Weeknight Dinners 101

Send to a mom you love

As a mom, one of my biggest challenges is figuring out what everyone will eat for every meal. It’s a huge responsibility. My kids are becoming more adventurous eaters, but it’s still on me to figure out what they’ll eat and get it on the table after a long day at work.

me and my mom — the queen of teaching kids when they’re young!

Some of those go-to recipes are no-recipe recipes—an egg white omelette stuffed in a pita, buttered noodles, takeout pizza from our favorite place down the street. And I use every opportunity to involve my kids in the kitchen. The more they do it now, the more they’ll love it as they grow. My oldest is starting to show a lot of intuition in the kitchen and my little one loves to peel garlic and cut carrots. These knives are the perfect size for her.

As my Mother’s Day gift to you, here are 5 weeknight meals that always make everyone at the table happy, especially me!! The criteria:

• Fast. When I get home from work, I don’t want to spend more than an hour on dinner.

• Nourishing. All of these meals have a protein, a grain, and a vegetable. Even if my kids don’t eat all of it, they see it on the table every night.

• Crowd-Pleasing. As much as I want my kids to enjoy dinner, I also want something Adi and I will love.

• One-Pot/Pan/Dish. The last thing I want to do is spend all night cleaning!!

I can’t come over to help clean your floor after dinner, but I can give you the easiest dinners you’ll keep on repeat week after week. Print them out, keep them on your fridge, send them to every mom you know. She needs help! Here’s what’s on the menu this week—we’re in this together:

• Basic One-Pot Chicken with tips on how to use what’s in season and make it your own

• Spatchcock Chicken plus the green chicken salad I make with the leftovers for lunch (it’s SO good)

• Easy, Smooth Tomato Sauce & Pasta without the “thingies,” with meatballs if you want

• The Easiest Salmon with Steamed Broccoli and three other veggies you can add

• Spinach & Artichoke Dip, the dip-turned-dinner you didn’t know you needed. My 9-year-old makes it almost entirely by herself.

I want to know what your favorite weeknight meal is—the one that makes everyone around your table happy. Tell me in the comments or drop it in the chat.