The school year has started, and you find yourself with even less time than usual to plan delicious, nutritious dinners for your family. Not to worry! With these five easy recipes, you can have a tasty and nutritious dinner on the table in no time, leaving you plenty of time to spend with your kids after they get home from school. Enjoy!
1) Pasta
Cook pasta until al dente (usually 1-2 minutes less than recommended cooking time on package) Place a jar of your favorite pasta sauce in a pot and add water to bring to a boil. Add pasta, stir and reduce heat. Cook uncovered for about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and use tongs to coat each strand with sauce. Serve with warm bread or salad as desired. A few suggestions are spinach, red onion, cucumber and feta cheese; Caesar dressing with croutons; lettuce, bacon bits and hard boiled eggs; olive oil dressing with tomatoes. Pasta salads can be made by tossing cold cooked pasta with mayonnaise, olive oil, lemon juice and herbs such as basil, parsley or thyme. Tossing hot cooked pasta with pesto is also an option. In the summertime when fresh tomatoes are at their peak flavor and abundance they can be mixed into spaghetti sauce instead of canned tomato sauce to make fresh marinara which has a very different taste than just using canned tomato sauce.
2) Chicken
Saute 1 chopped onion, 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh ginger, 3 cloves minced garlic and 3 teaspoons canola oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add 4 boneless skinless chicken thighs, cooking and stirring until they are browned. Reduce heat to low and add 2 tablespoons soy sauce, 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar, 2 teaspoons sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper. Cook until all liquid has evaporated. Remove from pan onto a plate to cool slightly before serving with jasmine rice and snow peas on the side. Serve your family a scrumptious school night supper that is easy to make, but tastes like you have been slaving away in the kitchen! Give them the taste of Asia with our savory Fried Rice dish. A perfect dish for when you need something fast and delicious. Simply fry some frozen Asian style veggies, add some cooked white rice, a little bit of soy sauce, some green onions and sesame seeds; fry everything together until it’s hot then serve it up!
3) Fish
At dinner time, it's important to find a balance between preparing healthy, delicious meals and quick, easy-to-prepare recipes. Although dinner may seem like an inconvenience when your family is busy all day at school or work, you're not only serving dinner--you're creating memories. Here are three different dishes that can be whipped up in less than 30 minutes for your next school night supper.
#1 Brown Rice and Vegetable Fried Rice
For this dish you'll need brown rice (1 cup), chopped carrots (1/2 cup), red onion (2 tablespoons), soy sauce (2 tablespoons), garlic powder (1 teaspoon) and salt & pepper to taste. In a pan over medium heat, cook the rice until cooked through. Add in the remaining ingredients and stir well. Cover with lid and let simmer on low heat for 10 minutes until vegetables are tender and most of liquid has been absorbed by the rice.
#2 Black Bean Burgers with Guacamole
For these burgers you'll need 1 15 oz can black beans, mashed potatoes (1 large potato) 1 egg, bread crumbs (1/4 cup), 1 small onion diced fine, cilantro leaves finely chopped(3 tablespoons), fresh lime juice (3 tablespoons), cumin seeds ground(1 tablespoon). Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and coat a baking sheet with cooking spray. Mash together the black beans, mashed potatoes, egg, breadcrumbs, onion and cilantro. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Form into four patties about 1⁄2 inch thick and place on prepared baking sheet. Bake for about 25 minutes flipping halfway through or until crispy on both sides. Serve with guacamole!
#3 Spaghetti and Meatballs
For this dish you'll need spaghetti noodles (1 lb.), 2 eggs, bread crumbs (1/4 cup), fresh parsley minced (1 tablespoon), onion minced (2 tablespoons), beef broth (11⁄2 cups), tomato sauce 3 tbsp., oregano dried (.5 tsp.), basil dried (.5 tsp.), salt & pepper to taste. Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile in a bowl combine eggs, bread crumbs, parsley, onion, beef broth, tomato sauce and seasonings; whisk until blended. Stir meat mixture into hot pasta and toss to combine. Reduce heat to low and cover. Let stand 10 minutes before stirring again so that the pasta will soak up some of the moisture from the meatball sauce. Garnish with fresh grated Parmesan cheese and serve with parmesan crisp crackers or Italian breadsticks if desired.
4) Rice
Add a pinch of salt to a pot of rice and rinse with cold water. Add rice to your pot, cover with fresh cold water, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed (20-25 minutes). Remove from heat and let rest 10 minutes before serving. Simple as that!
This recipe is one of the simplest in this blog post, yet still has many possibilities. Add chicken broth or stock when cooking the rice to make it even more flavorful! Serve plain or with sautéed veggies like peas, mushrooms, broccoli or carrots on top. Stir in some Parmesan cheese at the end if you're feeling fancy and have any left over in your fridge! Alternatively, use garlic, rosemary or thyme instead of just salt. Get creative with these recipes and soon enough they'll be second nature to make - leaving more time for reading homework assignments while sitting down to dinner! This rice recipe can also work as a filling for various stuffed peppers, such as bell peppers or poblano peppers. Fill with brown rice and either lean ground beef, cooked diced ham, cooked shredded chicken breast, shredded cheeses like cheddar or Monterey jack, cooked chopped spinach leaves and/or chopped olives!
5) Lentils
One of my family's favorite comfort foods is lentils. The best part about lentils is that they can be added to almost any meal, but are also perfect by themselves. One great example of how we incorporate lentils into our weeknight meals is with this Lentil Salad with Zesty Vinaigrette. The dressing is just enough to make it a hearty, filling salad and will easily keep you full until your next meal. When I want to make something lighter, I whip up my All-Purpose Lentil Mix in a jiffy. This mix can be used as a side dish or an entree on its own by combining it with pasta, brown rice, or quinoa - whichever protein you have on hand! My kids love to eat this recipe with spaghetti squash, which makes it feel like they're eating pasta without all the carbs. I always tell them that spaghetti squash is really just zucchini noodles! What’s even better than some zucchini noodles? A chocolate hazelnut spread for dessert. You know what I'm talking about – Nutella, duh! In order to get my kids to try new foods (especially when they don't know what it is), I offer them a taste before telling them what it is and they usually end up loving whatever it was all along. And if you're looking for another fun way to get your kids involved in cooking, check out these creative recipes from the Kids Cook Monday series by Ms. Skoko at the New York Times Learning Network and also our health blog for health tips.
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