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| Goofyfoot Photography |
As the family cook, I have a difficult
job. I am sure some of you other mothers
can relate. Daily, I am challenged to
make a healthy, delicious meal that everyone will eat – and hopefully ask for
again and again. I often feel like my
cooking efforts go unappreciated, and my beautiful meals are “wasted” on their
picky palates. On those days when I hear
“Yum Mommy, this is really good,” I feel like a rock star! I have found the key to “rock star” status
usually involves simple
presentation, minimal ingredients, and do-it-yourself options. Essentially, the kids need to be
able to recognize all of the ingredients easily in the dish, as well as be able
to customize their plate to their liking.
Below are three meals that do just that, and are on my kids’ current
list of weeknight favorites.
Chili Potatoes
Serves 2 adults and 3 kids
This is definitely not the most glamorous of
meals, but it is simple (due to its use of semi-homemade ingredients) and very
delicious. I like to serve it with a
simple green salad or steamed broccoli.
Ingredients:
4 large Russet potatoes, washed and scrubbed
4 cups of vegan chili
2 cups of shredded Daiya cheddar cheese
1 jar of salsa
Vegan sour cream
Directions:
1. Poke potatoes with a fork all
over the skins. Cook in microwave
approximately 10-15 minutes.
2.
Heat chili in a saucepan (or
make your own pot if you are feeling ambitious!). We love the vegetarian chili at Trader Joe’s.
3.
Cut each potato in half and then
lengthwise. Mash the center of each potato
until it is slightly mashed.
4.
Ladle a ½ cup of chili over the top
of the potato.
5.
Top with vegan cheese, salsa,
and/or sour cream
Baked Pasta
Serves 8-10
This is one of my family’s go-to weeknight
meals. I can prepare it in the morning
or earlier in the day and just pop it in the oven when we are ready to
eat. Now that I am cutting back on
gluten, it is also super easy to swap out wheat pasta with brown rice or quinoa
pastas instead.
Ingredients:
1 pound of pasta noodles (such as rigatoni, penne,
mostaccoli, or fusilli)
2 jars of marinara sauce
2 packages Daiya mozzarella style cheese
1 container of Go Veggie! Parmesan cheese
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cook pasta according to package
directions and drain. Set aside.
3.
Ladle ½ cup of marinara sauce in
the bottom of a 9x12 baking dish.
4.
Add a layer of pasta on top of
the marinara sauce.
5.
Top with the Daiya cheese and
then the vegan Parmesan cheese.
6.
Add another layer of pasta. Spoon half of the remaining marinara on top
of the pasta. Top with cheeses.
7.
Add the rest of the pasta on
top. Cover with the remaining sauce. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top.
8.
Bake for approximately 30
minutes until cheese is melted and heated through.
Black Bean and Corn Tacos
Taco Tuesday is my kids’ favorite meal of the
week. It probably has a lot to do with
the fact that Grandma and Grandpa join us for dinner that night, but they are
pretty crazy about the tacos too! We go
all out with homemade guacamole, an onion-cilantro relish, and a black bean and
corn filling. I like to use romaine
lettuce leaves as shells, while my kids love homemade fried corn tortilla
shells.
Click here for the recipe.
