Beef Brisket with Endless Possibilies

Busy households need easy solutions.  What could be easier than cooking once and making 4 (or more) great meals out of it?

As part of the 68 Day Challenge, a great "your best year starts here program" my husband and I are doing the Whole30.  In a nutshell:  meat, vegetables, fruit, and healthy fats for 30 days.

Slow Roasted Beef Brisket

printable version

Ingredients

• 1 beef brisket
• 1 small box portabella mushrooms, sliced
• 2 onions, sliced thick
• 1 cup beef broth
• 1 tsp garlic
• 2 bay leaves
• cracked pepper
• salt (adjust this depending on the sodium content in your broth)

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,

Chicken Thighs with Harissa Chickpeas

 

Usually, when I get my hair done is the only time I allow myself to indulge in tabloids.  They are there.  I am there.  Why not?  At my last appointment the January 2014 edition of Bon Appetit was sitting in the processing room and caught my eye.  I found page after page of tempting recipes that I couldn't wait to try our for my family and since it was the January version most of the recipes were healthy.  This one was at the top of the list.  I love that one pan goes from the stovetop, to the oven, to the table and I couldn't wait to see how tolerable my family would be to the heat of this dish.  They did not disappoint. The entertainment I hoped for was pricesless.  When you try it make sure to make sides that double as extinguishers.

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

Ring in the New Year with Lobster Claws

Here's a re-post from last winter.  If you are looking to ring in the New Year with some tasty lobster claws, but don't quite know what to do with them this is for you . . .

What to Do With Frozen Lobster Claws

If you were too spontaneous to have time to defrost them

-increase cook time to 30 minutes
-open the top of the foil and cook an additional 10 - 15 minutes to cook off excess water.

Never Flip an Omelet Again; The Best Omelet Recipe

I brown bag it when it comes to lunch on work days.  I find that I have NO discipline when eating out.  Restaurants may have healthy offerings, but Berta, the 300 pound Italian girl inside me, always wins out when making a selection.

My eat healthy AND stay happy philosophy is not to be good 100% of the time so when asked out to lunch I will occasionally say "yes."  Coworkers and I went to a diner and when the plates arrived at our table there were "oohs" and "ahhs" and "how do they make the omelets look like that"? 

Please Pass the Crayons

Ok.  Family dinner doesn't happen at our house as much as it should. Between crazy work schedules, trumpet lessons, and kids who just want to play outside, we often eat on the run. When we do get everyone around the table we want to get them engaged instead of secretly texting under the table.

Making family dinner more fun than eating out is easier than you think.  You'll still have to deal with the dirty dishes, but you'll be chuckling over the evenings activities. Here's a great tip I got from the book, The Secrets of Happy Families.  We tested it out and had a blast.

Buy a roll of craft paper (I got mine at Staples) to use instead of a table cloth.  When you set the table for dinner make sure to include a box of crayons.  Then, anything goes as long as everyone knows that the crayons only go on the paper.

White Chicken Chili

We love to cook on Sundays at our house.  Today we have a big pot of White Chicken Chili brewing.  We just purchased an upright freezer this winter so this recipe is perfect for us.  You may want to cut it in half.