Cilantro Beef Orzo

I am a huge fan of any dish that takes very little time to prepare.   Let's face it, it's hard to cook a gourmet meal when you've got a toddler underfoot.  This dish is ready in about 20 minutes.   I found the recipe for this dish in a magazine years ago.   I don't remember which one.   I lost the clipping ages ago but luckily have made it so often that I have memorized the recipe.  This beef dish is one of my husband's favorites so I was very happy when Danny gobbled it down the first time I served it to him.   

3 cups of beef broth
1 1/2 cups of uncooked orzo
1 can of whole kernel corn
1 can of diced green chilies
1 small onion, chopped
1 bell pepper chopped
1/2  lb lean ground beef
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

Combine broth, orzo, corn and chilies in large saucepan.   Bring to a boil.   Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until all liquid is absorbed.  While that is cooking, brown ground beef in a large pan.   Add onion and pepper and cook until vegetables are tender.   Drain grease from pan.   After all the liquid has been absorbed in the orzo mixture, stir in the beef, onion and pepper as well as the cilantro.

I usually like to use red pepper because it adds a splash of color but green peppers were on sale when I went shopping.  


Danny liked this dish a lot!   He had 3 bowlfuls and licked his bowl clean each time! 

There were enough leftovers for my husband and Danny to have lunch the next day.

Chicken Udon Noodle Soup

I love getting Danny to try different types of foods.   The first time he had udon noodles was when we were dining at a Japanese restaurant.    My husband ordered udon noodle soup and gave Danny a couple of the noodles.  He loved them.   So I like to use them in a soup sometimes.

 

Udon noodles are very wide Japanese noodles.   You can find them in the Asian food aisle of most grocery stores.   Prepare them according the directions on the package.   If you can't find them or just don't want to try a different type of noodles, you can use spaghetti or linguine instead.

 

4 cups chicken broth
2 cups soup
1 carrot, sliced into matchstick sized pieces
1/4 cup sliced mushrooms
1/4 cup snow peas
1/4 cup broccoli florets
1 small onion, chopped
1 skinless chicken breast, sliced into stir fry sizes pieces
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon ground ginger 
1 package of udon noodles, prepared according to directions on package

Put all ingredients other than noodles in large sauce pan and bring to a boil.   Boil for 10 minutes.    Put noodles in soup bowls and ladle spoonfuls of soup over noodles.


If you are in a hurry and don't feel like chopping veggies, you can usually find a bag of stir fry veggies in the freezer section of the grocery store to make this ready even quicker.

The noodles are long so I cut them into smaller pieces for Danny.   I will admit that Danny picked out the snow peas and put them to the side.   But he did eat everything else in his bowl!

Normally this makes enough for all 3 of us to enjoy a nice dinner and still have enough leftover so we can all have some for lunch the next day.  However, since my husband likes to put A LOT of noodles in his bowl, I usually have to make a second package of noodles for the leftovers.  Keep the noodles separate from the soup until you reheat it.   Otherwise, the noodles will absorb all the broth.  I usually put the noodles in a small container and add them to the soup before popping it into the microwave.

Vegetable Pasta Toss

I have found that Danny will eat any shape of pasta and will gobble up just about every type of pasta dish I make. This pasta toss is quick and easy and something the whole family can enjoy. I used 2 cloves of garlic but you can certainly use more or less. I would have topped this with some freshly grated Parmesan cheese if I had any but oops!!!!!   I forgot to put it on the shopping list.  Oh well, there's always next time.  Just pretend there is some grated cheese on there!

Olive oil

1 small onion, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 zucchini, diced

1/2 cup sliced mushrooms

2 plum tomatoes, diced

Several leaves of fresh basil, chopped

8 oz of any shaped pasta, cooked(I like to use twists...very kid friendly)

Add olive oil to large skillet(I do 2 turns around the pan) and heat. Add onion and garlic and cook over medium heat for about 2 minutes. Add zucchini and mushrooms and cook for about 5-6 minutes or until zucchini is tender. Stir in tomatoes and cook for another 3-4 minutes. Stir in pasta and basil. Stir well before removing from stove to ensure pasta is evenly coated.

As you can see, this pasta dish made Danny very happy.   That's our dog's nose on the bottom corner.   Murphy was hoping that Danny would throw some to him.   Alas, poor Murphy went hungry this time.   

This made 3 adult sized servings and 2 toddler sized servings.

Quick Vegetable Soup

One of my go-to lunches is this vegetable soup. It takes less than 10 minutes to make and the ingredients are so simple. This is one of my eyeball the amounts recipes. All amounts are estimated. I usually season it to taste. You don’t have to add the baby spinach. I just like how it looks and Danny loves spinach. I like to top it with a little bit of cheese for some extra flavor. Today I used mozzarella because that’s what I had in the refrigerator. I served it with some veggie straws on the side.

¾ cup of chicken broth

2 tablespoons of small seashell or any small pasta

2 tablespoons of mixed frozen vegetables

Small handful of baby spinach leaves (optional)

1 tablespoon of tomato sauce

1 teaspoon of Italian seasoning

Shredded cheese(optional)

Bring broth to a boil. Add pasta, tomato sauce, and Italian seasoning. Keep at a boil for about 5-6 minutes or until pasta is tender. Add frozen vegetables and spinach. Cook for another 1-2 minutes until vegetables are warm and spinach is wilted. Top with shredded cheese if desired before serving.

I usually use chicken broth but I have made it with vegetable broth too. You can make it with any frozen vegetables. I like mixed vegetables using the best but have used peas and carrots and sometimes just green beans.

Danny devoured 2 toddler sized bowlfuls. There was enough left over for him to have it again for lunch tomorrow.