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A Family That Eats Together: Rotisserie Chicken Fajitas

Rotisserie chicken fajitasMarin 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.

Nicole's meal plan for this week features roasted chicken and potatoes española; farfalle with artichokes, fennel, and sweet sausage; lamb and beef burgers with chipotle aïoli; asparagus and lemon tortellini; and these convenient rotisserie chicken fajitas.

I am in a constant search for ways to convert leftovers into something interesting for the next night’s dinner. Here is a solution for leftover chicken or the rotisserie chicken you bought for last night’s dinner. With a few simple ingredients, plain old chicken becomes smoky and complex in tonight’s rotisserie chicken fajitas.

Servings: 6
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes

Book Review: "Zoe Gets Ready" by Bethany Murguia

Zoe Gets ReadyAny parent who's been through the challenge of getting a small child ready to go in the morning will appreciate the new children's book by Sausalito author Bethany Murguia, Zoe Gets Ready (40 pages, Arthur A. Levine Books, 2012). It goes without saying that children will love this book, too, since it looks at the whole situation from a child's eyes, too!

For parents, the question "What will I wear today" usually isn't that complicated to answer, but for kids it can be pretty complicated, as Zoe Gets Ready demonstrates. The book delves into the myriad different decisions—is it a pocket day or a twirling day, for example—a child has to make before finally deciding what to wear today.

With delightful and colorful illustrations, this book is sure to be a hit in your house, especially if your kids have a hard time deciding what's appropriate to wear today.

Have a Love2Dance Birthday Party

Do your children love to dance? Most kids do, so why not consider a dance birthday party when that time of the year rolls around. Both of my children (ages 5 and 8) recently went to birthday parties at Novato's Love2Dance dance studio. I attended both parties and have to say both of them were an absolute blast.

While Love2Dance is a serious dance studio—owner Tara-Caprice Broadwater is a former Golden State Warrior dancer with over two decades of dance experience—their birthday parties are for children with little or no dance experience who just want to have fun. Of course if you know how to dance, that makes things even better.

A Family That Eats Together: Campfire Pizza

Campfire pizzaMarin 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.

Nicole's meal plan for this week features her usual delicious dishes, but today she shares with us this tasty recipe for campfire pizzas—just in time for summer camping season!

We spent a glorious weekend camping under a canopy of Redwood trees. Just North of Boonville all the way up into Anderson Valley, the next up and coming Wine Country of Northern California, is a special little campground that lies along the Navarro River. As we do with all our camping trips, and we do A LOT of them, each family takes on a meal so that all the meals are shared. Our good friends surprised us with Campfire Pizzas. I had no idea how this was going to workout. I envisioned pizza dough dripping through the rusty grates left over the campfire, but our friend Bill had a trick up his sleeve. Campfire Pie Irons! Who knew? He had an antique I think, but it worked just fine and we ate warm oozy, goosy pizzas around the campfire with all the trimmings.

Finding good camping recipes is not always the easiest but this recipe is foolproof and simple. Each pizza pie is made individually so it is easy to set up for everyone to make their own pizza with their favorite toppings. This recipe can be easily adjusted for the amount of pizzas you need.

As an extra bonus, you can add your favorite canned pie filling to the bread and for dessert, make Campfire Pies! So easy!

An Interview with Susan Z - Star of this Year's Mountain Play

Suzan Zelinsky in the Music Man at the Mountain PlayMarin Mommies presents a guest article by Marin Mom and writer Gabrielle Cullen.

Here’s a cheer for the moms who have found a way to balance family, fun and self fulfillment! One of Marin’s most musical moms, Susan Zelinsky, has the luck, and the talent, to be doing just that, and so on the cusp the 99th annual Mountain Play, (she has the starring role of Marian Paroo in The Music Man,) Marin Mommies sat down with Susan in hopes of revealing the secrets to her success.

How long have you been in musical theater?

I’ve been involved in acting, music and song since high school. I continued on in college and have been fortunate to have music and theater play a key role in my life ever since.

As a mother, what do you enjoy most about Mountain Play?

Being able to perform in a wonderful production such as Mountain Play has given me the best of both worlds. I am able to be involved in my children’s lives, work around crazy family schedules and still have a wonderful outlet for my craft.

How else do you use your performing talents?

A Family That Eats Together: Pesto and Chicken Fettuccini Alfredo

Pesto chicken fettucine alfredoMarin 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.

Nicole's meal plan for this week features quick roasted chicken thighs with fresh shelled peas and saffrom couscous, a caprese sandwich, Asian lettuce cups, smokey tomato bacon soup with grilled cheese, and this pesto and chicken fettucini alfredo.

Imagine a creamy sauce filled with all the flavor of pesto. This is it! Using left over chicken and a creamy pesto sauce, dinner is made in a flash.

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

Tips for Great Kids' Birthday Parties from A Little Savvy Event

Birthday party at Modern Cookie CompanyIf you're a parent (and you probably are if you're reading this), you know what a big job planning a child's birthday party is. Whether you plan a party yourself or hire a planner to do it, there's a lot of work to be done, but also a lot of fun to be had.

We asked Kelly McLeskey-Dolata , the party pro at  Sonoma's A Little Savvy Event for some of her tips for planning the perfect birthday party. A Little Savvy Event creates children's parties and showers and other once-in-a-lifetime events in Marin and the Wine Country that are stylish, whimsical, and fun, and consistently wow both kids and grownups. The photos accompanying this article are from the "Puppies and Polka-Dots" birthday party they recently organized at Larkspur's wonderful Modern Cookie Company for the daughter of local jewelry designer Ashley Morgan. Check out their website at alittlesavvyevent.com to learn more about them and their parties.

What's your singlemost important tip for parents planning their child's birthday party?

The party is for your child and about them, so really try to express who they are at that time in their life into the theme and the party!

A Visit to Farm Girl Nursery in Novato

Farm Girl Nursery in NovatoThis Saturday we finally got a chance to stop by the new Farm Girl Nursery in Novato's Indian Valley neighborhood. This charming little nursery and farm is the perfect place to visit with the kids. You can meet some animals, including pigs, chickens, rabbits, horses, and a baby goat; shop for heirloom seeds and seedlings, produce, and gardening tools; and see exactly where your food comes from.

A trip to Farm Girl Nursery is a fun outing. The kids had a great time meeing the animals, seeing all the different types of vegetables, fruits, and flowers growing, and even got to snack on carrots pulled right out of the ground.

Owner Lisa Marvier is delightful and takes pleasure in showing visitors around the small farm. She introduced us her heritage chickens and pot-bellied pigs, and even dug some carrots out of the ground that she gave to our kids to eat. She also has numerous educational activities for kids planned at the nursery, including upcoming classes and a summer day camp that sounds like it's going to be a blast (for updates, sign up for their email list at the nursery or follow Farm Girl Nursery on Facebook).

Optimum Oral Health for Children and Teens

Teeth brushingGuest contributor and Marin County dentist Dr. Steven McConnell gives parents some tips on optimal oral health for children and teens.

Every parent wants his or her children to have optimum health. Fortunately, in dentistry we now know that optimizing oral heath actually improves our overall health. Although there have been countless articles about the link between oral health and overall health for adults, the reality is that the same holds true for infants, children, and teens as well. When the mouth is optimally healthy we are much more resistant to the numerous bacterial and viral infections that we have the potential to be exposed to every day. Common sense tells us that everything we eat and drink as well as the air we breathe all passes either through the mouth, or nasal passages.

All humans have a population of bacteria that inhabits this area, both good bacteria (important for proper digestion), and bad bacteria (causes gum disease and cavities). When the bad bacteria are allowed to proliferate, the delicate balance between good bacteria and bad bacteria is upset. If the mouth is not in healthy balance, the bad bacteria dominate the mouth, lowering the immune response and making us more susceptible to infection.

A Family That Eats Together: Quick Oven Roasted Chicken with Garlicky Spinach and Couscous

quick oven-roasted chickenMarin 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.

Nicole's meal plan for this week features vegetarian asparagus carbonara, kheema matar curry, tortellini salad, and this quick oven-roasted chicken garlicky spinach and couscous.

What is great about this recipe is how easy it is to make and how amazing it tastes. With some readily available inexpensive ingredients, you can wow your whole family or friends with this healthy and delicious meal.

Servings: 4
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Inactive Time: 5 minutes to overnight (whichever you choose)
Cook Time: 35–40 minutes

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