Recipes

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 and family dining ideas that will please foodies and children alike. Nicole is also the creator of the new Little Froglet line of children's activewear. Check out Nicole's meal plan for this week.

In my on going search for carb free meals, which are satisfying, I tried this recipe from David Rocco. I love how light and airy the meatballs become using nonfat ricotta cheese and braising them in homemade tomato sauce. The trick to fabulous meatballs is using the freshest organic grass fed and leanest ground meat you can find. With the addition of the tangy sundried tomatoes you will never know what is missing from these meatballs. My family gobbled them up so fast that their plates were “licked” clean.

Servings: 8–10
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

for the meatballs

• 1 pound organic grass fed very lean ground beef
• 1 egg
• ½ cup nonfat ricotta cheese

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 and family dining ideas that will please foodies and children alike. Nicole is also the creator of the new Little Froglet line of children's activewear. Check out Nicole's meal plan for this week.

My mom has made lamb chops for our family since the beginning. At the age of one, my one would power through 6 at one sitting because they are so good. In looking at ways to eat healthier and with fewer carbs, I wanted to find meals that were satisfying. In this dish, I simply broil lamb chops and add my favorite French green beans called haricot verts. By cooking them with a little garlic and lemon zest, they make the basic green bean crunchy and amazing. I served with rice and a side salad.

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

Ingredients

for the lamb

• 8 lamb loin chops, trimmed of excess fat
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon seasoned salt
• ½ teaspoon seasoned pepper

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 and family dining ideas that will please foodies and children alike. Nicole is also the creator of the new Little Froglet line of children's activewear. Check out Nicole's meal plan for this week.

My mom used to make this for me when I was a kid. I love the sweetness of the chicken with the curry and honey. This is such a simple dish - only 5 ingredients. Throw it in the oven while you decompress after a long day.

Servings: 4
Prep Time: 7 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 3 tablespoons butter

My kids and I love to make healthy Halloween treats for snacks and school lunches. Not only are all these healthy, but they’re fun to make and eat, too.

These recipes also make a great playgroup or play date activity or girl scout or cub scout project.

Mummy Mini Pizzas

Ingredients

• English muffins
• Prepared pizza or pasta sauce
• Sliced black olives
• Mozzarella string cheese sticks

Instructions

Heat the oven to 350ºF. Peel shreds of cheese off the string cheese sticks and set aside. Bake English muffins for 5 minutes or until lightly toasted.

For each mummy pizza, spread about a tablespoon of pizza sauce onto half of an English muffin. Place olive slices for eyes and lay strips of string cheese across the muffin for the mummy’s wrappings.

Put pizzas on a cookie sheet and back for about 10 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the muffin is toasty around the edges.

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 and family dining ideas that will please foodies and children alike. Nicole is also the creator of the new Little Froglet line of children's activewear. Check out Nicole's meal plan for this week.

We love paella in our house. I love it because it is a whole meal made in one pot. In this recipe I take the best parts of Spanish paella and give them an Italian twist using arborio rice and Italian sausage. This quick and easy recipe is made in no time and if you don’t eat shrimp, chicken is a fantastic substitute.

Servings: 8–10
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

• 3 Italian sausages, casing removed
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 cup finely chopped yellow onion

We've been experimenting with a lot of pumpkin recipes this fall. The hands-down favorite of all our pumpkin creations has to be these pumpkin waffles. With a subtle spice flavor, they're moist on the inside with a crisp exterior.

Serve them for breakfast with butter and maple syrup, or even for dessert topped with vanilla ice cream. They're a great fall treat that's so good we'll probably start making these year-round!

They're easy to make, too, and you probably have most of the ingredients in your pantry.

To make pumpkin waffles, you'll need:

• 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
• 1 cup pumpkin puree, either fresh or canned
• 1-2/3 cups milk
• 4 tablespoons melted unsalted butter

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 and family dining ideas that will please foodies and children alike. Nicole is also the creator of the new Little Froglet line of children's activewear. Check out Nicole's meal plan for this week.

This recipe takes traditional mac and cheese up a notch. This super cheesy rice and chicken will warm your family’s tummies on a cool fall night.

Recipe adapted from Food Network Magazine.

Servings: 4–6
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes

Ingredients

• 3 chicken cutlets (about ¾ pound)
• 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth

This summer, we had a fantastic time at the first Farm-to-Table Dinner at Novato's Farm Girl Nursery. The next Farm-to-Table Dinner at Farm Girl Nursery takes place Saturday, October 20. Chef Suzanne Griffin has an amazing autumn menu planned that includes fig, prosciutto, and gorgonzola bites with maple walnuts; Thai pumpkin soup; watercress, percorino, walnut, and Asian pear salad with champagne vinaigrette; mustard, thyme, and apple marinated pork tenderloin with wine reduction; and for dessert, pumpkin bread pudding. Many of the ingredients in the dinner are sourced right at Farm Girl Nursery itself.

Sound delicious? Reserve your place at the table by calling (415) 730-6917. The dinner starts at 6 pm, and the cost is $175 per couple or $90 per individual.

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 and family dining ideas that will please foodies and children alike. Nicole is also the creator of the new Little Froglet line of children's activewear. Check out Nicole's meal plan for this week.

This recipe is finger licking good. With no carbs, it packs a punch with standout flavors in a neat package. I used the vegetables I had on hand for the lettuce cups, but you can use what you happen to have. For the steak, I used the the hanger cut which is juicy and intensely flavorful, but a flank steak would work just as well. If you wanted it to be vegetarian, you could also substitute baked tofu.

Servings: 4
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes