I took one of my kids to the grocery store last week with the specific goal of determining what she can happily eat for dinner at home and in her lunchbox at school, as opposed to what she vehemently claims she won’t eat under any circumstances.
This kid, who is still really young, is a good eater. She likes a variety of foods. She tries new things. She accepts what’s on her plate, even if it takes some convincing, and finishes it all. She feels that choosing what you eat is a privilege, and one that should not be taken for granted.
Still, cooking is unpleasant when a children’s chorus contains two whiny lines like, “I hate bow-tie pasta!” (This is a lie. They love bow-tie pasta.) I can ask them to stop or remove it from the kitchen. But ideally we can already agree on dinner and skip this whole drama.
Go to the store, where I’m in front of refrigerated cheese tortellini—a wonderful all-ages convenience food. You can easily find a version stuffed with spinach, or ravioli stuffed with squash. But I start simple with plain cheese. I like to brew a big package of this at night, feed it to everyone for dinner, and then put the leftovers in the lunchbox. I show it to my child and talk about it. He wants to put it in the cart.
I hope this is the gateway tortellini moment that leads us to a dinner like dinner. One-Pot Tortellini with Prosciutto and Peas. I also got the materials to make Smashed Chicken BurgerHoping they join the rotation, along with the sweetest corn on the cob. Those two recipes are down for next week along with the other three.
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1. One-Pot Tortellini with Prosciutto and Peas
You can use bacon instead of prosciutto in this quick recipe from Ali Schlegel, or leave out the pork altogether for a creamy pasta dinner that sounds fancier than it really is.
2. Smashed Chicken Burger with Cheddar and Parsley
Burger patties made with beef only need salt and pepper to be great. Burger patties made with chicken or turkey need a little extra help to be delicious. Yasmin Fahr adds shredded cheddar and a bit of Dijon mustard to ground chicken and tops the burger with avocado and lime Dijonnaise. Kids can totally doze with ketchup instead. (If you want to try a more traditional turkey burger, take a look at This recipe.)
3. Oven-Seared Salmon with Corn and Tomatoes
Just when I thought I was out of summer cooking, corn at the farmers market lures me back. This ideal end-of-summer recipe from Ali Slagle is fine-tuned to cook the ingredients as little as possible to preserve their flavor.
4. Ginger-scallion tofu and greens
Every kitchen should have a jar of ginger-scallion oil, a simple and very versatile sauce that you’ll find served time and time again. Poached Chicken. Here’s another vegetarian recipe from Hetty Louie McKinnon that excels at silken tofu.
5. Vegetarian Mushroom Shawarma Pitas
The smoky flavors of shawarma are applied here in portobello mushrooms. This clever dish from Alexa Weibel is extremely satisfying, especially with the yogurt sauce.
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