Is it me, or does it seem like a new meal kit delivery service springs up every day? I've had the opportunity to test drive a bunch, but I keep wishing there is one service that sources from local producers, curates only the best ingredients, doesn't overload you on one ingredient, is eco-friendly in its packaging, doesn't lock you into a long-term commitment, and delivers straight to your door.

Enter Family Dinner, a farmer's market delivery service for Boston Metro and South Shore residents. Unlike your typical meal kit delivery company, Family Dinner does not shoehorn you into specific recipes in a given week. Instead, Family Dinner works with local farmers and producers to curate the freshest produce, grains, seafood, meat and dairy products.

Family Dinner describes itself as "a better way to CSA" as it offers "all the benefits of the CSA with none of the drawbacks."  Here's how:

1. Choose your share. You can pay week to week and there's no long-term commitment like traditional CSAs.
2. Choose from "Omnivore," "Paleo," "Pescatarian," or "Vegetarian." Each share comes with protein, fruits, vegetables and a grain.
3. Select the size of your share. Options include "Veggie only share" for 1-2 people, "Half Share" for 1-2 people, "Whole Share" for 2-4 people, or "Double Share" for 4-6 people.
4. Choose to have it delivered to your home (Saturday delivery) or office (veggie only Monday delivery). Family Dinner will send you a text message when they are on their way.
5. Cook! Family Dinner will send you an email with a list of ingredients and some recipe ideas ahead of time. 

We selected a Omnivore Double Share and what arrived blew us all away in terms of quality and quantity. A Double Share easily offers a family of four 5-6 meals, with leftovers - which is perfect for my three hungry guys. Here's what our Family Dinner week looked like:









Extra: There were even ingredients for lunches and snacks too, including honey mustard for the sandwich spread,  apples, and cottage cheese with fresh raspberries.

The boys loved everything. I loved the quality, local ingredients. I also love supporting local entrepreneurs. And I especially loved that we were still able to sit down for a family dinner, even during the busiest of days.

So if you've ever thought about signing up for a CSA, but didn't want to get stuck with 3 pounds of bok choy. Or if you're getting tired of meal delivery kits (and the excessive packaging), Give Family Dinner a try. There's no commitment and if you sign up using UMOMMY50, you get 50% off your first order.

Disclaimer: Thanks to Family Dinner for giving me a trial share, which I received free of charge. As always, all opinions are my own.

After a much-needed vacation, indulging on poke, shave ice and anything with pineapple, I'm trying to be more disciplined and get back to meal planning. This week's menu is inspired by my recent binge watching of David Chang's Ugly Delicious on Netflix. It's Asia vs. Italy this week. The winner? Us, of course ;)


SUNDAY: CHINESE PORK DUMPLINGS
After watching David Chang explore the world of stuffed pasta in the season finale of Ugly Delicious, I have been craving dumplings like crazy. I don't think anyone will complain when I make these dumplings (using ground pork instead).


MONDAY: LINGUINE WITH CAULIFLOWER, GARLIC AND BREAD CRUMBS
This dish from Food and Wine is super easy to make, plus my boys love this Meatless Monday dish. I love it because it is a great pantry staple dish. And have I mentioned how much I love cauliflower?


TUESDAY: KATSUDON JAPANESE PORK CUTLET AND EGG RICE BOWL
I'm excited to try this dish from The Works of Life this week. Pork cutlets, eggs, over rice? What's not to like? H/t to Cool Mom Eats. P.S. Make extra rice for Thursday's Fried Rice!


WEDNESDAY: PASTA WITH SAUSAGE, ROSEMARY AND TOMATOES
Umdaddy requested this meal this week. This is the perfect weeknight dish. I can whip this up quickly (I've made it so often I don't need a recipe), and it's comfort in a bowl. Plus I'll make extra for leftovers for lunch the next day.


THURSDAY: FRIED RICE
This is a great end-of-the-week meal as I look to clean out the fridge. I'll use the leftover rice from Tuesday's dinner for this dish. This is another meal I don't use a recipe for. My secret is Chinese sausage from DePasquale's. This flavorful, sweet sausage really makes this dish. The "Fried Rice" episode of Ugly Delicious also hit home the most for me as David Chang explores the history of  Chinese-American cuisine.


FRIDAY: TURKEY BURGERS
Ending the week All-American with our go-to turkey burger recipe from Martha Stewart. I love to serve this with a side of Baked Sweet Potato Fries from ChopChop Magazine. So easy and delicious.

Have a great week!

This dish comes together in 22 minutes! A perfect weeknight dish.

It's been a little quiet in this corner of the blogosphere as we get into the back-to-school routine. Now that the Fall is in full swing with after-school activities, soccer, homework, and general controlled chaos, I am fully committed to menu planning. Here's this week's menu plan and link to my go-to menu planning and shopping list worksheet from Real Simple.

MONDAY: Miso Sweet Potato and Broccoli Bowl
For Meatless Monday, I'm making this grain bowl from Smitten Kitchen. I love roasted broccoli and sweet potato. But it really is the miso dressing that takes this to the next level. And to really make this a meal, we add a fried egg on top. Click here for the recipe.

TUESDAY: One-Pot Pasta Primavera with Shrimp
After soccer practice, I need a meal that comes together quickly. This recipe is genius. Everything cooks in one pot, forming a silky and dreamy sauce. Plus clean-up is a snap. Check out Epicurious' recipe here.

WEDNESDAY: Butternut Squash Beef Stew
I'm fully embracing fall and our new Instant Pot with this recipe from Foodie Crush. This stick-to-your-ribs meal is just what we need to get through Hump Day. Plus, I get to test out my Instant Pot. 30+ minutes for a hearty stew? It's happening! Click here for the recipe.

THURSDAY: One-Pan Farro with Tomatoes & Sausages
This is a riff of the one-pot pasta dish from Tuesday. But mixing it up with Farro by Smitten Kitchen. We're big grain fans here as you can tell. I have a feeling this will be in regular rotation at our house. Click here for the recipe.

FRIDAY: Sheet Pan Pizza
To celebrate making it through another week, I'm going semi-homemade with sheet pan pizzas. I use store-bought pizza dough and roll it out onto an oiled sheet pan and top with our favorite toppings. We will make one classic cheese and basil and the second will be topped with whatever we have leftover in the fridge (sausage from Thursday, veggies from earlier in the week). Bake at 500 degrees for 15 minutes.

Have a great week!

Summers in New England are the best. And while I'm sad it's coming to an end, I am looking forward to having the kids back in school. But... Back-to-School can be the worst when it comes to the breakfast-chaos-packing-lunches-school-night-dinner-scramble routine. A major sanity-saver for me is meal planning, which I've blogged about previously here and here.

But... meal planning is a lot of work. On any given Saturday or Sunday morning, you will find me in front of my computer with a stack of cookbooks next to me. I have about a dozen separate tabs in my web browser - one for my meal planning google sheet, another open to weather.com (need to know what to cook depending on the weather), another to google calendar (need to know what after-school activities we have and how much time we have to cook), and a bunch more to different recipe websites. About an hour+ later, I will have a plan for next week's meals and a shopping list. And then 2+ hours later, I'll be home with my arms loaded with grocery bags, and my mood significantly darker.

So when I learned that The Dinner Daily, a meal planning service that designs weekly menus based on your grocery store specials (!), and Roche Bros. have joined forces, I couldn't wait to give it a try.

Step 1: Set Your Preferences
The Dinner Daily creates meal plans based on criteria such as family size, meal type (everything, no seafood, vegetarian, poultry & vegetarian, etc.) and where you shop. The Dinner Daily has partnered with over 11,000 grocery stores across the country.

Step 2: Receive Your Plan
Members receive weekly plans for five dinners based on store specials along with a shopping list and link to coupons. Say goodbye to flyer scanning. The Dinner Daily members can save $1,000 or more on annual food costs.


Step 3: Order Groceries 
Thanks to local grocer Roche Bros. online shopping and home delivery service, you can have everything on your shopping list plus any additional groceries you need delivered right to your door. So while you have to manually enter your order (looking forward to the day your Dinner Daily Shopping list can be uploaded/synced to Roche Bros. platform), the whole process takes less time to drive to the store (in my case, multiple stores), shop, and return home.


Step 4: Roche Bros. Personal Shopper
Your online order is sent to your local Roche Bros. and given to a personal shopper. I had the opportunity to shadow this process with other local bloggers. I saw first-hand how personal shoppers take great care in picking out your groceries. Finding the perfect avocado is no easy task! And Kelly did it like a pro.


Step 5: Receive Your Groceries
Probably my favorite step! Groceries are delivered to your home at a time you schedule. Our groceries were delivered on time, and with a smile (thanks Ira!).

Step 6: Cook! 
The Dinner Daily Meals are designed to be quick, healthy and easy to make - perfect for a school night. And I was glad to see a lot of variety when it came to cuisine. Here's a look at some of our favorite dinners from last week's meal plan. Definitely some keepers here!

Next Level Meal Kit Delivery
While we have tried and have been pleased with a variety of meal kit delivery services like Just Add Cooking and Blue Apron, The Dinner Daily + Roche Bros goes beyond what other companies offer. You get five meals, menu flexibility, the ability to customize and add to your shopping list, and save a good chunk of money. Eat better. Save money. Save Time.


Disclaimer: Thanks to The Dinner Daily for giving me a trial membership and to Roche Bros. for giving me the opportunity to try home delivery service. As always, all opinions are my own.

We're in our first full week of hurried mornings, afternoon schlepping, and scrambling evening dinners. So I'm determined to get back to meal planning to keep my sanity and make sure the boys are getting a home cooked dinner at the end of a long day. One of the things I try to stick to is making a meatless dish one night a week. The kids have embraced #meatlessmondays (and they're always up for Taco Tuesday). Plus I always feel better when I can get more veggies in their diet.

Looking for some easy and satisfying Meatless Monday meals? Here are links to 3 of our favorites that are in regular rotation at our house.

Spaghetti with Broccoli Rabe, Toasted Garlic and Bread Crumbs (by Mark Bittman) - this dish whips up in less than 30 minutes from start to finish. I love the simplicity of this dish. And the kids don't even mind the bitterness of Broccoli Rabe. Sometimes I switch it up and use broccolini instead (call me crazy!).

Sweet Potato and Chickpea Curry (by ChopChop Magazine) - I'm slowly converting my kids to fans of Indian cuisine all thanks to this dish. I love it as it is mostly made from pantry staples. They love it because it's not too spicy. And it's served over rice.

Spaghetti Squash Pad Thai (by The Kitchn) - I've tried getting my kids on the zoodles train and anything spiralized, but no luck. They're on to me. But then I came across this recipe from The Kitchn marrying Spaghetti Squash and Pad Thai and it was a slam dunk.

Have a great week!

I recently commiserated with some other moms at pickup on how much we dreaded hearing "What's for dinner tonight?" That's when I blabbed on about how meal planning has saved my sanity on many a weeknight. Sure, it takes careful planning, research and creativity when figuring out a week's worth of dinners plus a grocery shopping list. But when the kids ask "What's for dinner tonight?" I tell them to look on the fridge where I keep our week's menu plan. So to all you parents out there struggling with shopping and cooking a wholesome meal for your family, my present to you!

(recipe and photo from Martha Stewart)

Monday: Chicken Edamame and Udon Noodle Stir-Fry (make extra for school lunches the next day)

(recipe and photo from Dinner: A Love Story)

Tuesday: Butternut Squash Soup with Apples (serve with a salad and crusty bread. This soup is even better the next day. Or double the recipe and freeze for later.)

(recipe and photo from ChopChop)

Wednesday: Beanie Burgers with Sweet Potato Fries (these burgers come together quickly, so make sure you get the sweet potato fries in the over first)

(recipe and photo from Dinner: A Love Story)

Thursday: Weeknight Bolognese (serve with salad and garlic bread for the ultimate comfort food)

(recipe and photo from Dinner: A Love Story)

Friday: Mustard Chicken with New Potatoes and Green Beans (I make extra mustard butter to have on hand so I can easily make this again another night - it's that good) 

Download the shopping list HERE (I'm assuming you already have olive oil, salt and pepper. You might have a lot of these other ingredients in your pantry, in which case just modify the shopping list accordingly.)

Have a great week!

1. Unlike some other meal kit companies, you get to select the meals you want from a list of 7 recipes, which changes weekly. Pick from seafood, beef, pork, poultry and vegetarian options enough to feed 2 or 4 people.
2. Just Add Cooking shops, pre-measures and carefully packs all the ingredients and delivers them by a driver the day your box is packed to your door. Unlike other companies, Just Add Cooking packs and delivers your box on the same day to guarantee freshness (and is more environmentally friendly).
3.  Ingredients are sourced locally whenever possible, so you’re supporting local fishermen, farmers and artisans in New England.
4. There’s less waste when ingredients come pre-measured, so you’re not wasting money on a jar of star anise seeds when the recipe call for one pod for example.
5. Just Add Cooking is just that – letting you focus on honing your cooking skills. Which is perfect for getting kids or the novice cook to feel more confident in the kitchen.

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!

For this week's meal plan I'm uncharacteristically winging it. Thanks to a busy weekend and ANOTHER winter storm, I was scrambling just to go grocery shopping before getting snowed in. So I did what umdaddy often does and bought anything that looked fresh, only later to figure out what to make for dinner.

I'm a planner. I like to follow a recipe (or use one to start with and modify as needed). So this week I'm a little out of my comfort zone. But can happily report we have yet to order take out!

I did have the wherewithal to buy basic ingredients to make a mirepoix (celery, onion, carrots) for a soup base. Plus with a handy stash of Muir Glen canned tomatoes, I knew I could whip up some soup perfect for a snowy day. Next time I'm making a double batch of a tweaked version of this soup from the Barefoot Contessa -- so I can freeze some and defrost for that day when I'm staring at a fridge with cilantro, pickles and a pomegranate (because they looked good at the time I was shopping).

Pappa al Pomodoro
Adapted from Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics

INGREDIENTS

• 3 tbs olive oil
• 1 onion chopped
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 3 carrots, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 cups (about half a loaf) diced day-old ciabatta bread
• 2 28-oz canned good diced tomatoes (san marzano or Muir Glen)
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 1/2 cup red wine
• 1 tbs fresh rosemary, chopped
• Salt and pepper

This week's meal plan from my 6-year-old

So this week I enlisted the help of my 6-year-old for this week's meal plan. I was half expecting it to look something like this:

Monday: Lemongrass Coconut Chicken Soup - he suggested "soup" on Monday. I suggested we make Ming Tsai's Lemongrass Coconut Chicken Soup from Simply Ming One-Pot Meals. One look at the photograph and the mention of coconut milk and he was sold.

Tuesday: Roast Chicken with Mac & Cheese and Green Beans - He drew a picture of a storm cloud and snow flakes. I asked him what we should make on a snowy day. He offered mac and cheese. I added a roast chicken (I'm anticipating we will have loads of time indoors for lots of cooking due to the impending blizzard) and green beans. He said okay, but would NOT be eating any chicken. Fine. 

Wednesday: Chili (or Beef Stew) - He suggested Turkey Chili, which we JUST had last night. I offered we make another "type" of chili (I was inspired to make Cooks Illustrated's Guinness Beef Stew by The Fortuitous Housewife). "Can I have it with chips?" Sure, kid.  

Thursday: Pizza - He reminded me we hadn't made pizza in a while. So I agreed we could make some this week. We'll do the usual plain cheese plus Hawaiian Ham & Pineapple. I'll be so sick of shoveling snow, perhaps this will magically teleport me to Hawaii? 

Friday: Scallion Pancakes - It's International Night at my kids' school, so we'll be feasting on a variety of cuisines from around the world. I plan on making and bringing these super easy and ridiculously addictive scallion pancakes by Joanne Chang. 

Have a great week!

Happy New Year! 2015 is off to a good start so far: kids got up and got to school on time! This is short of a miracle after a 2-week break of going to bed at 10pm and waking up at 9am. I'm also back to sticking to a weekly meal plan which includes lots of healthier recipes. Because you know, it's not the start of the new year without some resolutions to eat healthier and to exercise more. And wouldn't you know it - got in a workout and cooked up this delicious winter pasta dish. 2015, let's do this!

Monday: Pasta with Roasted Eggplant and Tomatoes - inspired by this Everday Food recipe, I make this dish by roasting chopped eggplant, red onions, garlic and tomatoes in the oven with oil, salt and pepper until they're golden and the vegetables are almost crisp around the edges. I toss this mixture with some cooked pasta, leftover pasta water and chopped basil.

Tuesday: Portuguese Kale and Potato Soup - okay, this dish from Gourmet may not be super healthy but there's kale! My family goes crazy for this and it's even better the next day.

Wednesday: Curried Shrimp and Cauliflower - need something that comes together quickly? Rice with this curried shrimp and cauliflower from Martha Stewart is our go-to recipe. Plus some Trader Joe's Naan hot from the oven.

Thursday: Chicken and Chickpea Tagine - I love making tagines in the winter. The wonderful smells while it cooks plus this hearty meal will warm you up on a particular cold day.

Friday: umdaddy special - I'm leaving Friday's dinner up to the big guy. I suggest delegating one meal to your partner too!

Have a good week!

The start of the 2014-15 school year is off to a good start. Transition to 4th grade and Kindergarten has been pretty smooth, and after-school activities are starting to pick up. Plus things here and here have definitely been picking up. So I'm relying on weekly meal plans to keep me on track to cook as many family dinners as possible.

So what's on the menu this week?

Monday: Pasta with Cauliflower, Bacon & Breadcrumbs - we love cauliflower, especially browned on a cast iron skillet. We love bacon even more. 

Tuesday: Roasted Chicken Thighs with Potato and Carrot Hash - From Dinner: The Playbook. this looks to be a good mid-week meal - hearty, warm-your-bones good.  

Wednesday: Prince Spaghetti Day - to kick off National Pasta Month, we're going old school with spaghetti and meatballs. What's not to love? 

Thursday: Asian Chicken Slaw - From Dinner: A Love Story, this one is a winner in our house. Lots of kid-friendly flavors, plus it comes together quickly. And it's healthy to boot.  

Friday: Loaded Fried Rice - end of week, fridge clearing recipe. Plus I have some delicious Chinese sausage from DePasquale's of Newton  I'll toss in for good measure. 

Have a great week!