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Tag: kid friendly meals

Pasta Primavera with Rice Pasta

Pasta Primavera with Rice Pasta

Another gluten free, vegetarian recipe!!

  • 2 medium zucchini, chopped into ¼ inch pieces
  • 1 10 oz Cremini mushrooms, chopped into ¼ inch pieces
  • 2 medium shallots, chopped
  • 3 garlic cloves, chopped
  • 1 tablespoon rosemary, chopped
  • 2 tablespoons extra light olive oil
  • 2 cups homemade or store bought marinara sauce
  • ½ pound rice pasta, cooked
  • Salt
  • ½ cup Parmesan cheese

Heat a large frying pan with olive oil. Add the mushrooms and sauté on high heat for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the garlic, rosemary and shallots. Saute for another 2 to 3 minutes. Add the zucchini and sauté for another 2 minutes. Add the marinara sauce and mix well. Add the cooked pasta and mix well. Check for seasonings and top with Parmesan cheese.

Fresh Tomato Ravioli with Pesto Green Beans

Fresh Tomato Ravioli with Green Pesto Beans1 I made this meal on a Monday- the beginning of the  week is extremely busy for me. I have lots of chores and my daughter has piano and ballet back to back. By the time we get home it is six o’clock and she is famished and wants dinner right away. I try to have something ready for her as we enter the house. I mostly make something ahead of time and heat it up as we walk in.

I bought fresh raviolis and green beans from the super market and I already had fresh tomato sauce in the fridge. I decided to cook the raviolis simply in the tomato sauce and serve them with the green beans sauteed in basil pesto- yes I had pesto in the fridge as well.

It was an easy and fast meal. I sauteed the beans in a little olive oil and cooked them till they were tender with a crunch. I then added the pesto and turned the heat off. It was a simple side dish with a lot of flavor.

I cooked the raviolis in lots of salted water (fresh pasta takes all of a few minutes to cook) and transferred them over to the simmering tomato sauce- thats it.. dinner was ready.

I love taking help from the store when it comes to fresh pasta. It is great to make it at home but obviously it is a bit time consuming and definitely not conducive for a weeknight meal.

It was a quick dinner followed by bedtime for my daughter and a glass of wine for me once she was down.
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Bowtie Pasta with Spinach and Chicken

Bowtie Pasta with Chicken and Spinach1 My daughter was having one of her play dates again and two of her friends were coming over and staying for dinner. My daughter loves having her friends over for dinner- “it is so much fun”, she always says. I usually remind her that I have to make something healthy and usually from scratch so it is quite a lot of work me me- but honestly, I enjoy it too. Especially because I get to try out different kid-friendly dishes and see their reactions.

For this particular dinner I needed to make something in advance since I was not going to be home. Our sitter would be giving them their meal. I had two chicken breast on the bone which I decided to roast with the skin on. I shredded the meat once it was nice and juicy after taking the skin off. I bought bowtie pasta to make things a little interesting. I bought baby spinach since I needed the meal to be made in one pot and it also had to be well balanced.

I cooked the pasta and mixed the shredded chicken and baby spinach in the sauce pan. I added some homemade tomato sauce to give the pasta additional yummy flavor. I transferred the pasta into an oven proof dish and mixed in and topped with some shredded mozzarella cheese.

It was simple and quick. Once I got home I was curious to know their reactions. I was told they were all skeptical at first since everything was mixed in together but once they tried it- they liked it. My daughter who is more used to eating such meals thought it was delicious.

Next time you have a dinner play date for your kids- try the bowtie pasta with spinach and chicken.

Sauteed Chicken Sausage and Broccoli Pasta

Chicken Sausage and Broccoli1 This is the quickest meal I have made recently. It was a rare unscheduled weekend day and we were planning to do absolutely nothing. My daughter usually is very good at keeping herself busy or playing with her Daddy on the weekends. I like to get a bit of a break where I hide in my room to read a book or watch a movie.

My daughter somehow secured herself a play date for the whole day. Her friend came over at 10 and stayed till around 3. She was thrilled. Actually we all were. My husband needed to work from home and I decided to go out with a friend for coffee.

Before leaving, I wanted to make a quick lunch for them. I did have a couple boxes of macaroni and cheese but I wanted make something else. I had a pack of chicken sausages in the fridge- which my daughter loves. I sauteed them quickly and added frozen broccoli florets. I boiled some penne on the side and added the cooked pasta with some of the starchy liquid to make a simple sauce. I topped the pasta with some light shredded mozzarella and that was it.

It was a fast and delicious meal- perfect for a quick lunch for the kiddies. Try the chicken sausage and broccoli pasta- it is yum!
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Shrimp and Broccoli Brown Fried Rice

Fried Brown Rice with Shrimp and Broccoli I find fried rice and quesadillas a great way to use up left overs. The quesadillas can be stuffed with virtually anything as long as shredded cheese in involved. As far as fried rice is concerned- same rules apply- anything and everything can be added to it. I think the key is to have a well stocked pantry- it always comes back to that, doesn’t it? In this case I had eggs in the fridge, broccoli and shrimp in the freezer, tamari in the cabinet, garlic and onion in the basket.

I had a cup of cooked brown rice in the fridge and didn’t have any plans for dinner- what was I going to feed my always hungry daughter?? I have never made fried rice out of brown rice but why not?? In fact, I thought with all the loud flavors going on in fried rice, I could totally get away with using brown rice instead of white. so, that is what I did- I chopped some onion and garlic, took out some frozen broccoli florets and 3 frozen raw jumbo shrimps. It was the quickest meal I have ever made. I minced everything and sauteed it with lots of tamari. That is all it took and it was delicious!

My daughter couldn’t stop eating it- and when she told my husband on the phone what she ate- he got very excited as well. I had to disappoint him by telling him I had just enough for her. Don’t worry I didn’t leave him hungry- we ate leftovers from the day before- which were delicious as well.

Everyone was happy..

  • 1 cup cooked brown rice
  • 3 raw jumbo shrimp, cleaned and deveined and chopped
  • ½ cup frozen or fresh broccoli, chopped
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • ¼ white onion, minced
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • 1 egg, beaten with a pinch of salt
  • 1 to 2 tablespoons tamari (depending on how seasoned you like the rice)

Heat a wok like saucepan and add the oil. Add the onion and garlic and sauté on high heat for two minutes. Add the broccoli and sauté for a minute. Add the egg and stir until the egg is cooked. Add the raw shrimp and sauté for another minute. Add the rice and tamari. Stir well until heated through.