrew National has a fat free hotdog. This was a great meal when I was doing Weight Watchers because each Le Pig was 2 points. It was heaven to be able to eat two hotdogs for dinner. The potato chips could be baked, also allowing for low calories.
8. Deli Turkey and Broccoli Stuffed Baked Potatoes
I like not having to tend to every turn of a meal. I could bake the potato in the oven, play with the kids, or I could do the same with the microwave. Steam some broccoli, cube thick slices of deli turkey, top the baked potato and add cheese or sour cream.
9. Easy Calzones
Using a prepared pizza dough, I can make one giant turkey pepperoni and cheese stuffed calzone. Mix together cheese and ricotta, top half of the pizza dough with mixture. Place turkey pepperoni on top of cheese mixture. Fold pizza dough over and pinch close, bake pizza dough according to directions.
10. Pasta with Veggie Mix
We recently joined a vegetable co-op in which we get a random assortment of vegetables. I make the pasta according to the directions. Steam some broccoli, saute some mushrooms in white wine, then added green beans to the mushrooms. I added all the veggies to the pasta, drizzled olive oil, grated parmasean, and added some toasted pine nuts. Pretty darn good.
***How about you, what are some almost no brainer meals you prepare for your family? I’m always on the lookout for easy meals to prepare.
Friday Fragments
(If you want to play, check out Mrs. 4444’s site.)
1. Memorable food this week:
-broccoli mashed potatoes. mash the broccoli into the potatoes. Easy and good.
-French onion dip sandwiches with carrot and broccoli coleslaw. I loved the coleslaw because it wasn’t made with mayo. I’m a mayo hater. It was instead made with olive oil and lemon. Mmm-mmm. The sandwiches were also pretty awesome. I felt like I was eating at a greasy spoon – my own!
-Carmel Coconut Fudge Brownies. While the recipes was docked some stars by others for the tough caarmel, I’m not sure what they were expecting. I’ve never met an unsticky caarmel. These brownies were fudge-y, caramel, and coconut deliciousness. I will definitely make them again.
Caramel Coconut Fudge Brownies
2. I’m running the Houston Half Marathon Sunday morning. Hoping I cross the finish line running. My leg has been bothering me because I over did it at boot-camp last week. I’ve been trying to take it easy on the leg. I also didn’t do the best at training for this marathon. Here’s to the finish line for my 2nd half marathon!
3. I am Wendy this week. Wendy from Bob the Builder that is. And I am sick of the Bob the Builder song, but it keeps Noah happy. I guess I will just continue to randomly sing Bob the Builder. Although every now and then I sing Habib the Builder. I don’t know why, maybe to add a multicultural bent to it.
4. School starts for me next week, and I will be working for free in school libraries. It’s part of my master’s program, lucky me! I haven’t worked for almost 2 years now, I’m hoping getting on a schedule will be a good transition, and it’s only for two months. Keep telling myself I can do it!!!! And then I step into a middle school and remember why I left. Ack!!!
5. Looking forward to Jamaica!!!! Going there for a wedding soon!!! So excited!!!!!!!!!! Off to go purchase our tickets. (And I’m also timing myself on the computer so that I get off and do some practical stuff like clean out the dishwasher. I’ve been slacking this morning.)
6. Sucked into American Idol. How do I let this happen???
Peace!
Distracted
I was doing well keeping up with my recipes. Then, Thursday, I got distracted by by this book:
My first book of 2010 – The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson. I tried to read this book a couple of months ago, but could not get into it. I am reading it the second time before bookclub, I was more motivated knowing it would offer me the chance to get out and go socialize.
On this second round, I stuck with, and it wasn’t until 200 hundred pages that I was officially hooked and could not put it down. It became hard to focus on anything else. It is a murder mystery, but not for the light hearted. I was quite shocked in some places. But I am eager to read the next two in the series, as I really enjoyed the characters, and their relationships with each other. I have to see what more develops. But I might wait awhile.
I’m not sure what to read next. I’ve got some young adult books I could read. Or I could start our next book club book. But I feel like I need something light.
The weekend in food:
Acorn Squash
Wickedly good, acorn squash with heavy whipping cream and maple syrup, always a good winter treat.
Begging.
This guy is developing a bad habit of coming to this counter top looking for food. Granted, I tend to feed him while I am cooking to keep him busy. We let him walk around eating too much. We are trying to get him to sit and eat in his chair.
Good little Jew.
Well this isn’t food, but he’s so cute, I want eat him up!!! But he was acting turdly during tot shabbat, he kept walking up to the front, wanting to mess with the rabbi’s stuff.
Dumplings.
This weekend I prepared Kyle to make Chicken and Dumplings. It was delicious, and we noted how we need to add this to our winter repertoire.
Chicken and Dumplings.
MMMmmmmm!!!
Coconut Cream Pie
My contribution to our waistlines. I am a HUGE coconut fan! That topping was different, it was just heavy whipped whipping cream without sugar, much different from other coconut pies I’ve had.
Licking the plate clean.
He liked the dumplings so much he licked the plate, then proceed to rub the plate all over his face and hair.
Too busy playing in a box.
I also got to attend Mom’s night out and tried a new restaurant – Canopy.
It was a good weekend for food. Not so much for exercising.
And on to another wild week…
The Challenge
Twitter: @sarafree- Kiddo got a silly band today. I think I like them as much as he does : )
- @Mofthesea Ha! like the Bondage Baby.
- @Rikki Thanks! It's great that you still remember. Moms are filled with so much mommy knowledge!
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