The secret of this creamy lemon pasta primavera is simple: roast the vegetables in the oven first. You won’t regret the extra flavor, not one bit. Plus, if your kids are used to eating roasted vegetables, that’s a flavor ladder you can use to introduce them to something slightly new. All the familiar characters are…
Easy Focaccia Bread with Garlic & Rosemary
Well, the kids and I are obsessed. I’ve made this easy focaccia bread studded with fresh garlic and rosemary every day for the last three days (plus several more batches last week)–and no one is complaining. That’s because focaccia bread with garlic and rosemary is basically heaven in your hand. Soft and fluffy with JUST…
Country Carbonara with Bacon
You know my rule about posting recipes here. At least three out of my four children have to give it a thumbs up. But… Sometimes I have to make an exception. Because sometimes those crazy kids just don’t know. I’ve made this carbonara for a dozen adults now and every single one of them LOVED…
Veggie-Filled Tomato Sauce for Pasta, Pizza & More
When I started experimenting with a veggie-filled tomato sauce to add to pizza and pasta, I knew it needed to be FULL of good-for-you ingredients but all the sweet potatoes in the world wouldn’t matter if the result wasn’t tasty. I have four small kids, ages three, five, seven and eight and whether anyone will…
The Best Lasagna Cups in the World
Nothing to see here. Just lasagna you can HOLD IN YOUR HAND! S-O-L-D, says all four kids. Well, almost… Foodlets Reviews Foodlets Reviews are real comments from my four very real children. And I never include a recipe that doesn’t get at least 3 THUMBS UPS. Phoebe (8): “I really like how the crispy edges…
Make-Ahead Turkey Pesto Meatball Pockets
As the mom of four kids, here is one thing I believe: Making dinner doesn’t always have to be so hard. Because sometimes it is. So hard. The problem with managing a household full of four small kids is that I have all these Pinterest-y ideas about how our lives should work. I picture it…
Baked Turkey Pesto Meatballs (AKA Magical Pesto Meatballs!)
What makes these baked turkey pesto meatballs magical? Like our mac & cheese by the same name, it’s all the veggies that are built right in. That’s the magic. What makes these baked turkey pesto meatballs special Our meatballs are baked, not fried. So you pop one pan into the oven and never once worry…
My Favorite Pasta Recipe I Learned Living in Italy: Amatriciana
If you came to visit me when we lived in Rome, I would’ve made you this pasta. That’s because it’s my favorite pasta recipe I learned living in Italy: Amatriciana. Like many of the world’s most delicious recipes Italian recipes are awfully easy, this one begins with bacon. Except in Rome it’s pancetta. That smokey flavor…
How to Make Marcella Hazan’s Bolognese in 1 Hour
Have you ever made Marcella Hazan’s bolognese sauce? It’s amazing. But it takes almost 4 hours. If you have one, two, four or nine small kids at your house like I do, this just won’t work. So as part of my quest to introduce our kids to delicious food made from fresh ingredients, with tons of…
20-Minute Pork Tenderloin with Balsamic Vinegar and So Many Olives
Slam dunk! All four kids (and one husband) LOVED this 20-minute pork tenderloin with balsamic vinegar and olives. That’s right, every single one of our four the kids gave it a Thumbs Up and one review: “The olives are the best part.” – Phoebe (6) Three of our kids were born in Italy, where we ate…
Easy Eggplant Parmesan (No Dredging, No Frying)
This no-fry eggplant parmesan got a solid “5 Stars!” from my mother-in-law. “Thumbs Up!” from my father-in-law. Baby Violet is one year old and DEVOURED her first eggplant parmesan without caring whether it was dredged, easy or not! Ditto for my six year old. Here’s how you can make it too: 2 Shortcuts for Deliciously…
DIY bruschetta kids love
Well, something amazing happened. Picture 5:30pm. On a bad day. You know, when the kids are yelling and fussing, you’re trying to get plates on the table and just as you do…everyone groans? Your husband is still at work and you’re wondering why you even bother making fresh meals for a knee-high crowd who doesn’t care? Now…
Saucy Meatball Sliders from “Real Baby Food”
I love mini food for kids. It’s easy for them to handle and the portion sizes are perfect. But there’s something I like even more than mini food, versatile food. Meatballs can be served straight-up, in pasta or on small buns as sliders. Like these! Whole wheat dinner rolls make the excellent “buns” and bonus, you…
Easy Veggie Calzones
MY KIDS WERE BORN IN ITALY so they know their way around a pizza. But calzones were new to them. I loved these veggie calzones for their individual portions and portability. Plus they’re basically a pocket to fill with vegetables. Lots of kids have trouble eating veggies at dinner, partially because that’s the only time of…
Toasted Turkey, Salami & Cheese Sandwiches: Homemade Mini-Grinders
THERE WERE TWO STOPLIGHTS in the town where I grew up. And in between them was Rome Pizza. I told you about how much I loved their Hawaiian pizza when I was a kid but they also made something so mouthwatering I still remember it, all these years later. Grinders. But here’s the thing: I only…
2 Dinners in 1: Grilled Chicken Becomes Creamy Lemon Pasta and Peanut Ginger Stir-Fry
MAKING DINNER EVERY NIGHT ISN’T EASY. This, we know. One of my favorite new techniques for getting food on the table is actually cooking less. Yep. By cooking one base I can make at least two meals. We’ve done it with ground beef, rice and tomatoes in Stuffed Red Peppers, which later became the base…
easy pasta with zucchini, tomatoes & fresh mozzarella cheese
THERE ARE TIMES WHEN I NEED TO MAKE DINNER FAST. Before the Clifford video runs out. Before 2-month old Violet starts wailing for her own dinner. Before I turn from Pretty Nice Mommy into Awfully Frazzled Mommy. That’s where a quick pasta dish full of fresh vegetables like this comes in handy. There’s also the…
shrimp, feta & corn pizza
I KNOW, I KNOW. What’s wrong with pepperoni? Not single a thing. We just happen to have a 5-year-old major shrimp lover at our house, so when I saw a similar idea in a magazine recently, I gave it a shot. As usual, the adults liked it more than the kids, except for the one, but…
15-minute cheesy pasta with chicken & spinach
THIS PASTA DISH IS A 3-BOWLER. At least it was for Phoebe, our 5-year-old. Okay, okay. I admit it. I also found myself eating at least another helping, standing next to the sink while I pretended to “clean the kitchen” after dinner. It’s just that kind of pasta dish. And there’s even better news: the recipe is…
simple pasta with tomatoes, basil & mozzarella
AS PART OF OUR SEMI-DELUDED PLAN to have friends over this weekend, we served homemade rolls along with two pastas, including this one that I learned how to make when we lived in Italy. Our wonderful guests brought veggies and desserts including a chocolate layer caked called “Tall, Dark and Handsome”. And yes, we’re inviting them…