These adorable cheese-filled shamrocks start with our super simple bread dough recipe, with three quick additions: spinach Parmesan cheese mozzarella cheese sticks They’re a perfect idea for St. Patrick’s Day food, either in lunchboxes or serving a crowd. How to make cheese-filled shamrocks Prep the spinach & Parmesan Cook 1/2 cup frozen spinach (or fresh)…
12 Easy Spinach Recipes Kids Like (Adults, Too!)
Spinach recipes kids like! Sounds like an oxymoron, right? Trust me, as a mom of four kids, it’s felt that way sometimes. But now we’ve tried, tested and eaten our way through SO MANY spinach recipes that I’m sharing my keepers with you here. Here are a few of our very favorite, tried-and-true, even-the-kids-like-them spinach…
Sausage & Spinach Over Rice: A 15-Minute Dinner Kids Love
You just can’t beat sausage for quick, delicious flavor. The stuff comes brimming with flavor, straight from the store. You also can’t beat frozen spinach for knock-your-socks off nutrition in a handy little bag. Today we’re combining both for an amazing dinner, an easy dinner, a 4-Thumbs Up dinner done in minutes. Yep, a 15-minute dinner kids…
Birds’ Nests: Baked Pasta Cups with Spaghetti & Spinach
Leftover pasta becomes an easy lunch for kids, one with a little imagination that makes for cute lunch discussions. It also includes spinach. Because you know my policy on making things Florentine: Do it as often as possible. We’d had spaghetti for dinner the night before. I threw in an extra handful of whole-wheat pasta, then stored…
Easy Pita Pizzas with Cheese & Spinach
There’s nothing like an easy lunch for the kids. Unless it’s a healthy lunch. And this one’s both. Bonus, even though these easy pita pizzas with cheese & spinach are warm and gooey, the whole thing is done in 5 minutes flat. Our kids don’t always like a “cooked lunch”. I’m guessing because they often have to…
Spinach & Pineapple Popsicles, Really!
Looking for simple, kid-friendly spinach recipes? Spinach is one of the most nutritious foods you can eat, which makes it a habit I want our kids to grow up with. Our garden must have got the memo because it’s gone crazy with spinach this year.So far I’ve made Sauteed Spinach with Garlic, Green Eggs &…
Sauteed Spinach with Garlic is the Best Frozen Spinach Recipe
There are many things to love about this frozen spinach recipe. First, it’s super versatile: Dice garlic, use the kind in a jar or grab garlic powder from your pantry. Use frozen spinach or fresh. Add wine or chicken broth. It’s all up to you. I also love this frozen spinach recipe because it’s vaguely…
how to make our “green goblin” soup
WISH YOUR KIDS WOULD TRY A BITE OF SOMETHING, ANYTHING, GREEN? Here’s a great tip I learned from another mom recently, change what you call it. Instead of my usual, “Ki-ids, I made you some healthy spinach soup!”, then listening for the sound of toys instantly hitting the floor followed by tiny feet pattering to the…
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…
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…
spinach wraps 2 ways for st. patrick’s day
WHO KNEW THE EASIEST WAY TO RING IN ST. PATRICK’S DAY was found in a package of spinach wraps? I bought a simple bag of 6 sandwich wraps from the grocery store then made two things today. The first was lunch. My preschoolers (ages 4 and 3) were surprisingly thrilled with their green roll-ups. “Ooooh, it’s…
cheese tortellini recipe idea with spinach and bacon
This cheese tortellini recipe idea without red sauce is one of my favorite easy dinners for kids. And we made it out of need on one very, very cold night. (And then kept making it and making it!) There was an ice storm. Way before the cheese tortellini recipe idea came in. I don’t have…
tropical green smoothies
ROUNDING OUT OUR FESTIVE IDEAS FOR ST. PATRICK’S DAY is another simple, healthy recipe. It’s also green and according to munchkins around here, very good.
super spinach cupcakes
THAT’S RIGHT, NOW I PUT SPINACH IN THE CUPCAKES. They’re festive for St. Patrick’s Day but so full of yummy vanilla goodness that the kids love them year round, and I don’t think twice about rounding out lunches with one (or even two).
very green broccoli mac & cheese
YES I PUT BROCCOLI (AND SPINACH) IN THE MAC & CHEESE BUT HEAR ME OUT. When Estelle turned three she actually asked for this dish to be served for her birthday lunch with friends. Despite a pretty serious invasion of vegetables, this stuff is very tasty. Downright company-worthy. Especially when you’re two going on three….
a little shot of spinach, the best way to start dinner!
This is an idea straight from “French Kids Eat Everything“, and I love it. In her amazing memoir about moving to France with two picky eaters then watching the European culture transform their whole family, Karen Le Billon explains that many French households have a baby food maker handy, even if they don’t have a baby….
super simple turkey pot pie (and yes, I cheated)
WHEN YOU HAVE A FRIDGE FULL OF TURKEY and a house full of guests, the best way to handle both is a big casserole of turkey pot pie, just like this one. It’s a new riff on the Barefoot Contessa’s chicken pot pie recipe we made over once (and still the number one recipe of…
spicy pasta with chicken, spinach and goat cheese
I’M BREAKING A PRETTY BIG RULE HERE. The idea of making two meals, one for the kids and another for the adults, is just too exhausting for me to even consider on most days. But for our Halloween lunch, I decided to spare the moms those mummy turkey dogs. Instead we adapted a recipe from…
a healthy twist on green eggs and ham
THIS IS ONE OF MY TRICKS. Since I try to cook (almost) every night, I take a shortcut and make breakfast for dinner about once a week. It’s always easy, usually inexpensive, handy because the ingredients are in the pantry–and best of all, the kids love it.
Little Bit o’Spinach Shortbread Cookies for St. Patrick’s Day
OUR KIDS HAVE BEEN MISBEHAVING. I’m sure this never happens at your house, but this has been one of those weeks. We’ve had a whining, crying, tantrum-throwing, Pull-Up-removing time of it for days now. But this morning when Paul and I mentioned working toward a picnic dinner at the playground tonight, as in, we only…