Indoor Dinner Beach Party

"One must maintain a little bit of summer, even in the middle of winter." ~Henry David Thoreau

This has been a long - no - the longest - coldest winter I can remember.  Looking forward to spring break and ready for the weather to turn we decided to bring our beach party inside for our family dinner night.

The menu:
Turkey burgers 2 ways
Baked Beans
Potato Chips
Kale Chips

For a beach party you can't forget the décor: beach decorations, paper plates, beach boys music, and of course, a beach ball.  We made up fun beach ball games around the dinner table. Here are several variations of our silly games.

Hide the Spinach

Sometimes it's not the foods our kids (and husbands) won't eat, it's the way they are prepared.  For instance, most people steam brussel sprouts. Yuck!  You can't get most people to buy in to them this way.  Try roasting them with olive oil, red pepper flakes, salt, pepper, and orange peel. DELICIOUS!  The same goes for asparagus.  Steamed, not so liked.  Grilled or roasted it takes on an entirely different flavor, and texture, that will get more wins and empty plates.

I find that the best way to make sure that my family gets enough vegetables is to hide them in a fruity flavored smoothie.  Sometimes I sneak a few too many veggies in there and I am busted.  Sometimes I hit a home run like with this limey flavored smoothie.

"All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better."
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Hide the Spinach, An Antioxidant Smoothie

Wednesday Night is Family Dinner Party Night

Parents, you know how hard it is to get the entire family seated in the same room, at the same time, to enjoy a "real" meal together.  The 9 year old boy just wants to play xbox.  15 year old girls just want to text.  Frankly, you're too tired to get it all done, so you give up before you even begin.

Last week I invented  the family themed dinner party.  It was Mexican night.  We had fish tacos (we made a cheese quesadilla for the 9 year old), beans and rice, homemade guacamole, fancy frozen drinks and we found a Spanish mix on Pandora.  It worked.  30 minutes of togetherness.

The next week,

Spicy Pork and Greens Soup

“The only real stumbling block is fear of failure. In cooking you've got to have a what-the-hell attitude.”  ~Julia Child   

I love to experiment in the kitchen.  Some trials are hits and some hit the trash can.   Some are originals and others come from reliable sources like Food Network or Food and Wine Magazine.  Super Bowl Sunday I found another homerun from the January 2014 Bon Appetit magazine, Spicy Pork and Mustard Greens Soup.  I made it as a first course, but it could easily be an entree as well.

Printable Version

Ingredients

• ½ pound ground pork 
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 2 tsp finely grated peeled ginger
• 1tsp Sichuan peppercorns, crushed
• ¾ tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• ½ tsp cumin seeds, coarsely chopped

Mango Kiwi Smoothie

I made a beautiful fruit platter for breakfast this weekend.  Instead of trying to bag up the leftovers and hope that they still look attractive enough for the kids to eat them I threw them into the blender. 

"Life's too short to hang out with people who aren't resourceful." ~Jeff Bezos

 

 

This recipe is great for breakfast, an afternoon pick me up, or post workout nourishment.

Day 4 Losing 6 Pounds in 2 Weeks

One of the best time savers I have found is cooking once to eat many times.  Sometimes this means
making a gigantic pot of spaghetti sauce and portioning it out in tupperware to stow away in the freezer for many pasta nights to come.  Sometimes this means making simple dishes that can be spruced up or combined to make new exciting future meals in a snap.

This week I made polenta and roasted asparagus as

Tuscan Lemon Chicken

You won't believe this is only 300 Calories 

"Sitting down for dinner not only helps you learn, but also teaches you how to listen - which I feel is the most important skill to have. I remember as a kid going around the table listening to everyone's day. It was hard to have the manners not to interrupt back then."

Michael Symon

Craving a home cooked meal, but too pooped to slave in the kitchen I created this super easy, amazingly delicious dish.  Whip up a couple of quick sides and people will think you were cooking all day.

Tuscan Lemon Chicken

Printable version

8 chicken thighs, bone in and skin removed
1 box low sodium chicken broth (4 cups)
1 lemon, sliced
1 33 oz. jar whole artichoke hearts in water, water drained
1/4 c. chopped italian parsley
 2 Tbs. olive oil
salt
pepper
garlic powder