Ma What's For Dinner?

As you’ve all heard before we are a family of dippers.  I love to dip and it seems I have passed this on to my kids.  My family used to laugh at me when I was a kid  because at dinner time, whether at home or at a restaurant, I was always surrounded by 7 or 8 little ramekins filled with various sauces, dressings, and all sorts of yummy dippables to dunk.  My boys have taken that up as well and so we’ve devised a healthy marinara sauce for them to dunk into.  It’s perfect for topping your pasta, dunking bread or bread sticks, fresh veggies, or even some fried mozzarella or zucchini.  Be sure to make a lot of this one, freeze it to keep on hand!  You won’t believe how good this tastes with so many veggies inside

2 T                                  Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 cloves                        garlic

¼ c                                chopped onion

¼ c                                    chopped red pepper

¼ c                                    chopped carrots

¼ c                                    chopped mushrooms

1 28 oz can                        san marzano chopped tomato

1 ½ T                                    dried Italian seasoning

S&P

1 box                                    linguine, spaghetti, whatever floats your boat

In a large pot or dutch oven heat the oil over medium high heat.  When the oil is hot add onion, carrots, and mushrooms.  Sautee until veggies are soft and onions are translucent, about 7-9 minutes.  When your veggies are soft add the garlic to your pot.  Cook for 1-2 minutes stirring often.  Sprinkle in S&P and your Italian seasoning.  Stir.  Pour in tomatoes and stir to combine.  Bring your sauce up to a boil and then reduce to a simmer.  Simmer for 20 minutes then puree your sauce so it’s smooth.  You can use a hand blender, a food processor, or a stand up blender.

Be sure to make this one in large quantities.  You can double or triple this recipe and keep it in the fridge for up to a week or freeze it in ziploc bags so you always have a healthy marinara sauce on hand for pasta, or veggie dipping!

If you’re here from the Tuesday Follows, welcome welcome! Be sure to leave us a note to let us know you were here so we can return the favor. Now, what can I get ya to nosh on?

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What’s the quickest and easiest way to get a picky eater to finish off a serving of veggies?  Toss them with some chicken and teriyaki sauce and serve up on a bed of rice of course!  Fast, affordable, healthy, and delicious!  You won’t have to resort to dessert bribery, not that I’ve ever ever considered anything like that, no really, not ever, to get your kids to clean their plates with this dish.

1 lb chicken tenders cut into bite sized pieces

2 cups broccoli florets

1 cup sliced carrots

1 bell pepper chopped

1 T canola oil

1 garlic clove, minced

1 inch piece of fresh ginger, grated on a microplane or minced

a couple of dashes chili oil

a couple of dashes sesame oil

1/2 T fish sauce (optional and available on your asian foods aisle)

2 T soy sauce

1/2 cup bottled teriyaki sauce

2 cups brown rice cooked according to package instructions (you could use white if you haven’t watched the Today show too many times and are now scared of anything with the word white in the title a la white bread, white rice, etc.)

Heat oil in a wok or large skillet over high heat.  When the oil is hot add garlic and ginger and stir well to flavor the oil.  Have your chicken on hand and ready to go so that as soon as the garlic begins to brown toss in your chicken.  Toss well and allow chicken to brown stirring often (hence the stir-fry).  When you chicken is browned well toss in all of your veggies.  Stir and allow to cook for about 3-4 minutes, until they just begin to soften a bit.  

Season with chili oil, sesame oil, and fish sauce.  Cook for a minutes.  Add soy sauce and cook for another minute.  Pour in your teriyaki sauce and turn the heat down to medium-low.  Allow to simmer for a few minutes while you spoon your rice into a mound on the center of each plate.  Top with stir fry mixture and plenty of sauce.  It’s good and good for you!  How can you beat that combination?  Ok, who wants dessert?

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Upside Down Pizza

Serves: 4                     Prep time: 10 minutes              Cook time: 30 minutes

1 lb                              ground beef

1 c                               mushrooms, sliced

1 small                         onion, chopped

½ c                              red pepper, chopped

1 t                                dried oregano

2 clove s                      garlic, chopped

S&P

1 14 oz jar                   tomato sauce

1 ½ c                           shredded mozzarella cheese

1 tube                          refrigerated biscuits

In a large skillet brown ground beef over medium high heat.  Once browned add in mushrooms, onions, red pepper, and garlic.  Season with oregano and S&P and stir to combine.  Cook for 5 minutes or until veggie start to soften.  Stir in tomato sauce.   Bring to a boil, then turn down to a low simmer.  Cover and let cook for 10 minutes on low heat.

Pour meat mixture into a 13×9 baking dish.  Top with shredded cheese.  Open up biscuit tube and top cheese with biscuits. You should be able to fit 2 rows of 4 biscuits.  Bake for 15-17 minutes or until biscuits are golden brown.  Serve with a side salad and your kids will stand on their heads for this one time and time again.

Meaty Morsel:  The beauty of the biscuit is that once again, everyone gets their own upside down pizza (always a plus with my bickering boys).  But you can always top yours with refrigerated store bought pizza dough or even frozen puff pastry crust!

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