My littlest ChowBaby is already 5 months old. I can hardly believe it! Time is flying and, relatively speaking, it’s been a smooth ride. But, all that said, my big guy is missing me. Lots. And so I’ve decided to carve out even more one-on-one time with him. We’re having tons of fun, but our new Monday afternoon excursions are putting a cramp in my dinner style. By the time we’re back home and settled in, it’s about 30 minutes to eatin’ time. And, when trying to coordinate dinner, 2 baths (ha!) and 2 bedtimes, there isn’t much flexibility.
So the new challenge: come up with even more healthy and SUPER quick recipes. This one was inspired by the Martha Stewart app, my new source for perusing recipes (on the go!). This recipe couldn’t be easier. And in the 30 minutes that it takes from start to finish, you can also make rice (cook in rice cooker or on the stove top according to package directions) or quinoa pilaf (cook on the stove top according to directions then toss with olive oil, white wine vinegar, dried cranberries, slivered almonds and green onion) and roast some asparagus (clean, trim, toss with olive oil and salt on a rimmed baking sheet; as soon as salmon is done, heat oven to 350 degrees and roast asparagus until cooked through, time will depend on how thick your asparagus is).
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Photo: LDHNY

We’re definitely coming out of the woods as far as the infancy craziness. Not only is our new ChowBaby dreamy and laid back, but he’s also already 2-months-old! He’s sleeping for longer chunks of time and even allowing me to get a decent night’s sleep most evenings. While I’m excited to be able to make dinner every night again (at least for now), I always like to make one dish a week that will last a few meals and/or freeze well. It’s a trick that every family cook should add to their repertoire. It takes hardly any extra time or effort and affords you a night off from cooking, not to mention great packed lunches. The best is when your freezer start to fill up with such meals. It takes the pressure off, especially useful during busy times like the holidays.
This Spinach Lasagna is made with my Deliciously Simple, Rich (Turkey) Meat Sauce. The combo of vegetable, lean meat, pasta and cheese makes this a healthy, complete meal. Once you make the sauce, which takes 2 1/2 to 3 hours largely unattended (and can be made a day or two ahead of making lasagna), putting the lasagna together is a snap. It requires no more than 15 minutes prep time.
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Photo:Hamachi!

I don’t usually make meat sauce. See, the ChowPapa used to make a mean meat sauce back in the day and, along with orzo risotto, it became one of those dishes that only he made. But it’s been ages (seriously—I’m talking years) since he’s made a batch, so I decided to take matters into my own hands.
Knowing how to make a delicious ragu is a gift—something handed down or perfected over time—so I prepared for several rounds of recipe development before I had anything worthy of sharing. But (not to toot my own horn or anything!) this sauce was rocking after the first try, even having used turkey instead of beef. Wanna know how I did it? Read on!
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Just yesterday I posted that I was sitting Thanksgiving out. But by now you probably know that I didn’t mean that literally. Right? I mean, I couldn’t keep from cooking all together. That’s just silly! I just meant that I’d make a little something something… like this Apple Cranberry Chutney.

Making a cranberry sauce was a risky choice. See, my mom isn’t that into cooking. She doesn’t have recipes to pass down, nor does she have any signature recipes. Well… except cranberry sauce, which is why I probably should have left it alone. But I couldn’t help myself. It’s so easy to make and, even though her recipe will always be the holiday recipe, I had to entertain some ideas I had for making it my own.
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Photo: prettywar-stl

The ChowBaby and I were stuck on the train coming back from the American Museum of Natural History the other day. It was naptime and I was hell-bent on keeping him from falling asleep so that I could put him down when we got home—and actually get an hour or two of work in! So I regaled him with some of his favorite stories, including the one of my honeymoon in Tunisia.
Not only did I manage to keep him awake, I was also inspired to make something honeymoon-ish to surprise the ChowPapa when he got home from work. Without much time to spare, I whipped up one of my favorite North African street foods: the omelet sandwich. It reminded me that a simple change of spices can make something old Iike an egg sandwich new again.
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Photo: jensteele

As I mentioned in my post yesterday, I’m on a peach kick—enjoying my first truly delicious peaches of the season. Maybe it is the wet weather we’ve had, but my first peaches in July were mealy. Ick. Now that August is here, however, all that has changed. And the ChowFamily is relishing my favorite pitted fruit.
For dessert last night, I decided to macerate some peaches. Pre-kid, macerating usually involved alcohol. But post-kid, I’ve turned to using either sugar alone or a combo of sugar and balsamic vinegar. In combination with the kick of a  little fresh ginger, this goes great over whole milk yogurt for a snack, over ice cream for dessert, and even spread on toast for breakfast.
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