Brandon and I have always thought that eating as a family is especially important. We do it every night…almost. To avoid having pb&j’s every night I write out a menu. Two weeks’ worth of meals, grocery shopping bimonthly (except for some staples), and the question, “What are we having for dinner tonight?” answered. Over the years I’ve had people ask me about what we do, why we do it and where to find good, fast, easy meals. Here are the answers to some of those questions.
There are always some good ol’ standby’s on the menu, but I usually work at least 4 new recipes into the mix. They may come from friends, cookbooks, magazines or the internet. Whatever form they are in, once they are tried, and approved, I transfer them onto a recipe card and ditch the random sheet of paper they were printed or scribbled on. The first time I try a new recipe I try to stay true to it. After the first time, it’s open season….literally. There is rarely a recipe that I don’t modify in some way.
In the summer, when there’s no homework and the nights are long, we also try to work a brand new ingredient we’ve never tried before into the mix. I do this as much as I can during the winter months, it just doesn’t happen nearly as often and the produce just isn’t as diverse in the winter. The kids think it’s neat if they get to pick it out (although sometimes I have to go surfing the web trying to figure out how to cook it) and because they picked it out they will try it without prodding. Not that they have a choice; in our house EVERYTHING gets at least one bite – EVERY TIME WE HAVE IT! (Lilly has gone from liking to disliking mac-n-cheese about 10 times.)
Now, we are not married to our menu. There are always the late nights at kids activities, or we’re just plain tired and don’t feel like cooking at all, where we stray from the list. (See pb&j, above.) Anything that doesn’t actually get made in the two week rotation goes on the next list.
At times I have been extremely anal about my menu planning: pre-made laminated lists (sorted by aisle at my favorite grocery store) and ready for the dry-erase marker, printed menus hanging on the fridge complete with check off boxes, recipes neatly attached. This is still my favorite way of doing this, I just don’t always have time to accomplish it.
The reason why I write about this now? I’ve been relaxed on my menu writing and, as much as I hate to admit, we’ve had more than a few Hamburger Helper and frozen pizza nights. Don’t get me wrong, I think these are both fine meals. I just LOVE to cook...and eat. Every mealtime presents itself with another opportunity for culinary bliss. I restrict myself from eating incessantly so I hate to waste an opportunity to indulge my taste buds!
Tonight: Pasta Fagioli, a recipe I clipped out of a magazine (Family Circle, Feb 2011). I like to find recipes that incorporate kale. It is a superfood and it’s super easy to grow here in the Pacific Northwest. Prep time was excitingly short – only have to chop up onions, garlic and kale. Everything else is in a can. Total time from start to finish was 35 minutes (REALLY. Sometimes when I get done making a recipe I look back at the total time they estimate and wonder if they have a personal sous chef hidden in their pantry.)
Here’s the recipe:
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes with basil, garlic and oregano
2 cans (14.5 oz) chicken broth
8 oz small pasta shells, uncooked
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 bunch fresh kale, tough stems discarded, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 cans small white beans, drained and rinsed
1 tbsp tomato paste
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
Grated Parmesan, for serving
Turns out it was a hit! Everyone really liked it! Into the recipe box it goes!
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