The Mom Crowd

I don’t know about you but when dinner time rolls around I usually want something quick, cheap, easy, and healthy. Oh yeah, and kid friendly. Well, sometimes what I cook is probably not considered “kid friendly” but my philosophy is to cook what is good and healthy and they can choose not to eat it. I don’t offer any other dinner choices for them but I usually try to have at least one vegetable or side I know they like. I thought I’d share a few recipes that I use regularly.

Hope it inspires you!

Easy Pesto Pasta

This is probably the EASIEST meal I ever make. And it is yummy. There is lots of room for variation too which I love. My friend Monica brought a version of this over when I had my first baby and I have adapted it a little over the years.

• 1 lb. Whole wheat pasta (whatever kind you like, spaghetti, penne, shells etc.)
• Parmesan Cheese
• Pesto (I usually use the jarred kind unless I happen to have some fresh on hand)
• Meat of some kind (Kielbasa sausage, chicken, shrimp–I just found some really delish chicken, tomato, and basil sausage from Costo that I will be using next time I make this)
• 1/2 to 1 Onion chopped (optional)
• 1 Bell Pepper chopped (optioinal)

Instructions:

1. Cook pasta according to directions.
2. Brown meat, onions, and peppers together in a little olive oil (unless cooking with Kielbasa sausage–you don’t need it then).
3. Drain pasta and add pesto to taste (I usually do 3-4 heaping spoonfuls).
4. Mix meat, peppers, and onions in with pasta.
5. Serve with parmesan cheese on top.

I usually serve this meal with a nice salad.

Thai Chicken Curry

I got this recipe from Sam The Cooking Guy. He has a cooking show on cable and a lot of his recipes look really yummy. I have added this recipe and another one into our regular dinner rotations. I have adjusted this one to add more vegetables into our diet. It works great with leftover grilled or baked chicken.

• 1 Tbsp. Oil
• 1 Small onion, diced
• 1 Clove garlic, crushed (I use 2 and chop them)
• 1 Tbsp. Flour
• 2 Tbsp. Curry Powder
• 1/2 tsp. Cayenne (optional–I have never added it because I don’t want to burn my kids’ mouths)
• 1 14 oz. Can coconut milk
• 2 Cups Cooked, diced chicken
• 1-2 Cups Normandy frozen vegetable mix
• 2 Tbsp. Apricot jam

Instructions:

1. Cook onion and garlic in oil until softened–but not too soft.
2. Mix flour and curry powder together, and add to onion mixture.
3. If you want it spicy, this is when you add the cayenne.
4. Stir well for a minute and begin to add about 3/4 can of coconut milk (add all if you like, it will just be a little thinner)
5. Stir in the apricot jam.
6. Add chicken and vegetables and allow to warm all the way through. Salt to taste.
7. Serve on brown rice.

Vegetable Chili STOUP with Baked Quesadillas

This is a Rachael Ray recipe. I know it looks like a lot of ingredients but most of it is things I keep on hand. The thing I love about this is that it is very tasty, super healthy, and easy-peasy.

• 2 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 Medium yellow onion, chopped
• 1 Carrot, peeled and diced
• 1 Large red or green pepper, seeded and chopped
• 1 Large jalepeno pepper
• 2 Cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 Small zucchini
• 1 Tbsp. Ground cumin
• 2 Tbsp. Chili powder
• 1 Tbsp. Cayenne pepper sauce, like Frank’s Red Hot Salt, to taste (Tobasco works fine and you can use less if you are concerned about heat for kids)
• 1 14 oz. Can Crushed tomatoes
• 4 Cups vegetable or chicken stock
• 1 Can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 Can Dark red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• 8 Whole wheat flour tortillas
• 2+1/2 Cups Shredded cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese (one 10 oz. package)
• 2 Scallions, chopped (optional)

Preheat oven to 400

To Make the Stoup:

1. Preheat a soup pot over medium-high.
2. Add oil, onions, carrot, bell pepper, jalepeno, garlic, and zucchini. Saute for 10 minutes.
3. Add cumin, chili powder, cayenne sauce, and salt; stir.
4. Add tomatoes, stock, and beans. Bring soup to a boil. Lower heat and simmer another 10 minutes. DONE!

To Make Quesadillas:

Get out 2 cookie sheets and place 2 tortillas next to each other on each cookie sheet. Cover each tortilla with 1/2 cup of cheese and a few pieces of chopped scallions (optional), then place a tortilla on top of each. Bake 5 minutes to melt cheese and crisp tortillas. Cut quesadillas into 4 wedges each to make a total of 4 quesadilla rounds, 4 wedges per person. Use the wedges to dip in the soup.

I love new recipes and tips for making dinner time less of a hassle so please share them if you’ve got them!