Mashed Potatoes in 8 Minutes, Beef Stew in 35

Posted on November 24, 2016 by admin

Back in March I began a new career in wine sales. I love my job but find one of the biggest challenges is getting a good meal together if I haven’t planned ahead. But last Christmas I bought my husband an electric programmable pressure cooker, and it’s been a life-saver. I am using it all the time.

One thing about my job is the inconsistency in my schedule. I am driving all over lower Fairfield County and at the mercy of I95 and Merritt Parkway traffic, which seems to get worse each week. I sometimes have shorter days where I’ll get home at a reasonable time, and then at the end of each month, I’m working well into the late evening. So, planning dinner is a challenge, as I’m not always certain when I’ll get home and not always sure if my husband will be home with food ready or ready to cook.

I have found that I can still get dinner on the table in under 45 minutes if I use the pressure cooker, but more often can get it done in 20 minutes if it’s not elaborate or needing extra time to cook. Beef stew, like our family recipe of “Eintopf” which normally takes at least 3 hours to cook, can been cooked from start to finish in around 45-50 minutes– including the peeling of potatoes, cutting of onions and browning of beef. My Instant Pot cooks the stew in 35 minutes. Now, if I had planned I could also use the slow cooker (crockpot) to make it, but this is for when I haven’t planned, which is more often than not.

How about cooking potatoes in 7-8 minutes to mash? For those nights when I can make dinner in 20 minutes (because we’ve got a practice, scout meeting, etc and that’s all the time I have), it’s a game-changer. And I just learnt that I can make baked potatoes using it in 25 minutes.
Pressure Cooker Mashed Potatoes
4-5 medium to large Russet potatoes
1/4 cup milk
1/3 stick of butter
salt and pepper to taste

Peel and cut potatoes in half or quarters (not too small), add to pressure cooker and cover with cold water. Set Manual time to 8 minutes Pressure. When done and steam/pressure is released, drain potatoes and add milk, butter, salt and pepper. Mash until you’ve got consistency you like. (You can add more milk if you need.)

We made chicken curry last week in 10 minutes… using chicken thighs. All we had to do was add the cut up chicken thighs to a good-quality jarred sauce with a little extra water (the water will evaporate). The entire meal took 15 minutes– the time it took to cook the rice.

I am not getting paid to endorse any product, I just love this! And I’m sure it’ll make a great gift for the busy person.

A Quick, Easy Kale Recipe

Posted on January 21, 2015 by admin

Kale is so in it’s almost out. Kale, the vegetable I used to avoid in the grocery aisle 10 years ago is now regularly eaten in our house. I use it in so many dishes, it’s hard to believe I once was frightened to cook with it. Actually a few times I’d buy it and end up throwing it out because I just didn’t know how to use it. Until we got our CSA that is. But since I’ve found how diverse it is- how many different recipes it can be used in. And in the past couple of years the varieties available are much greater.

I have several recipes on my site that include Kale, but I’ve come up with this new side dish that my kids love! It’s simple, it’s quick and it’s delicious.

Kale Sautéed with Garlic

3 cups kale leaves de-stemmed and chopped
2-3 garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 cup stock (vegetable or chicken)
2 tsp olive oil
Salt & pepper to taste

Heat olive oil and add garlic. Sauté over medium high heat for a couple of minutes, careful not to brown or burn. Add kale and stock. Stir then cover. Continue to cook for about 7 minutes until kale is slightly wilted but hasn’t lost color. Add salt and pepper– careful if stock is salty. Strain and serve.

A Little Sneakiness Sometimes Necessary

Posted on October 20, 2014 by admin

Not usually one to sneak vegetables into my kids food, except maybe throwing some kale or spinach into smoothies, every once in a while I feel it necessary. My youngest two are the picky ones and if we’ve been out and about a lot, I realize they aren’t getting enough greens. Unfortunately, my youngest isn’t getting it at school either, since he doesn’t like how they cook the vegetables and only picks carrots for the raw ones. So, I made a green sauce as a way to combat this. Luckily my kids aren’t afraid of or avoid green sauces: they like pesto and green Thai curries. Since my middle son complains when too many items are mixed together- say in one pot meals, it prompted me. Instead of having lots of greens they may pick out and mushrooms, which all three eschew, I blended them all together with herbs and garlic to make the sauce.

Green Vegetable & Herb Pasta Sauce
Blend together in food processor or blender:
2-4 garlic cloves (depending on size and desired intensity)
2 good handfuls of basil, parsley, and/or cilantro
6-8 baby crimini or white button mushrooms
2 cups kale, spinach or swiss chard (or similar green vegetable)
1/4 cup olive oil
salt and pepper
(Optional: add 1/4 tsp cayenne for extra spice)

Using thighs or breast, cut chicken into bite sized pieces and add to 1 Tbsp Olive oil over medium-high heat sautéing until slightly browned. Lower heat and continue to cook chicken until nearly cooked through. Add cup of sauce to the chicken. Add 1/4 cup of cream. Add any extra vegetables you wish (or don’t add any if your kids won’t eat the dish with them in it). I put in baby kale and spinach. Cook another 5-7 minutes until sauce is heated through and vegetables slightly wilted. Serve tossed with pasta. Finish with Parmesan if wanted. I also added tomatoes at the end (although I knew the youngest two wouldn’t eat the tomatoes).

At least I knew my kids got a meal they found delicious and one I didn’t care if they pushed aside the greens.

Meals for Practice, Game & Other Activities Nights

Posted on May 21, 2014 by admin

Spring is such a busy time around my town. Many moms I know are so happy when summer arrives because evenings less hectic, since we usually don’t have to cart kids around to practices/games/scout meetings/lessons/club meetings plus still get home for dinner, homework, baths/showers as well as getting them to bed in time so they’ll get off to school the next morning on time with hair neatish, teeth brushed, homework completed and fed breakfast. Lately I’ve noticed requests and conversations about how to feed kids on those hectic spring evenings when they have all those after school activities. Especially if a mom/dad has more than one kid in a variety of sports with different days and times when these are scheduled.

Fresh vegetables are easy to take with you.

So, how to get kids fed nutritious food they’ll eat as well as not drive us crazy trying to prepare in the 50 seconds we’re home?
I’ve had a few posts with 10-20 minute recipes and other suggestions here, here, here and here.

Crockpots are a wonderful way to have dinner ready when you’ll be home for enough time it takes to eat. I’ve made stews, ratatouille, chili, soups in mine.

Cooking a pork butt to make pulled pork is always a kid pleaser. (Cooking the pork one day letting it cool in fridge overnight makes it easier to remove the fat. Just reheat portions with bbq sauce). I often serve it with coleslaw and either over noodles or on rolls. You can even wrap with foil to bring to your game/practice, etc.
Chicken stew with dumplings my mother-in-law introduced me to is a family favorite. Using the left-overs for a chicken pot pie stretches the one into two meals.
Roasting a chicken whole. Slice onions and line bottom of crockpot. Remove the giblets/neck and stuff chicken loosely with celery, carrots, thyme. Coat it with olive oil, salt pepper and Penzy’s Mural of Flavor Spice/Herb Mix and cook for 6 hours on top of the onions low. You can use the leftover bones to make stock in same crockpot.

What if we’re not home at dinner-time? Picnic-style dinners to bring with you, maybe even eat in the car.
Cucumbers, sugar snap peas, cherry tomatoes, bell peppers are fabulous to travel with and you can always bring some Ranch dressing if your kids like it. Yesterday we met with friends and I had a store-prepared tabouli, hummus, couple of cheeses, crackers, carrots, olives and yogurt squeezers with a bottle of seltzer. This was fine to tide them over or even to give them a balanced meal.

Cold pasta salad with vegetables & pesto

Tomatoes sliced, basil chiffonade…

CSA greens, Tatsoi & Cilantro salad

As I mentioned before you can wrap sandwiches in foil as well as burritos, quesadillas, and even full meals. There are so many containers out there to help you manage eating on the run.

If you have time before they get home from school plus the creativity and patience it takes, you can make fun bento-style containers for each kid. I love looking at some of the designs out there, but I’ve never had the time nor inclination to do it myself!

Quiche/Egg Pie – whether you make it or buy it many kids will like this classic egg pie. There are so many varieties with various ingredients. My kids love the NZ version with 2 crusts: Bacon & Egg Pie.

So, no need to always go to the drive-through at fast food chains or always stopping to pick up a pizza. It can be done with either some preparation or just a little planning. And summer is just around the corner! (Even though it feels as though winter finally just ended.)

Cince de Mayo

Posted on May 5, 2014 by admin

It’s my birthday and also Cinco de Mayo. So, I’ll be going out with my family and enjoying a margarita.

Avocado salsa

Here are a few of my recipes to make salsa at home. First one is a chunky guacamole, the second a quick tomato salsa, and last is mango salsa.

http://www.mykidsreallyeatthis.com/a-simple-way-to-make-a-delicious-avocado/

http://www.mykidsreallyeatthis.com/quick-salsa/

http://mykidsreallyeatthis.tumblr.com/recipes

A one pot meal ALL my kids liked

Posted on April 26, 2014 by admin

My posts have been few and far between. I’ve taken on another job and barely have time for laundry (actually have 4 baskets to fold and put away, when I finish this one). Lately my one pot meals haven’t been as successful for all three of my children. One or all of them will often not like what I’ve cooked, except when I make chili. They all (usually) love that. But this classic Italian dish I tried for the first time and they all devoured it and raved how delicious it was. And not one complained about any of the ingredients (mushrooms, hot peppers).

I didn’t look up any recipe for this, but adapted it from versions I’d had in restaurants. I altered it slightly for my younger sons by not adding the hot cherry peppers until I’d dished theirs out. So, I catered to their tastes slightly, without compromising the whole dish. My youngest like black pepper but aren’t really into very hot spicy dishes yet. Whereas, my eldest will add Sriracha and habanero powder to almost anything.
This takes about 20 minutes to make with breasts and longer with thighs.

Chicken Scarpariello* with Spinach
1 small onion
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 chicken breasts or 4 thighs, cut in pieces
½ cup white wine
1½ cups of chicken stock
1 qt of mushrooms, sliced
1 bunch of baby spinach
3 sausage links (I used precooked spinach & garlic chicken sausage, can use sweet Italian)
Handful of hot cherry peppers (can use sliced red bell pepper if you prefer)
¾ Tbsp dried oregano
¾ Tbsp dried basil
Salt & Pepper to taste
Olive oil

Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in pan over medium-high heat, add onions. Sauté for a several minutes, after they’re nearly translucent, add the garlic. Sauté for another few minutes. Remove from heat and set aside the onions, garlic. Put pan back on stove and add more olive oil if needed. Sear the chicken pieces for a couple of minutes then add the onion mix back in (if using bell peppers, add now). Add the wine, then after about 30 seconds add the stock. After stock has started to simmer, add the sliced sausage, mushrooms, spinach, and herbs. Turn heat down to medium-low and cover. After the spinach has wilted and sausage is warmed through, add hot cherry peppers, if you’re having them. Add salt and pepper then serve over pasta. (If you are using chicken thighs, make sure they’ve cooked throughout. 165°F. Breasts don’t take as long.) 094

I guess this is technically two pots since pasta needs to cook separately! Feet up instead of thumbs up!

My kids really liked this and ate it all. It’s one I’ll be making again soon!

(*my version)

Cutest Review

Posted on March 24, 2014 by admin

My seven year old son had to write a review or critique of something in his first grade class. He chose to write about the restaurant that’s just opened near us (and I’m actually bartending at a couple of times a week). I had to share the review because in my thoroughly biased opinion, it is adorable.

7 year old’s opinion

My eldest son, who is now 12, said that it should’ve read “if you like high quality food” instead of “chicken fingers”, but everyone’s a critic.

Some people might see this and may think, “Vanessa allows her kids chicken fingers?” but that is often a misconception on my food views. Yes, I do allow chicken fingers and fries and other stuff, just not all the time. Plus The Spinning Wheel’s chicken fingers are whole pieces of breast meat with their own breading. It’s not made of mechanically separated parts mixed with who-knows-what.

I have a couple of recipes for those who’d like to make their own at home. My original one is here and another one has a crunchy coating. They’re much, much healthier than the majority of prepared chicken fingers/nuggets/popcorn you’ll find in the stores or fast food places.

One thing I find I often need to do if we eat out and they order from the children’s menu, is to order a side of vegetables or a salad, because too commonly, restaurants don’t serve vegetables with the kids’ meals.

If you take your kids out to eat, do they share their opinions on the food? Do they get a balanced meal?

Easy Peasy Pie Crust

Posted on November 27, 2013 by admin

I used to shy away from making my own pie crusts because I thought it was difficult and time consuming. Then I read Mark Bittman’s recipe and how it just takes a few minutes with a food processor. The recipe I use is adapted from Allison Holst’s pie crust in her Bacon & Egg pie recipe. You can add some sugar for a sweet pie crust.

Pie Crust
1 1/2 cups AP flour (more if needed plus some for dusting surface)
1/4 cup spelt flour (optional- use more AP if omitting)
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 stick unsalted butter, very cold & cut into pieces
3/4 cup milk
1 tsp vinegar

Add vinegar to milk and set aside.

Pulse dry ingredients together in food processor until mixed. Add butter and process until butter is mostly incorporated (fine if small pieces, but don’t over do it as you want some chunky bits for flakiness).

Slowly add milk/vinegar. The dough should start coming together, if too sticky add more flour. It will be done when it forms a ball.

Place on floured surface and split into 2 or you can wrap well and place in fridge for a couple of days.
Roll with flour on both sides so it doesn’t stick.

When it is your desired thickness/thinness you can place in pie plate. Fill and bake!

This was a version of bacon & egg pie I made because I messed up a recipe calling for egg yolks– I blended the whole egg together; actually 11 whole eggs.

At least I have a great lunch and possibly dinner!

Now to go get some more eggs so I can make my Thanksgiving Day Apple Cream Pie (using just egg yolks!)

Grilled Corn Elote

Posted on July 23, 2013 by admin

So many of our meals in the summer are cooked outside on the grill. Whether it’s meat, fish, chicken or vegetables the grill is a wonderful way to get out of a hot kitchen and provide tasty dinner. We get a bit repetitive with some of our favorite warm weather meals but every once in a while I like to change it up a bit by adding a little twist.

chili lime butter for corn

Like the corn I’ll be grilling this weekend at my son’s annual camp out birthday party. We always provide dinner on the beach and those who want to camp out join us for breakfast. I love corn that’s grilled in its husk. It steams it but also imparts a smokiness. Sometimes we’ll take them out of the husk and might par-boil in a pan then finish on the grill for a more smoky-grilled-woodiness. This time I’ll be adding a butter to the cobs while in the husk to add a Mexican touch. Continue reading →

Summer Meal in a Flash

Posted on July 9, 2013 by admin

Between my part time work, boys’ swim lessons, swim team practice, speech therapy, and BMX practice and my Park & Rec Commission meeting there was little time to cook dinner last night but we still managed to have a quick and healthy meal.

I sound like a broken record, but I find so many convenient yet healthful foods at Trader Joe’s. Last night I cooked Mahi Mahi burgers and served them with sides of spinach and broccoli. The boys had theirs plain, but for mine I added a bit of a flavor treat. One of my favorite combinations of flavors is Mahi Mahi with mango salsa. Since the boys had to run out to BMX track and I had to get to a meeting I just skipped some of the parts, but still created a similar taste. I added a slices of mango and avocado and some Sriracha. So delicious! Going to do that again soon.

Trader Joe’s Mahi Mahi Burgers with avocado and mango

My Kids Really Eat This

getting kids to eat well in the real world

Category Archives: Dinner