Family Bites

A Spring Dinner Menu

When I worked in catering, putting together a menu was my favourite part of the job. I didn’t care if it was a cocktail party for 65 people, or a sit-down dinner for eight. The act of coming up with a combination of food that would please the palate was like assembling a delicious puzzle, and it thrilled me.

I can’t say things are much different at home, and I’m always excited when there’s an occasion on the calendar that requires me to menu plan. For me, it isn’t just about putting together a list of things I think taste good together - though that is important, too - but I also like to think about which ingredients are in season, and if I have a balance of flavours and textures on the plate (pro tip: there should always be something that lends a little crunch).

A few weekends ago I planned a spring dinner menu just for fun. Ironically, as I was putting pen to paper, the wind was whipping around my backyard as it circled the ice pellets bouncing off the grass. Spring? It hardly seemed so, but if there’s ever time to hunker down in the kitchen it’s when you’re confined to the house because of the weather, regardless of the season. Here’s a look at what I came up with:

• Crispy Parmesan Chicken Cutlets
• Cheddar and Green Onion Biscuits
• Steamed Peas with Butter and Lemon
• Broccoli Slaw

I knew I would start with the crispy parmesan chicken cutlets because they are a favourite of everyone in my family, finicky toddler included. They can be prepped in advance (see recipe) and even served at room temperature, if desired. I didn’t want to serve potatoes, rice, or pasta (again), so I settled on quick-to-make baking powder biscuits with cheddar and green onions. They are a cinch to make, but can also be baked earlier in the day if necessary (it’s all about what can be made ahead of time, don’t you think?).

The steamed peas with butter and lemon are literally a five-minute side dish that requires little effort and almost no dishes. To round out the meal, I opted for a broccoli slaw instead of a salad. I like the idea of this because you can choose to make the slaw from scratch or use a store-bought bagged slaw. If you choose the latter, my suggestion is to ditch the accompanying salad dressing and make something homemade instead. It elevates the dish and makes everything taste better.

Crispy Parmesan Chicken Cutlets

Serves 4 to 6

• 6 small boneless, skinless chicken cutlets
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 1/2 cups panko (Japanese breadcrumbs) or Italian-style breadcrumbs
• ½ cup grated Parmesan
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground pepper
• 8 to 10 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1 lemon, halved

1. Place a piece of chicken on a cutting board. Run a sharp knife through the centre of the chicken lengthwise to create two thin cutlets. Repeat with remaining chicken pieces and set aside.

2. Place flour in a shallow bowl. Beat eggs and mustard in a second shallow bowl. Combine panko and Parmesan in a third shallow bowl.

3. Season chicken pieces generously on both sides with salt and pepper, then dredge in flour, shaking off any excess. Transfer to the bowl with beaten egg and turn to coat. Remove from bowl, allowing excess to drip back into bowl. Coat with panko mixture, pressing to adhere evenly on both sides.

4. Heat 6 tablespoons oil in a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Working in 2 to 3 batches, cook cutlets, adding oil to pan between batches, until golden brown and cooked through, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer cutlets to a paper towel-lined plate and season with salt. Serve with lemon halves.

Tip: Recipe can be prepped through to step 3 and then frozen. Place breaded chicken pieces between piece of parchment paper and freeze in resealable freezer bags. Thaw completely before continuing with the recipe.

Harissa Chicken with Potatoes and Asparagus

Earlier this year, when I asked you what you want to read about here, the recurring theme was “easy weeknight dinners made in one pot.” I breathed a huge sigh of relief when I saw those words because a) that’s totally my jam these days, too and b) I’m writing a book on the very topic, which confirms I’m on the right track with my work.

For obvious reasons, I can’t dish on all the meals I’ve been creating, but last week I put one together specifically with you in mind. It’s adapted from one my favourite new cookbooks, Dinner: Changing the Game by Melissa Clark, and hits all the hallmarks of a quality family meal. One pan? Check. Healthy? Check. Quick cooking? If you think 40 minutes of mostly hands-off time is quick (I do), then yes, check.

My favourite thing about this dish is that it brings big flavour to the table without intimidating the cook, and can easily be tweaked to cater to the ever-changing taste buds of a toddler. Two-year-olds are nothing if not fickle, especially when it comes to food, and while I really think I have a great eater on my hands, what he likes one day is totally despised the next, so having some flexibility with what I cook is key for me right now. 

Five-Ingredient Dinners

Last month I was tasked with putting together five-ingredient dinner recipes for SavvyMom. The planning and testing process offered up plenty of inspiration that I've been missing of late, and I love how each of the meals came together. My rule was that oils, salt and pepper, and seasonings from the spice rack weren't included in the list of five ingredients, but that everything else was to be considered. The result was four family-friendly meals we ate over course of the month, and based on the comments on my teaser pics on Instagram I can tell that there is as much outside interest in these quick-to-cook dinners as I have myself.

I can also happily report that Matthew ate each of these dinners with gusto, with the exception of the hoisin pork lettuce wraps. It's not surprising, of course, but when I swapped the lettuce wrap for some brown basmati rice and tossed it with the pork mixture, I landed on something he definitely approved of. 

Here's a look at the meals I put together:

Chicken and Kale Carbonara

It’s no secret that I love myself a good meal plan. I feel like my whole week is set up for success if I start Monday morning knowing exactly what I’m going to be putting on the table for dinner all week. Sometimes I even go so far as to plot out what Rob and the boys will take for their lunches – this usually involves ensuring there are a lot of leftovers from our dinners – AND I even do a rough sketch of what I’ll feed Matthew all week so I can be sure I don’t default to scrambled eggs and broccoli too often. Some weeks I’m only about seven breakfasts away from having all 21 meals planned, and that’s when I know I’ve taken things a little too far.

Then there are the weeks in which I plan nothing for any meal. That’s been the case for the past month. Once Thanksgiving passed I kept “forgetting” to meal plan, and then I was grocery shopping almost every day, and never knowing what to make or what would land in the lunch box the next day. Most of the time, living like that is such a waste of my mental energy, but sometimes it’s exactly what I need to jump start a winning dinner idea the whole family loves.

One-Pot Harissa Quinoa and Chicken

I'm still trying to decide how I like to read magazines. For years, I've been a consumer and collector of the paper ones, but in the spring I decided to give the digital versions a try and signed up for Texture, a Netflix-like subscription service that provides access to almost every magazine imaginable. The pros? At the top of my list is definitely the fact that it gives me the ability to read any magazine I want, whenever I want, including back issues.  It's also convenient to load up an iPad with reading material for road trips or time spent waiting somewhere for someone (i.e. the doctor's office, etc.).  There is no denying that digital magazines are also an eco-friendly solution to minimizing the piles of paper that quickly accumulate in a house with five people. The cons? I really miss reading paper magazines.

I don’t know about you, but I have files and folders of recipes culled from magazines over the years. This is one of the biggest benefits of reading a paper magazine. I still love tearing out inspiring images and sticking them in a binder or slapping them up on the pre-Pinterest bulletin board I keep over my desk. I find it so hard to do this with digital issues. I haven’t come up with a great system for saving recipes, and I also don’t want to shove another device under the boys’ nose whenever I want them to read a story or article of interest. There’s just something so endearing about seeing everyone sit around the table with a cup of coffee (milk, water, etc.) in hand flipping through the stack of magazines and newspapers in front of them. I cherish those mornings, and find that reading magazines digitally has changed how we interact.

Fake-Out, Take-Out: Bourbon Chicken

Over the Christmas holidays, Jackson headed downtown on his own with a group of friends. They took a bus and two subways into the city, his pockets packed full of gifts cards given to him by his grandparents. The plan was to visit a favourite comic book store, do some shopping at the mall, and buy a late lunch before heading home. Naturally, I was nervous letting him go, but Rob’s been pushing for the boys to become a little more subway savvy for quite a while now, so I checked my nervousness at the door and set him off with strict, maybe even slightly psychotic, reminders to let me know the minute he made it off the train safely.

When he returned home a few hours later, shopping bags in hand, I wanted to hear ALL the details of his outing, but he only wanted to talk about what he ate for lunch. Apparently bourbon chicken is not only the best thing he’s ever eaten, but they have this amazing deal that when you order it you get a choice of two sides, rice and a vegetable, and they let you choose French fries as your veggie side! I’m not sure I’m adequately capturing his excitement, but I’m certain you can imagine how thrilled he was to learn that in a food court French fries count as vegetables.

I learned a long time ago that instead of critiquing what the boys consume when they’re out with their friends, I have to accept that they are not going to go for the salad or nutritiously well-balanced meal when so many other crave-worthy choices are staring them straight in the face. In fact, it’s pretty much the exact opposite of what’s going to happen, but I can take what they talk about eating and enjoying and make my own spin on it, showing them that it is possible to have their beloved bourbon chicken at home. I like to serve my version with sensible side dishes like rice and roasted broccoli, made crisp and salty so it kind of mimics those coveted French fries, though I’m sure it doesn’t even come close.

Bourbon Chicken

Serves 4

• 2 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
• 1 1/2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch chunks
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon minced ginger
• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup oil (canola, olive, vegetable, coconut)
• 3 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup bourbon
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 Tbsp. honey
• 1/4 teaspoon chili flakes
• Optional: 2 teaspoons cornstarch mixed with 2 teaspoons of water
• 3 green onions, trimmed and thinly sliced

1. Heat one tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet set over medium heat. Add the chicken pieces and cook until lightly browned on both sides; transfer to a plate.

2. Add another tablespoon of oil and sauté the garlic and ginger for 30 seconds. Add in the remaining ingredients and whisk until blended and the sugar dissolved.

3. Return the chicken to the skillet and bring the sauce to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for 20 minutes. The sauce should thicken considerably, but if it happens to be too thin for your tastes, whisk together the cornstarch and water in a small bowl and pour it into the skillet. Stir well to combine and cook for an additional minute or two, or until the sauce thickens. When cooked, spoon the chicken over hot rice or noodles and sprinkle with the green onions. Serve with a side of vegetables (not French fries).

Mexican Macaroni

I feel confident that every family has a “fright night.” You know, the one that sees three people heading in four different directions, with dinner happening at various times for all involved. Our wildcard weekday is Thursday, and it looks a little something like this:

Kid A works this night and needs to leave the house by 4:45 p.m. Kid B has basketball practice after school and doesn’t get home until 4:40 p.m. Kid A would like to eat something before he leaves, but prefers to have a heartier dinner when he’s home at 8:00 p.m. (translation: he needs two dinners). I drive Kid A and a friend to work, and also pick them up, so in between I head to a Starbucks where I treat myself to a sweet and steamy hot chocolate and work (uninterrupted!) for 2 ½ gloriously quiet hours.

Rob holds down the fort at home, feeding Kid B and the baby the dinner I make for the boys at 4 p.m. He eats a bit himself just to tied himself over until I get home, because Thursday night is our new date night (translation: dinner on the sofa with a glass of wine and mind-numbing TV before heading to bed early because the littlest person in our house, who usually wakes up at 4am, has taken to being up between 2:30 a.m. – 5:00 a.m. and we can’t function if we don’t get to bed before the nightly news begins).

We take turns planning our dinner dates, as we don’t eat the same thing as the boys, and usually have wine and cheese, wine and dessert, or wine and pizza. The brilliance in this plan is that I make sure to cook something for dinner that yields hearty portions, resulting in a lot of leftovers for the next day’s lunches.

When I get home with Kid A, the babe is in bed, Kid B is usually done his homework and chores and is chilling for the night, Kid A eats his (second) dinner before starting his homework, and we have that well-deserved date night. On days like this, when you need a people-pleasing 30-minute meal that yields lots of leftovers, this Mexican macaroni will definitely save your night. You can use the ground meat of your choice - sometimes I opt for pork, or turkey, or even beef depending on what's available in the freezer - and when added to whole grain pasta and beans it's a meal I feel really good about serving. Plop some green vegetables on the plate, too, and maybe even a salad, and you have a dinner that's destined for your back-pocket recipe repertoire.

Peace out, Thursday.

Mexican Macaroni

Serves 4-6

• 1 Tbsp. canola/sunflower oil
• ½ onion, diced
• 1 lb. ground meat (beef/pork/turkey/chicken)
• 3 cups tomato sauce
• 1 – 19oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 Tbsp. chilli powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• Kosher salt
• 1 lb. whole-wheat macaroni
• 1 ½ cups grated cheddar cheese

Heat the oil in a large skillet (12-inches would be best) set over medium heat. Cook until softened, about 5 minutes.

Add the ground meat, breaking it up with the back of wooden spoon, and cook until no longer pink.

Add the tomato sauce, black beans, chilli powder, cumin, and oregano, and season generously with salt. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes or until the sauce has thickened.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta according to the pasta directions.

When cooked, reserve ½ cup of the cooking water, drain pasta and add it to the skillet. Toss until well combined; add some of the reserved water if the sauce is too thick. Sprinkle with grated cheese and stir until the cheese melts into the sauce and becomes slightly gooey. Serve warm.

Real Simple Cassoulet

A quick scroll through the archives tells me that the last dinner recipe I shared was on November 23^rd. Say what? How is that even possible? I can assure you we’ve been eating dinner every day since, and while they weren’t always sharable meals (scrambled eggs and toast, I’m looking at you), there were definitely a few home runs worthy of writing about.

Take, for example, this simple stovetop cassoulet from Real Simple magazine. In the winter of 2007/2008 I made it weekly. The boys were just beginning to eat beans with the same enthusiasm as bacon, and I was building up an arsenal of one-pot recipes making this healthy stovetop supper a meal we could all get behind. It became such a staple that I jotted down the ingredients in my recipes-we’ll-eat-forever notebook, only to forget about it come spring when fresh salads made us forget about how much we loved this sausage and bean stew.

Last fall, while attempting to KonMari my recipe collection (side note: I failed miserably and just bought the book in an attempt to give decluttering a solid effort), I stumbled upon the Real Simple cassoulet I had all but forgotten about, and immediately made it for dinner. It may have been popular with the boys eight or nine years ago, but now they’ve declared it a favourite and we’re back to adding it to our meal plan every other week or so.

Here’s what I love most about this recipe: this isn’t a traditional long cooking cassoulet with multiple varieties of meats (which I happen to love, by the way), but instead is made with lean sausage, carrots and parsnips, and offers variations that make it suitable for those who eat dairy-free, gluten-free, and red meat-free. It’s also crowd-pleasing and can be served at dinner parties and casual gatherings, not to mention an average Wednesday night when it’s just your own family crowded around the table. In essence, the recipe rocks and I hope it becomes part of your dinner rotation, too.

Real Simple Cassoulet

• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1lb. chicken or turkey sausage (you can use pork if desired), casings removed
• 1 ½ cups chicken broth
• 1 small onion, thinly sliced
• 3 carrots, cut into ½-inch dice
• 3 parsnips, cut into ½-inch dice
• 1 cup whole (but chopped) or crushed tomatoes (you can also use tomato sauce, if you prefer)
• 3 19-ounce (540 mL) cans cannellini or navy beans, drained and rinsed
• 5 sprigs fresh thyme
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
• ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
• 2 Tbsp. melted salted butter 

In a Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium heat. Cook the sausage until well browned, breaking it up with the back of a wooden spoon. Remove and drain on paper towels; set aside.

Pour out the excess oil from the Dutch oven. Add the chicken broth, vegetables, beans, thyme, salt, pepper, and half the garlic. Return the sausage to the pot and mix well, scraping up any brown bits that have stuck to the bottom of the Dutch oven. Bring to a boil.

Reduce heat to low; cover, and simmer, stirring occasionally, about 1 hour, until thickened and the vegetables are tender.

Preheat oven to 400° F. In a bowl, combine the bread-crumbs, parsley, butter, and remaining garlic. Sprinkle in an even layer over the cassoulet and place in the oven. Bake, uncovered, until the crust is golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes. Serve warm. 

Notes: To make the dish gluten-free, use gluten-free breadcrumbs in place of the panko. To make the dish dairy-free, swap in olive oil for the butter in the breadcrumb topping.

Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

This soup is warm and cozy, and utterly essential for the season. It's also a tried and true family favourite recipe, beloved by all from the nine-month-old baby to the septuagenarians who come for Sunday supper each week.

I shared a version of the soup on the blog back in November 2010, but I’ve updated it over the years and I think the way we eat it now is just a little better. Also, I fear it’s been buried so deep in the archives that few of you are familiar with the recipe, so I’m bringing it back to the top of the blog so you can print it off and have it handy for December.

Why December specifically? Isn’t it funny that no matter how busy we are that month there’s still a house full of people looking for dinner each night? In between the social events, shopping, gift-wrapping, work, school concerts, cooking and baking, the people you live with still need three square meals a day, because sadly man cannot live off Toblerone alone.

This soup will be the dinner that saves you. It’s quick to prepare (then simmers for an hour or so), nourishing, and so freaking good you’ll want to eat it all winter long. It also makes ample portions, providing plenty of leftovers for the following day. If you happen to be celebrating Thanksgiving this week, your leftover turkey will make a nice substitute for the chicken in the recipe.

Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

If your family isn’t fond of spinach, you can replace it with 2 cups of frozen peas.

Serves 6-8

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 large carrots, peeled and diced
• 2 celery stalks, diced
• 2 onions, peeled and diced
• 1 teaspoon curry powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 ½ cups wild rice, brown rice, or basmati rice (I use a wild rice blend)
• 8 cups chicken stock
• 1 - 14oz. can coconut milk
• 2 cups diced uncooked chicken breasts or thighs
• 5 oz. fresh baby spinach
• Kosher salt
• Fresh ground pepper

1. Warm the oil in a large pot or Dutch oven and sauté the onions, carrots, celery until soft, translucent and slightly brown. Add the curry and cumin, and stir to combine. 

2. Add the rice and chicken stock.  Bring to a boil and reduce heat to simmer.

3. Add the chicken and coconut milk.  Simmer for 1-2 hours, or until the rice is tender and the chicken is cooked. 

4. Add the baby spinach and continue cooking until wilted. Season with salt and pepper, if desired, and serve warm.

Note: If using peas instead of spinach, add them at the end of dish and cook until they are warmed through.

Fake Fried Chicken

Did any of you grow up eating Shake 'N Bake chicken, or was that just me? The flavoured bread crumb coating made dinner a little extra special back in those days, and I recall thinking it was like eating fried chicken made right in our very own oven. What I also remember were the leftovers, and how we all fought for the right to eat the remaining crispy-skinned chicken pieces the next day.

History is repeating itself in my kitchen, and I'm making fake fried chicken for my big boys now. Only instead of using the packaged product I grew up with, I'm making my own coating with a few basic pantry staples that always seem to be hanging out in my cupboard.

When I asked about your dinner dilemmas, one reader said she needs meals that will taste just as good for the first person who eats them as they will for the last, which might be two hours later. On Friday nights, this is my predicament, too.

Certain teenagers I know aren’t famous for their organizational skills, and I’m never sure who’s going to be around for dinner come Friday, when social plans take priority over everything else. But if I make a chicken dish that tastes just as good at room temperature as it does when served piping hot and straight out of the oven, I don't have to worry about who will or won't be here, and when those people will eat. I call this new way of dining ‘self-serve from the kitchen counter’ and it’s how I’ll be doing dinner on Friday nights from now on.

Fake Fried Chicken

Serves 4-6

• 2 cups breadcrumbs or panko (Japanese-style breadcrumbs)
• 3 Tbsp. canola oil
• 1 Tbsp. kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 1 ½ teaspoons smoked or sweet paprika
• 1 teaspoon celery seed
• ½ teaspoons dried oregano
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne
• ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
• ¼ teaspoon onion powder
• ¼ teaspoon dried basil leaves
• 2 ½ lbs. chicken drumsticks

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F and line a large rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil.

2. In a large Ziploc plastic bag, combine all of the ingredients, except the chicken. Seal the bag and shake well, until the crumbs looks like wet sand.

3. Using tongs, take chicken, two or three pieces at a time, and drop into the Ziploc bag. Seal and shake until chicken is evenly covered in breadcrumb mixture. Remove, shaking off excess, and arrange on a rack set over the foil-lined baking sheet. Repeat with remaining chicken.  

4. Cook, turning once, for 40 minutes, until golden brown and crispy. Serve warm or at room temperature.