umommy: chinese

, by umommy

Meal Plan for this week. Also known as The Best Week Ever.

I have been trying loads of new recipes lately, I think partly due to the arrival of spring plus I needed something to shake things up from the winter rotation of soups and comfort food. Here's a menu plan for 5 delicious dinners for this week - or any week really. If your family is anything like mine, this will be the best week ever.

Monday: Pasta with Peas, Bacon, and Ricotta - From Dinner: The Playbook, this easy-to-whip-up meal will surely please even the pickiest eater of the bunch. Cook 1 lb tubular pasta according to directions. Add 3-4 tbs of ricotta to a large bowl and toss cooked pasta with ricotta. Next, fry up 1/2 pound of bacon until crisp and drain on paper towels. Add 1/4 chopped onion and one 10-oz package of frozen peas to the pan and cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Add the chopped bacon back to the pan with the peas and onion. Then toss mixture onto pasta. Season with salt, pepper and grated parmesan.

Tuesday: Miso-Glazed Fish with Rice and Spinach - Another winner from Dinner: The Playbook, this simple and fast cooking meal is now a family favorite. I substituted salmon with Mahi Mahi and served it with sautéed spinach and white rice. Healthy and delicious! Click here for the recipe.

Wednesday: Braised Adobo Pork Tacos - Okay, another recipe from Dinner: A Love Story. I admit it. I'm obsessed with all the recipes from Jenny Rosenstrach. They are just so good and easy. She suggests making this with polenta (which I'm sure is amazing). I ended up cooking this in a slow cooker and and we made tacos with this. You will die of happiness if you make this. Click here for the recipe.

Thursday: Burgers with Fruity Slaw and Sweet Potato Fries - What's not to love about this meal? Tasty burgers, a simple slaw with kid-friendly fruit and healthy oven-baked sweet potato fries. This menu comes from ChopChop: The Fun Cooking Magazine for Families spring issue. This issue has four other great family dinners you have to try.

Friday: Taiwanese Meat Sauce Over Rice with Baby Bok Choy - My family goes crazy for a good rice bowl. When I saw this recipe from Jennifer Che of Tiny Urban Kitchen in the Boston Globe, I just knew my brood would love it. Simple meat sauce is packed with umami as it's cooked with dried mushrooms and asian flavors. We completed this dish with a hard boiled egg and stir-fried baby bok choy. I can't wait to make this again. Click here for the recipe!

Have a good week!

0Comments

, by umommy

In chinese, family-friendly

Restaurant Review by My 6-Year-Old: Little Q Hot Pot (Arlington, MA)

Here's another restaurant review through the eyes of my kid. This time, we visit his new favorite restaurant: Little Q Hot Pot on Mass Ave in Arlington, MA. All pictures were taken by my son using my phone (as I sweat bullets while he held my fancy phone over the bubbling cauldron of broth).

6-year-old: First we wait for our food. This restaurant is nice. Because they have a stove connected to where the hole is in the table.

Little brother trying to decide if he should launch his car into the 'pit' as we wait for our food.

6-year-old: First the peanuts and other spicy stuff come. And carrots. They taste good, except for the spicy stuff.

Condiments of peanuts and spicy cabbage. Plastic bowls, cups, and spoons are ideal for feisty kids.

6-year-old: Finally the soup comes and they put it in a little hole in the table. They don’t let it splash on us so we don’t get hurt.

Complex and delicious Black Bone Chicken Broth equipped with ladles and basket.

6-year-old: This is the spring roll and dumplings you can order from the menu. It tastes so good. And we don’t have to cook it – they cook it for us. You can’t cook this in the soup bowl.

Large menu includes traditional Chinese appetizers and entrees for those that do not want hot pot.

6-year-old: You can order meat. It looks like they are ground. They come to the table cold. You have to cook these foods in the soup bowl.

Paper-thin cuts of raw pork, chicken and beef.

6-year-old: You cook it by dropping it inside. And when you think it is ready, you take it out and try it. It is fun cooking the food. Grownups cook it – it is dangerous for kids. But I like to watch.

Chinese fondue - cooking chicken in savory broth.

6-year-old: The vegetables taste good. Some of these are super foods I think.

Chinese broccoli, carrots and watercress.

6-year-old: This is my soup. There are some noodles in it. You can cook the noodles. Kids can drop the noodles in. It is fun touching the noodles!

Cellophane noodles with pork, chicken, Chinese broccoli, and carrots in broth. The boy had two helpings.

6-year-old: If you feel a little sad, like if you were crying and bumped your head, someone that works here can bring you a lollipop. But it is a only for a special treat if you finish your dinner or lunch. I’m not sure if they serve breakfast.

(note from umommy)

In my quest to raise my boys to be adventurous eaters, we dine out a lot as a family. We try to avoid ordering the boys the typical kid fare (chicken fingers and fries for example) whenever possible. We seem to have the best luck introducing our kids to more exciting foods when we go to places that have "family-style" dishes. So what better place to get our kids to be adventurous than Chinese hot pot? Bubbling cauldron of broth set in the middle of your table for cooking raw meats and vegetables. Seconds later you get to fish out your food using chopsticks. Exciting? Yes. Healthy? Yes. Tasty? YES!