Meal Planning

Marin Mommies presents this week's guest recipe from Nicole Cibellis, Marin mom and author of the blog A Family that Eats Together, where she shares meal plans and recipes that will please foodies and children alike. Nicole is also the creator of the new Little Froglet line of children's activewear. Here's Nicole's meal plan for this week.

We were craving a creamy pasta dish but since we are cutting back on our calories I needed to look at the creamy craving a little differently. This recipe makes a creamy sauce without the cream using feta cheese to trick your palate into thinking you are eating a decadent pasta dish but without all the fat. The jarred roasted red peppers make this a snap to put together on a weeknight. My son couldn’t get enough of it and we all loved the sweet yet smoky pepper taste.

Recipe adapted from Ellie Krieger.

Servings: 4
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes

Marin Mommies presents this week's guest recipe from Nicole Cibellis, Marin mom and author of the blog A Family that Eats Together, where she shares meal plans and recipes that will please foodies and children alike. Nicole is also the creator of the new Little Froglet line of children's activewear. Here's Nicole's meal plan for this week.

I have fallen in love with grilling over all different kinds of woods, which impart their smoky goodness into meats. In this recipe, I have used apple wood on my gas grill (because I am too lazy to use a non-gas grill). It is really simple. All you need to do is soak the wood for 30 minutes prior to grilling. Then lay them down over hot lava rock* which is usually placed at the bottom of gas grills. The lava rock creates a more even heat and the soaked wood chips release the fragrant smoke. This time of year, all different types of grilling woods can be found from your local hardware shop to big box stores. Apple wood is nice because it does not impart such as intense smokiness as mesquite but choose the grilling wood you prefer.

Serve with my balsamic-glazed oven roasted carrots.

Servings: 3–4
Prep time: 5 minutes
Inactive time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 12 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 pound organic grass-fed rib eye beef
• sea salt

Marin Mommies presents this week's guest recipe from Nicole Cibellis, Marin mom and author of the blog A Family that Eats Together, where she shares meal plans and recipes that will please foodies and children alike. Nicole is also the creator of the new Little Froglet line of children's activewear. Here's Nicole's meal plan for this week.

My all time favorite Mexican Restaurant is La Taqueria in San Francisco’s Mission District. They make the best carne asada taco I have ever had. My husband and I were in the city a week ago and decided to drive another 30 minutes out of our way just to go eat tacos at La Taqueria. While sitting there gorging on our tacos my husband looked up at me and said that I need to recreate these at home. So, here is my recipe for Carne Asada tacos—La Taqueria style.

Servings: 6
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

• Refried beans, you can always use my homemade refried bean recipe
• 1-1/2 lbs carne asada or skirt steak

Marin Mommies presents this week's guest recipe from Nicole Cibellis, Marin mom and author of the blog A Family that Eats Together, where she shares meal plans and recipes that will please foodies and children alike. Nicole is also the creator of the new Little Froglet line of children's activewear. Here's Nicole's meal plan for this week.

If you love the sweet taste of fennel you will love this recipe. Fennel scented three times over, this grilled chicken recipe is alluring and reminiscent of a typical Tuscan dinner. Not only is this a quick, easy and healthy recipe but also it is perfect for the grill on a warm summer night.

Servings: 6
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

• 3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Need help with meal planning? (Who doesn't?) Since we all can't afford our own personal chefs, there's Relish, a handy meal-planning service for busy parents.

Relish is an easy to use, mom-run website that helps you prepare healthy, creative meals every week. You pick from a wide variety of delicious, thoroughly tested recipes, a cleverly organized grocery list is automatically created, then you is hit the store to collect the ingredients for five days worth of home-cooked meals—all of which take no more than 30 minutes to prepare.

Relish offers much to choose from including vegetarian menus, healthy lunches, seasonal treats, and kids favorites that don't include the word "nugget."

Marin Mommies presents this week's guest recipe from Nicole Cibellis, Marin mom and author of the blog A Family that Eats Together, where she shares meal plans and recipes that will please foodies and children alike. Nicole is also the creator of the new Little Froglet line of children's activewear. Here's Nicole's meal plan for this week.

We love to have dinners where we eat everything with our fingers. Chicken in a bucket is a great start to what can be a fun and silly dinner the whole family will love. This oven-fried chicken is so great you won't miss any of the fat from traditional fried chicken. The ground almonds closely attach to the chicken to make a sweet crust around it while the panko give the chicken that extra crispy crunch. For sides, use your imagination. We love sliced vegetables and sweet potato french fries with our favorite condiments. I have even included my homemade ranch dressing recipe following my oven-fried chicken recipe. It is a family favorite and is easy to make not to mention so much healthier than anything you can buy in the store.

Servings: 8–10
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 40 minutes

Ingredients

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts sliced into 4-inch strips
• 1 cup sliced almonds

Marin Mommies presents this week's guest recipe from Nicole Cibellis, Marin mom and author of the blog A Family that Eats Together, where she shares meal plans and recipes that will please foodies and children alike. Nicole is also the creator of the new Little Froglet line of children's activewear. Here's Nicole's meal plan for this week.

Being the bacon fanatic that I am, I have to admit one of my most favorite pasta dishes is carbonara. But I have been so inspired by this warm spring and all the bounty from my garden and the farmer’s markets that I wanted to twist around the traditional carbonara to make it healthier and lighter using asparagus and making it vegetarian. The sauce is raw so I do use raw eggs, but the key to using raw eggs in any recipe is to use the most farm fresh cage free eggs available. Don’t be afraid to use fresh raw eggs. As with any carbonara, the heat of the pasta cooks the eggs as you toss all the ingredients together leaving a silky, smooth sauce that gently coats to the pasta. In no time you will have spectacular meal that screams “Spring is here!”

Servings: 4
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 lb spaghetti
• 1 bunch of fresh asparagus, bottoms snapped off and cut into one-inch pieces

Marin Mommies presents this week's guest recipe from Nicole Cibellis, Marin mom and author of the blog A Family that Eats Together, where she shares meal plans and recipes that will please foodies and children alike. Nicole is also the creator of the new Little Froglet line of children's activewear. Here's Nicole's meal plan for this week.

Are you looking for a quick and easy recipe for spring that will impress your family and friends? Not only is this recipe healthy but your whole family will love it. The result is tender lamb with a savory and fragrant rosemary-garlic oil. This recipe can easily be doubled for larger groups of people. Serve with your favorite couscous.

Servings: 4
Prep time: 10 minutes
Inactive time: 18 minutes
Cook time: 12 minutes

Ingredients

• 6 lamb loin chops, trimmed of fat
• 1 bunch of medium-thin asparagus
• sea salt

Marin Mommies presents this week's guest recipe from Nicole Cibellis, Marin mom and author of the blog A Family that Eats Together, where she shares meal plans and recipes that will please foodies and children alike. Nicole is also the creator of the new Little Froglet line of children's activewear. Here's Nicole's meal plan for this week.

Mexican food is a favorite around our house so much so that I am constantly looking for new ways to reinvent it for dinner. This is not only a quick and easy recipe for a weeknight dinner, but can be adapted to fit everyone in the family by offering them their favorite taco toppings. The use of marinated chicken thighs, gives the meal a juicy and intensely flavorful touch. I even made extra chicken thighs to use the following day for sandwiches and to top my salad. Quick, Easy and Delicious!