bacon wrapped pork tenderloin

since first making this for dinner a couple months ago, it was quickly added to our regular rotation, most recently showing up last month. it has everything i love about pork tenderloin: salty bacon, sweet brown sugar & apricot preserves, zesty whole grain and dijon mustard, and perfectly juicy pork. did i mention the salty bacon?! it's killer.

sweet & sour pork and spinach salad

ever since this recipe first showed up in food & wine over a year ago, it's been on heavy rotation in our house. the first couple times we enjoyed it as is - sweet & sour pork lettuce cups, the mixture rolled in butter lettuce - and we quickly learned that although delicious, it simply wasn't enough food to sustain all of us. so i started making variations - first lettuce cups topped with rice and then this, our favorite - sweet & sour pork with rice on top of baby spinach.

playground picnic: hummus & vegetable pita sandwiches

last summer, virtually every friday, i would pack up dinner for the then three of us and winn, roo, and i would visit a local playground for the afternoon. jason would meet us after he got out of work around 5:30. we'd play for a bit more and when we finally decided we're hungry, spread out our picnic dinner. we spent the summer visiting a dozen or so playgrounds, getting to know our favorites and a few we won't be visiting again, and finding dinners suitable for adults and toddlers that are also easily packable, delicious, and not repetitive. it was a challenge. so this summer, i'm going to track those dinners, along with their toddler and preschool friendly versions, since i know from experience the challenge it can be to find a picnic meal to satisfy young ones and adults.

one pot tortellini with meat sauce

with daylight savings time now in full force and the sun setting later and later, we're making a conscious effort to get the boys to sleep earlier. which means i am on the lookout for simple meals appropriate for adults, a toddler, and a finger-foods-eating baby that can be on the table from start to finish in a max of 30 minutes. most one pot pasta recipes i've tried fit these requirements, but don't always taste great or usually, don't have enough liquid and i end up with too hard pasta and burnt sauce. not good. this one pot tortellini is not one of those meals. while the three of us gobbled it up with our forks, the finger-foods-eating baby was the clear winner: we had to cut him off after three bowls.

meyer lemon pasta with bacon

it's no surprise that i love meyer lemons. they're sweet and tart, a perfect mix of lemon and orange. i've always used them for sweet treats - meyer lemon tart, meyer lemon cupcakes with meyer lemon buttercream, and a runaway hit, meyer lemon iced raspberry yogurt cake - but they're equally as delicious in this simple pasta. if you're looking for a vegetarian option, omit the bacon. can't find meyer lemons? use a regular lemon instead. the flavor will be a bit more tart and pronouncedly lemon and definitely delicious.

creamy mushroom stroganoff

when i first made mushroom stroganoff a mere four years ago, it was good - how can pasta tossed with mushrooms cooked in dry sherry and butter be bad? - it didn't have the creaminess that stroganoff is known for. i tucked the thought of a remake into the back of my mind. where it then sat for years until i was thumbing through cooking light's fresh food fast, a book i picked up in the bargain bin of my local bookstore, thinking it would help reinvigorate my weeknight meals. and that it did. this version did not disappoint - the addition of sour cream added the perfect amount of creaminess i was looking for. the butter and dry sherry didn't hurt either. 

bacon cheddar waffles with apples

for the last couple weeks, i've been in a dinner making rut. the time crunch between the time we get home from work & the time the kids need to be in bed seems to be getting smaller and smaller, meaning the time we have to actually cook dinner is also getting smaller. while some may disagree, one of our newest favorites has been waffles for dinner. they're easy to make, infinitely adaptable, and toddlers love them - ours now asks for them a couple nights a week. not to mention jason was head over heels with this combo - bacon + cheddar always wins in our house.

fettucine with seared tomatoes, spinach and mozzarella

i love love love dinners like this one. not only is it really simple to throw together, all the flavors balance really well, and it's something that should a baby or toddler beckon for your attention, another person can jump right into and not need much explanation to know where you are in the recipe. bonus that it's easily ready in 30 minutes - the longest step for me is waiting for the pasta water to boil - and the classic flavors are loved by toddlers and adults alike. this one easily makes it into my weeknight rotation and will taste especially good in the dead of winter, when we're longing for some kind of taste of summer.

secret recipe club: 30 minute baked tortellini

to say i've been busy the last six weeks is the understatement of the year. if you think toddlers are a time suck, try adding a newborn into the mix. it leaves an obnoxiously little amount of free time every day. and even less time for all of the usual things. we had gotten into a routine, the three of us, and since the baby made his arrival right before easter, dinners like this twenty minute easy tortellini bake by julie at this gal cooks, are perfect. and while it isn't exactly photogenic, this dinner is delicious with very little hands on time.

skillet gnocchi with ham, peas & mushrooms

want a one skillet meal that pleases everyone, is infinitely adaptable, and can be on the table in 30 minutes? then this skillet gnocchi is for you! want more vegetables? add them. prefer a meatless option? skip the ham. change up leftover chicken breasts or grilled or roasted vegetables by tossing those in. not a fan of swiss? try cheddar or monterrey jack. endless options, all delicious.

pork tenderloin with mustard maple sauce

my favorite meals are those that can be thrown together from things i already have in my pantry. like  chicken with mustard sauce, cacio e pepe with lemon, skillet glazed pork chops, and almond crusted chicken fingers this pork is full of flavor, is ready in thirty minutes, and i already had all of the ingredients, including a pork tenderloin stashed in the freezer. this one went into my favs board asap!

chicken & broccoli stir-fry

when winn first started solids, i made most of his vegetable and fruit baby food by cooking up fresh or frozen produce, whizzing it up in the food processor, and freezing it in silicone ice cube trays. the one thing i couldn't get over was his love of broccoli. like most people, i've never been a huge fan - as a child i remember the only way i would eat it was hiding under a thick layer of homemade cheese sauce - so i was shocked when my 8 month old seemed to not have a broccoli limit. now that he's older and eating the same food as us, i've made it a point to include some of the foods he loves. not only does winn get his broccoli, but because it's clothed in a salty, sweet, asian sauce, i devoured mine too.

egg & brie sandwich

my favorite kind of meals are those that are good for breakfast, lunch, or dinner; can be made with about five ingredients, and can be on the table in less than 30 minutes. for me, it was a delicious sunday brunch, when i just happened to have leftover bread, lettuce and tomatoes from a salad earlier in the week, and a small hunk of brie. delicious.

pasta with roasted tomatoes and fried eggs

last weekend i had a handful of roasted tomatoes, baby spinach, and a small piece of brie leftover from sandwiches i made for new years eve. i cooked up the remnants of a box of fusilli, tossed the hot pasta with the brie, spinach, and tomatoes, and topped the whole mess with two runny fried eggs. it was the best lunch i've had in a long time.

my favorite 30-or-less minute meals

lately i've been on the lookout for easy weeknight dinners that can be made in 30 minutes or less. bonus if they are relatively light, nutritious, and toddler friendly. as i was going through my archives, i realized there are almost 100 posts in "dinners in 30 or less" - 96 to be exact - and many of them are worth repeating. here are a few of my favorites -

creamy chicken stew with bacon

ah, leftovers. i am going to skip right past thanksgiving, since i've never cooked a thanksgiving dinner and don't plan to anytime in the near future, and head straight to leftovers. i made this soup a couple weeks ago with chicken, but there's no reason not to sub it out for turkey. looking for other uses for leftover turkey? check out a few of my favs after the break.

chicken with mustard sauce

it seems like this time of year, everyone everywhere is eating heavy, holiday food. i like flipping through magazines of this year's must have pies to go with the perfect way to make turkey just as much as the next guy, but those recipes don't help at all when it's 6:00 on a monday and i have exactly 30 minutes before a toddler hunger meltdown starts. this chicken is perfect for those nights. virtually no prep, a tiny bit of babysitting to make the sauce, and thirty minutes later you've elevated boring chicken breasts enough to satisfy mom, dad, and toddler and been able to whip up a couple sides at the same time. sick of chicken? i bet this would be great with pork chops.

cacio e pepe with lemon

here's the thing: you can't have it all. all those women out there, working full time, raising kids, keeping a marriage afloat, cooking a real dinner for their family every night, finding time for hobbies and themselves, their plan will sooner or later crack. the problem is that as life goes on, we add more and more responsibilities all wedged into the same amount of time and with the same amount of effort and attention span we've always had. so what happens? something gives. in the last year, i've spent more time and focus on health and wellness, spending nights and weekends working out instead of blogging or keeping in touch with far away friends. i spend my evenings playing with my son, so time dedicated to dinner becomes shorter and shorter. not because i no longer enjoy cooking - follow me on pinterest and you'll see my kitchen is still a flurry of activity - but because i would rather spend my time building towers and crashing them with my son than stuffing ravioli. so now, more than ever, i am on the lookout for meals that start to finish are done in less than thirty minutes - bonus if they're toddler friendly. this pasta fits the bill perfectly. although the original recipe calls for a meyer lemon - rightfully so, since they are deliciously sweet and tart - a regular old lemon will do. toss in some cooked peas, like my favorite alfredo, to round this out as a meal.

greek baked tilapia

i've done a pretty good job at losing the baby weight - all 45 pounds of it was gone within six months. next on the list is getting rid of twelve pounds of what i affectionately call "wife weight." i tend to go through phases of eating really well, working out every day, and eating ok, working out once or twice a week. having meals that are quick, delicious and not so mad for me really help. and this fish is one of them. if you can cut tomatoes and boil pasta, you're set. we served ours with sauteed spinach for an extra dose of vegetables.

winter salad with clementine vinaigrette

i've mentioned before that i'm always on the lookout for new salads to try. i jumped on this one since a box of clementines always finds its way into my shopping cart and each week we always end up throwing a few away. i always have good intentions of eating them all. but just as soon as the weekend is over and monday comes, before i can blink it's already thursday. i breeze through the rest of the week and weekend and soon enough, i'm staring down the last three or four clementines that just didn't make it. while this salad isn't my favorite, it's still light and refreshing and a great way to use up those stragglers.