My mom is a great, intuitive cook. So I know it pains her a little bit to have to call me for this recipe, which is barely even a recipe. But call she does, whenever she plans to make these. And every time I go over this with her on the phone she says, “Right, right, of course,” and then doesn’t bother to write it down because it’s so ridiculously simple.

The secrets: not too much, not too little oil; high heat; nice amount of salt; non-stick cooking spray (you’ll only forget this once to learn that lesson. Maybe twice.)

My kids call them square french fries. You will serve these with anything, and if you put them out to nibble on with drinks before dinner, they will be gone in a flash.

Ingredients

• 2 pounds Yukon Gold or other waxy potatoes, peeled or washed
• 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 – 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt

Directions

Preheat the oven to 450° F.

Spray a rimmed baking sheet generously with nonstick cooking spray. Cut the potatoes into 1 or 1 ½ inch chunks (bigger chunks=more creamy insides). Spread them out on the baking sheet drizzle the olive oil over, sprinkle the salt over, and toss with your hands to combine.

Make sure they are in a single layer and roast for 40-50 minutes or so, tossing them once midway through the cooking, and spreading them out again.

I love one-dish meals. Love them, love them. Less mess, less process, and if you have a good recipe, the result is tasty. Here are a few casserole recipes I’m planning to try in the next few weeks:

Real Simple: Baked shells and broccoli

Simply Recipes: Zucchini breakfast casserole

Rachel Ray: Retro-metro fancy tuna casserole

By Sherry of Chaos Theory

There are always rough transitional moments when the school year starts back up; getting up early and rushing everyone out the door, getting back to the grind of homework, and regular bedtimes to name a few.  However, one thing that always seems to strike fear into parents is the thought of having to pack a school lunch.  Many schools offer up hot lunches, but they’re not always appealing and the truth is they cost a lot more than a lunch you prepare and send yourself.

Read the rest of this entry

The phrase 30-minutes or less has been stealing a lot of thunder in the cooking world over the past few years.  And for obvious reasons: the idea of getting a meal on the table in half an hour is completely appealing.  But sometimes those 30-minute recipes require you to move around at high speed the entire time, chopping, sauteing, sprinkling, stirring, and while you might get it all done in 30 minutes, you might also be exhausted at the end.  And your kitchen might look like a war zone, requiring more than 30 minutes of clean up.

This is why it’s also good to include roasts and braises in your weekly list of dinners.  They will almost always take longer than half an hour, but almost all of the needed time is hands-off cooking time, leaving you free to make other dishes, help with homework, get to that mountain of bills…or just watch a rerun of “Friends”.  I know which I’d pick.
Read the rest of this entry

Image from Real Simple

Ground turkey is one of our regular protein staples, but I’ve gotten tired of the few things that I tend to make from it. Here are a few new recipes I am trying in the next few weeks:

Real Simple: Speedy sloppy Joes

Ellie Krieger: Mom’s turkey meatloaf

Simply Recipes: Mom’s ground turkey and peppers (lots of moms know how to cook ground turkey, I guess)

Do you have any favorite recipes for ground turkey?

Do your kids like scrambled eggs? Chances are yes, most kids do. (If not, so sorry, this post is just not for for you.)  If they do like them, then this may be your ticket to introducing new flavors and ingredients.  Just like chicken, eggs are a great blank protein slate…guess it’s not so surprising, since they’re related.  Pretty much every culture has eggs in their cuisine, so you know that they are adaptable to all kinds of different seasonings.

This is a great place to let your kids get creative, too, in terms of making up their own recipes.  My younger son invented a recipe he called Charlie’s Olive Percenter (because it’s 100% good, says he).  It’s scrambled eggs with sliced green olives with pimentos mixed in, and after they are cooked up and put on the plate, they are covered with thinly sliced cool fresh cucumbers.  A lovely salty/refreshing/hot/cold medley.  We eat it all the time.

Need some pointers on basic scrambled eggs?  No problem. There are a few schools of thought on this.  One has to do with very long slow low cooking, but frankly in my house when scrambled eggs are being made, there are hungry kids at the table, and often an imminent school bell about to ring (if not literally, you get the gist).  So I go for medium-high heat, and lots of stirring.  But not too much, because I like the fluffy lumps that appear, and I don’t like them too broken up.

Here’s what to do:
Read the rest of this entry

By Jim Lin from The Busy Dad Blog

I thought I was broken. At 4 years of age, one’s assessment of everyday situations pretty much oscillates between extremes. “You’re my best friend” vs “you’re my worstest enemy in the whole wide world!” “This is my FAVORITE food!” vs “YUCK, that’s disgusting times infinity” “I’m Superman; watch me fly” vs “Uh oh, I’m broken. I’m gonna die.”

Sitting on the toilet constipated? Conclusion: broken.

Luckily my mom was there with prune juice, STAT! As I sat there on the bowl sipping this nastiness between rounds of sphincter-robics, mom said “See? You need to eat vegetables.”

And until I discovered coffee, I was damn good at making sure I had at least some form of fiber entering my system on a pretty consistent basis to ensure regularity. I haven’t really touched a vegetable or fruit for about 20 years now, but when my son Fury was born, I chose to adopt the parenting platform of “even if all else fails, at least my kid will eat right.”

And I rocked it.

Read the rest of this entry

Image from Food and Wine

I love quiche for dinner (and lunch and breakfast) and think it makes a full meal served with a salad or a soup. Miraculously, even when she was a pretty picky eater, our daughter always loved quiche, so it’s often a staple for weekend brunch at home. But I’ve never actually made one — we get our favorite at Trader Joe’s. A brunch home-made seemingly easy quiche we just had at my friend’s house as inspired me to look up a few recipes to try (for dinner or brunch or lunch or dinner):

Simply Recipes: Cheesy crustless quiche

Food and Wine: Over the top mushroom quiche

Food Network: Chicken broccoli quiche

Enjoy!

Football season = chicken wings.

Oh man, there’s not much I care less about than watching football.  But I love the snacks.  So, I’m dedicating this post to the unofficial food of football season, chicken wings.  Two weekends ago, Buffalo, New York hosted the 8th annual National Buffalo Wing Festival, where they calculated that 92,000 fans devoured 40 tons of chicken wings.  Wowsers.

But we’re all pretty much aware that a less healthy food is hard to find, especially when you factor in the deep-fried aspect of most of the restaurant or fair/festival varieties.  But sometimes one has to park your nutritional conscience in a corner, and indulge your inner sports fan.

Here’s a recipe for baked chicken wings that have all of the flavor, the crispiness, and the appeal of one of the best foods on the planet, with a little less guilt.
Read the rest of this entry

By Anissa from #FreeAnissa

Everyone likes to have a few fun party tricks up their sleeves when they’re hosting grown ups. Unless you’re hosting a group of frat boys, your proficiency at tying a cherry stem with your tongue and your made beer pong skills aren’t going to go far.

One opportunity to wow your crowd is to offer some upscale, bar-quality cocktails in lieu of your customary beer and wine. Anyone can put some rum into a glass of coke, but to really impress with your bar-tending savvy, you may have to put in a little time practicing and *gulp* taste-testing.

I know, tough job, right?

The authentic Mojito recipe that Hemingway himself enjoyed in Cuba is easier than you might think.

Read the rest of this entry