Dinner | Simple Bites

by Allison on February 27, 2013 • 18 Comments Dinner

Roasted Beet and Garlic Pasta

Written by Allison of Some the Wiser

I accidentally fell in love with cooking. I wasn’t born with a desire to be in the kitchen, to test recipes and experiment with flavors. In fact, I spent many years microwaving rice packets when I was left to cook for myself. It wasn’t until I had people to care for that my kitchen love story began.

It didn’t happen overnight. Rather, I found myself in the kitchen more and more, a necessary part of raising hungry children, and then one day I realized I had fallen in love. I realized I could make my home a happier place just by making breakfast, serving dinner, cooking with care.

I was recently reminded of just how much my time in the kitchen blesses my family and my own life when I had to rush my four year old to the hospital emergency room. In a moment of Peter Pan excitement, she had leaped and met with disaster. All’s well that ends well, and twenty-two stitches later she was fine. Fine, but it took a while for this mama’s tender heart to stop thumping.

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by Stephanie Langford on February 20, 2013 • 33 Comments Dinner

Exploring food cultures around the world (and in our own homes)

Written by Stephanie of Keeper of the Home and EntreFamily Travels. Welcome, Stephanie!

As I write this, I’m staring out the window of a cafe on a cobblestone plaza in Northern Argentina. Directly in front of me is a white stone building with a terra cotta tiled roof, grand archways, and a statue of an austere looking fellow named Guemes.

I’m sipping on a glass of agua con gas (carbonated mineral water), a plate of Argentine pastries to my left, which were brought to me “on the house” for reasons I couldn’t understand. This country seems determined to send me away in a size more “grande” than the one in which I arrived.

Another round of cafe con leche (milk coffee) is on the way to boost my brain function from the lack of sleep due to attending a Carnival parade until 2 am last night.

Who am I and what in the world am I doing here?

It’s an honor for me to join the Simple Bites team. I’m a long time food, health and homemaking blogger over at Keeper of the Home, as well as a Simple Bites reader since its inception.

For the past three years I’ve been sharing my love for green and natural living on Simple Homemade, but a change of plans and scenery this winter caused me to shift gears.

You see, on January 21st our family embarked on a rather unusual and ambitious journey. Together with our four young children (ages 8, 5, 3 and just turning 1), my husband and I are traveling around the world for an entire year!

First on our itinerary is a 3 month stop in South America, which includes time in several parts of Argentina as well as Uruguay. Following our time here, we’ll travel around Europe for 8 weeks this spring, then settle in southern Spain for the summer. Then it’s off to Turkey for a month, then hopefully Israel, Africa, Indonesia, China and Hong Kong, Australia and who knows where else! [Read more...]

by Aimee on February 15, 2013 • 15 Comments Dinner

Roasted, Whipped Sweet Potatoes with Browned Butter

When they say butter makes better, they must be referring to browned butter, that fragrant beurre noisette that truly does enhance everything it comes in contact with, from chocolate chunk cookies to your breakfast of steel-cut oats.

Brown butter is typically paired with baked goods, but it also elevates savory foods like fish, pastas and vegetables. Case in point: today’s simple side dish of roasted, whipped sweet potatoes with browned butter.

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by Aimee on February 11, 2013 • 19 Comments Dinner

Bringing back Sunday dinner: a do-ahead menu (Chocolate Beet Molten Cakes)

This week I’m continuing to make memories with my children and explore the local food culture in sunny Mexico, but I had to take a bit of time away to share about a recent Sunday dinner we enjoyed with company before we left.

It wasn’t a fancy spread, but it was almost entirely prepared a day in advance, and came together in just a few minutes on Sunday at midday.

When I first wrote about bringing back Sunday dinner, many of you expressed concerns about timing and asked for tips on preparing a midday main meal on what is supposed to be a relaxing day. Others had sporting events or church on Sunday morning, but still wished to embrace the family tradition of Sunday dinner.

Today’s do-ahead menu is a prime example of how a little planning can go a long way.

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by KatieK on February 8, 2013 • 26 Comments Dinner

Simplify dinner prep with connected meal planning (recipe: Chicken & Biscuits)

The following is a guest post from Katie of Kitchen Stewardship. Welcome, Katie!

When friends tell me they don’t like leftovers, I generally sort of gape openly at them and stand frozen for a few minutes, shocked, eyes wide in disbelief.

We eat leftovers for lunch almost every day.

Once I scrape my jaw off the floor, I usually find enough words to stammer, “Why not?!”

Most of the time, people don’t like the idea of eating the same thing two or three days in a row. They get tired of it. In contrast, our family loves leftovers. If I look in the fridge and announce that there are (“only”) two choices for lunch, everyone feels like they have been shorted, like we are practically out of food.

I’m always thrilled to Cook Once, and Serve Twice – that old C.O.S.T. acronym that freezer cookbooks in particular like to use. Typically C.O.S.T. means making a big batch of a meal and saving an entire meal in the freezer for later.

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