I just did a run-down of last year’s New Year’s Resolutions and — shocker — I barely batted 200. Still don’t drink enough water, still eat too many “incidental” French Fries off the girls’ plates, haven’t gotten any better at forcing myself to call friends instead of text them, never read The Hobbit, which was going to earn me big fun Mom points with Phoebe, which at the time was her favorite book. (I did, however, manage to see the movie — part 2 — last week, so I might just have to put that in the W column.)
It seems that the only thing I manage to accomplish every year, without even resolving to do it, is finding new healthy, one-size-fits-all recipes for the dinner rotation. In 2013, there was the ever-popular Burrito Bowl. There was the Indonesian Chicken Salad. (Which has the added bonus of being just luxurious enough for entertaining.) There was that Mongolian Tofu Stir-fry that falls into the category of Kids Won’t Touch, But I Don’t Care, It’s Just Too Good to Banish.
So the question is: Where should my 2014 Healthy Family Dinner experimenting begin? I’ve been eyeballing that Slow-Roasted Salmon with Citrus, Fennel, and Chiles in the current issue of Bon App, and I’ve been flipping (and flipping) through my go-to Feel Virtuous cookbooks shown above, but I want you guys to weigh in. I mean, it’s January after all and I know I’m not the only one attempting to lighten things up for a little while. So what’s on the menu for your family this month? What’s your favorite go-to easy family dinner that you know will be loved in the DALS house (and in the DALS community)? What’s America’s Next Top Family Dinner? Please swap thoughts in the comment field below and then…let’s all get cooking.
And since it’s not fair to just ask for your help without returning the favor, I thought I’d just share this week’s menu plan with you. I haven’t been in the habit of writing out the week in my Dinner Diary for a while, but for some reason, I’m anticipating post-vacation re-entry to be harder than usual this year (thanks to single-digit temps up here in the Northeast) and simply making a dinner road map for the week already makes me feel a little more in control. Which, of course, is all one big farce.
Anyway, the line-up:
Monday: Andy I and have plans in the city, so we won’t be home for dinner. I have leftover turkey bolognese (page 98 Dinner: A Love Story) in the freezer, so the sitter will thaw that for the girls. (Abby will have it over pasta; Phoebe, pasta-hater still, will have it sloppy-joe style on a bun.) I’ll toss some bagged arugula with feta and a homemade vinaigrette before I leave. That will be their veg.
Tuesday: On our Sunday Shop, we bought a head of cabbage and all the ingredients for a Post-Vacation Guilt Eraser, aka Asian Cabbage Salad with Shrimp or Chicken. (We’ll use shrimp, Trader Joe’s wild frozen shrimp if we don’t have time to pick up fresh.) I’ll try to make the vinaigrette before I take off for the day. (Reminder to NY-area readers: I’m speaking at Asphalt Green at noon on Tuesday!)
Wednesday: We also bought one of Maya Kaimal’s simmer sauces, so I’ll do that with chicken and rice. What I’d really like to do is make it with tofu, but the girls disdain towards bean curd in any form remains as steadfast as it was in 2013.
Thursday: I’ve been craving Anna’s Sausage-Kale-Bean Stew. We might be out of kale by then (there was only one bunch left at the market), but I have some frozen spinach I can use, too. Will try to pick up some kind of crusty bread for the crucial sopping.
Friday Not sure yet. Usually we go out, but since we are out on Monday — and trying to bunker down a bit after all the holiday cavorting — we’ll probably stay in. We have leftover short ribs from entertaining this past weekend, but I’ll probably want that as a fall-back plan next week. In other words, I’ll leave this night in the play-it-by-ear category.
Happy New Year Everyone!
Photo credits: Salmon top right, Ditte Isager; Short Ribs bottom right, Christopher Testani.
Recent popular recipes around our household:
Bouchon roasted chicken (whole chicken to room temp, pat dry, salt and pepper until you think its too much, then a little more of each, 450 x 40min over a bed of carrots, mushrooms, onions)
Roy Choi’s $4 spaghetti (food and wine)
Corn Bisque with Red Bell Pepper and Rosemary (Bon App ’98)
Had the kale/sausage stew tonight!
I am southern, born and raised. I was reading the posts but have to ask – what are “southern style green beans”?
A meal my kids loved, and quick and easy to make: it takes a bit of prior planning, but well worth it. Thinly slice approximately 1 lb. piece of almost frozen top round steak, sauté in 2tbs. Olive oil, until browned on both sides, add a few splashes of vermouth and cook for a minute, push meat together on side is pan, add 2 cups of cooked brown rice and a cup or two of fresh or frozen peas or spinach or chard leaves. Continue cooking on medium heat until warmed through. Serve. Sprinkle with whatever herbs or spices you wish. The steak and vermouth make a very yummy sauce, so good that my kids asked for this once a week or so.
Amazing ideas everyone and thank you for all
the links too. Always looking for new dinner ideas!
Every weekend I ask my husband and 2 kids:
“What do you want for dinner this week??”
Usually 3 I do not knows
This week my daughter said meatballs!
Sunday – iced in the Northeast made Chinese: beef
& broccoli, zucchini noodle veggie stir fry, pork chow
mein and whole wheat lo mein.
Monday – eggplant casserole for adults and
cheese ravioli for kids and also tried Eating Well’s
Cauliflower pizza (amazing – changed topping but
crust was delicious
Tues – meatball sandwiches (made leftovers
frozen in fridge)
Wed – fish (whatever looks good @ market later)
Thurs – one of the above mentioned chicken dishes
Fri – thinking shrimp tacos
Sat – date night out – order pizza for kids
Monday hubby asked for soup. I had some turkey sausages that needed to come out of the freezer soI sweated some onion and garlic in olive oil, since I was GASP out of rice I then added the rice contents of a Rice O Roni box and toasted it with the onions and garlic. When it was nice and toasty I added two boxes of low sodium organic chicken broth and one 15 oz can of tomato sauce. After about 20 minutes I added the sliced turkey sausages and a bag of frozen peas – when it was warm I served. Then yesterday I modified a Kelsey Nixon recipe from Cooking Channel for pulled pork – to beef because that is what I had and it worked for a dinner that could be modified for my daughters palate. 🙂
Oh! I forgot that I used rosemary in there and of course some S&P to taste.
Our menu this week:
-garlicky shrimp in wine with roasted broccoli and bread (for sopping up juices)
-bistro chicken (bacon and mushrooms)
roasted vegetable soup with parmesan toasts
-chana masala
-roasted veggie/cheese frittata with american fries (wrapped up leftover wedges with a little cheese in tortillas for breakfasts this week too)
That salmon in the picture looks DELICIOUS. Knowing that it is slow roasted with fennel and citrus makes my mouth water. What a great recipe idea!
Maya!!! We’re obsessed. Indian take out has come to a screeching halt at our house because her curries are so good. I love that we can feel healthy having a simple veg on the side (like steamed broccoli) instead of several heavy dishes. And I love that her website has a bunch of other recipes and ideas for the sauces. Like using them to make soup, marinades, etc. So smart!
I love how you plan out your meals throughout the week– it must save you a lot of headache, and “I’m hungrys” during the week. What sort of desserts would you recommend for someone with a sweet tooth (and a waist line to watch)?
I love “dragon noodles” – 4 oz cooked udon tossed with 1 scrambled egg and a mixture of 1 TBSP each of sriracha, brown sugar and soy sauce, plus a half-spoonful of peanut butter. Top with cilantro. Make a second batch minus the sriracha for kids.
Also great – sauté diced mushrooms, red onions and chicken sausage in a little olive oil, then top with a big bunch of fresh spinach, crack a few eggs on top and cover the pan for 3-4 minutes or until egg is cooked to your liking. It’s fast and phenomenal!
Question: the leftover short ribs, I assume you froze them? Would you keep something in the fridge for over a week & serve it without freezing? Just checking, because I am pretty steadfast about throwing ‘old’ food away
I’ve gotta say, I made the salmon this past weekend and I was underwhelmed. Perhaps it was my use of sockeye instead of another, fattier type of salmon. Things were a bit dry – even with the oily citrus mixture. I’d really like to know how it turns out for you if you end up making it. Definitely not time consuming though!
This time of year always makes me want comfort food: stews and soups and pastas. I have little to offer in the waistline department. Perhaps I’ll go brothy and consider making Pho from Smitten Kitchen or something on the lighter side like that.
This is the clear winner at our house this season:
http://www.marthastewart.com/1018662/skillet-chicken-apricots-and-capers
After the first time, I have left out the apricots, which we like better. My kids think olives are child abuse, but they’ve never even batted an eye at the capers (it may help that I use tri-color Israeli couscous, but they have seen them go in, too). No need to transfer to the oven, so it’s a skillet meal, and since the meat finishes in the liquid, skinless is fine, though I would not recommend boneless.
It comes together fast , and if you throw some sweet potatoes into the toaster oven to bake as soon as you walk in the door, you’re ready to eat in under an hour. Bonus: add some cranberry sauce and this meal tastes very much like Thanksgiving dinner.
Fast enough for a weeknight, fancy enough for guests.
I made the slow roasted salmon last week. Though my 2 year old wouldn’t touch the fennel salad, my husband and I had no problem picking up the slack. If you haven’t already, you should make it. Its delicious.
The burrito bowl is our usual go-to healthy meal, but I think for 2014 we’re going to start making that bowl a baked sweet potato. The other night we had the most simple of meals: a roasted sweet potato topped with cumin and cayenne-spiked black beans. You’d have thought we were eating the most decadent meal of our lives. I like to bake them to the point where they practically turn into mashed potatoes at the press of a fork. Yum!
I’m ashamed to say that I’ve never had slow-roasted salmon with citrus, Fennel, and Chiles! This recipe looks great though so hopefully that will change! Thanks for posting it!
These slow-roasted salmon with citrus, Fennel, and Chiles absolutely something new for me! Looks yummy! Thx for sharing recipe, I definitely add it to my cookbook!
We had the same feeling when I have a family dinner. I prepare earlier so that I guarantee that there’s no ingredients left. I perhaps prepare 1 to 2 weeks to have a perfect dinner for them.
These rosy salmon are something completely different for me with citrus, fennel and chiles! Looks delicious! Looks delicious! I surely add it to my cookbook for the sharing of recettes!