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 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!

It's that time of year again. Highlights (and lowlights) of the past year are flooding my newsfeed. New diets and detox regimens for a "new you." New Year Resolutions. For me, I like to review some of my best meals and with that, moments in the past year. Drum roll please...

#10: Matzo Ball Soup - this was my second time ever making matzo ball soup. I made them with schmaltz (melted chicken fat). No matzo ball mix here. The result? Crazy good.

#9: DIY Rice Bowls with Fried Egg - Such a humble dish but all-around family favorite. Rice topped with some stir-fry veggies and a fried egg. One dish you won't need a recipe for.

#8: Scallion Pancakes - These golden beauties from Joanne Chang's Flour, Too cookbook are now a must-have during Chinese New Year celebrations.

#7: Roasted Pumpkin Soup at Henrietta's Table - I had the good fortune of getting a cooking demonstration by Chef Peter Davis for making this luscious soup. It's a bowl full of Autumn.

#6: Asian-Style BBQ Chicken - from one of my 2014 favorite cookbooks, Dinner: The Playbook, this BBQ chicken dish is packed with flavor. Plus my kids love it and it's so easy to make. Yep, it's a keeper.

#5: Warm Couscous Salad with Roasted Autumn Vegetables and Ginger-Scallion Dressing - from my other favorite 2014 cookbook, Flour, Too, this dish is hearty but so good for you, you can't help but love it.

#4: The Countdown - this was my favorite cocktail at one of my new favorite restaurants this year - Alden & Harlow. I can't recall what's in this drink (their drink menu changes regularly). What I can remember was this was a perfect drink for raising a glass to turning the big 4-0.

#3: Momofuku Noodle Bar's Shiitake Bun - this was a bittersweet meal. My long-awaited first visit to Momofuku Noodle Bar in NYC only happened because we were in the city for my grandmother's funeral. It was sad having to say goodbye, but so lovely being with family over some of the best food I've ever had.

#2: Sharing platter - there was nothing extraordinary about this charcuterie and cheese board. What makes it one of my favorite meals is the fact that this was our last picnic dinner on one of our favorite beaches on Cape Cod. Sigh.

#1: Mother's Day Breakfast - Oh my God, was this good. Umdaddy surprised me with the best breakfast a mom could ask for: Fried egg over baby arugula, skillet fried fingerling potatoes and monkey bread french toast. Not only was this out-of-this-world-good, but I got to share it with my family. I am so very lucky.

Here's to even more delicious meals with those you love in 2015!

I confess - I am a messy cook! The boys' play kitchen is in better condition than what our kitchen looks like after I tackle dinner. I read once the secret to a happy kitchen is to clean and put away as you cook. I don't know about you, but I can barely hold it together with several pots bubbling away on the stove while reading a recipe and pushing the littlest one away from open flame all at the same time.

That is why I gravitate toward one-pot meals for everyday dinners. Not only is there less to clean-up, but the stress-level comes down a notch when I only have to worry about one cooking vessel and not having to be in the kitchen the whole time. Chili, soup, and tagines are wonderful one-pot meals in my book. Then I came across a paella recipe in Mark Bittman's Food Matters: A Guide to Conscious Eating. Make this and you will want to trade all your sauce pans, stock pots, roasting pans for a paella pan.



Paella
Adapted from Mark Bittman's Food Matters: A Guide to Conscious Eating

INGREDIENTS
3 1/2 cups chicken broth, plus more if needed
Pinch saffron threads
1 lbs ripe tomatoes, cored and cut into thick wedges
Salt and freshly ground pepper
3 tbs olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tbs tomato paste
2 tsp paprika
3 oz chorizo, cut into 1/4 inch pieces
2 cups white rice
6 large peeled shrimp
2 boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1/2-inch chunks
1 cup fresh or frozen corn
Chopped fresh parsley leaves for garnish

DIRECTIONS
1. Heat the oven to 450 degrees F. Warm the broth and the saffron in a small sauce pan. Put tomatoes in a medium bowl, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and drizzle them with 1 tbs olive oil. Toss to coat.

2. Put the remaining oil in a 12-inch oven proof skillet over medium-high heat. When oil is hot, add onion, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and cook stirring occasionally until it softens (3-5 minutes). Stir in tomato paste, paprika and chorizo and cook for a minute more.

spicy chorizo gave the dish some heat but not too much

3. Add the rice and cook, stirring occasionally until shiny (1-2 minutes). Add the warm broth and stir until just combined, then stir in the shrimp, chicken and corn.

Tomato wedges made this dish extra meaty

4. Put the tomato wedges on top of the rice and drizzle with juices that accumulated in the bottom of the bowl. Put the pan in the oven and bake, undisturbed, for 15-20 minutes. Check to see if the rice is nearly dry and just tender. When rice is ready, turn off oven and let it sit 5-15 minutes.

5. Remove the pan from the oven and sprinkle with parsley. Optional: put the pan over high heat for a few minutes to develop a bit of a bottom crust before serving.

The Good: Quick and easy. Did I mention this is made in one pot?

The Bad: Not an authentic paella, but we still loved it.

Grade: A. A rice dish packed with delicious veggies and protein. The boys asked for seconds!

My sister and I grew up in our family's restaurant, watching my parents work tirelessly to see the family business endure for over 40 years. My dad was the chef and my mom the GM. I watched in admiration as my dad whipped up one dish after another. Needless to say, many of our family meals were staff meals at 'restaurant hours'. But it was in the intimacy of our home kitchen I learned how to cook from my mom.

In honor of mother's day, here are some tips my mom passed on to me that I now share with my boys:

1. Fresh ginger: a little bit of fresh ginger goes a long way in almost every Asian dish. Add it to steamed rice, soups, stir-fry, tea - anything that could use a little spice, mellow sweetness, and warmth.

2. Making perfect rice: growing up in a Asian home, I thought the only way you cooked rice was with a rice cooker (Uncle Ben's was completely foreign to me). Here's how to cook rice in a rice cooker: 1) Measure uncooked rice and pour into cooking pot. 2) Rinse with cold water 2-3 times and tip and drain water. 3) Place pot on flat surface and place your palm down flat on top of the rice. 4) Fill cooker with enough water so that it just about reaches your knuckles. 5) Wipe outside of pot and place in cooker. 6) Press cook and enjoy! BTW - this is for white, long grain rice.

3. Fresh ingredients: only use the freshest ingredients for any dish. My mom will inspect every piece of produce to ensure it hasn't been picked over or sitting around. It really does make a difference in overall taste and quality.

4. The Wok - great multitasker: Woks are more than just for a stir-fry. It can be used as a steamer for many traditional and healthy asian dishes. You can use bamboo steamers or set a platter on a steamer rack. Woks are great for deep frying too. I've also used woks for blanching veggies.

5. Treat yourself to a nice meal: We've all had those days - too tired to prepare a home cooked meal or find yourself in a menu rut. Pizza and takeout are perfectly fine solutions for days like this. But some of my favorite memories are of eating out at good restaurants as a family. Besides eating a delicious dish, there's nothing more satifying than enjoying a really good meal and not have to do a single thing.

So to all moms out there - Happy Mother's Day and here's to a day of not having to do a single thing!