Homepage: Practical Takeaways for Families

Sheet Pan Butternut Squash Dinner

Sheet pan butternut squash is a quick vegetarian main – made with squash, red onions, pine nuts, tahini yogurt sauce, za’atar, and cilantro!

Smartphones & Kids – A discussion of The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt

A discussion of Jonathan Haidt’s The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt, addressing the risks of smart phone use to kids and adolescents. Also, what parents can do to mitigate those risks.
Sharing at Home: Takeaways from The Second Shift by Arlie Russell Hochschild

A discussion of Arlie Russel Hochschild’s The Second Shift, addressing how various working couples share the work at home (and a critique, because I can’t help myself).

Abruzzese Meatballs (tiny meatballs)

These tiny Abruzzese-style meatballs are cooked in a lemony white wine sauce – they’re super yummy tossed with pasta! They’re a great choice if your kids don’t like red sauce but do like tiny meatballs + pasta.
Crispy Mushroom Tacos with Turmeric Yogurt

Easy crispy mushroom tacos ready in under 30 minutes (with an option to add beef!) . . .
Sourdough Flatbread Pizza

If you have some sourdough discard on hand, this whole wheat sourdough flatbread pizza is a perfect cross between focaccia and pizza, but also healthy and fast . . .

Skillet Chicken & Gnocchi with Caramelized Fennel, Onion, and Apple

This skillet chicken and gnocchi with caramelized fennel, onion, and apple cooked in chicken drippings makes a perfect fall one-pot dinner . . . It’s also super simple. You basically throw everything together in a cast iron skillet and roast it for about an hour. You’re left with caramelized fennel and onion baked in chicken…
Lemony Wild Rice with Saffron and Fresh Tomatoes

This lemony wild rice with tomatoes is easy to make ahead of time and keeps well so that you can enjoy it again and again throughout the week . . .
Greek Lemon Chicken and Potatoes (or Celery Root) with Spinach

This Greek lemon chicken is roasted over potatoes – or, even better if you can find it, celery root. The chicken fat combines with lemon and oregano to roast the potatoes / celery root and doubles as a sauce for spinach, making this a true one-pot meal.
Sheet Pan Butternut Squash Dinner

Sheet pan butternut squash is a quick vegetarian main – made with squash, red onions, pine nuts, tahini yogurt sauce, za’atar, and cilantro!

Spanakopita-Style Greens Pie with Fresh Summer Herbs

Rainbow Chard, Ricotta, Feta, Cheddar, Lemon Zest, and Summer Herbs . . . This greens pie is my current favorite recipe. It is very similar to spanakopita, which I’ve always loved. In college, I would buy 5 or 6 packs of the little spanakopita triangles at a time. There were weeks where I would eat…
Pearl Couscous with Spinach, Lemon, Tomatoes, Fresh Mozzarella, Basil, and Olives

This lemony pearl couscous with spinach, tomatoes, mozzarella, and olives (in our house, creatively dubbed, “The Couscous Dish”) is a delicious and quick vegetarian one-dish meal that works for the whole family.
Fast & Easy Oven-Roasted Asparagus

Vegetables for the Lazy (or time-pressed) . . . This is a super fast & easy oven-roasted asparagus recipe that produces perfect asparagus every time. Over the past 5 years or so, there’s been one nearly fail-safe method for cooking nearly any vegetable that has been my go-to. At this point, I barely need to…
Za’atar Roasted Carrots with Yogurt Sauce

Easy roasted carrots that look like they took work, making for a delicious, last-minute, child-friendly side . . .

All-Apple Butter (no sugar apple butter)

Delicious, sweet, no-sugar apple butter. No sweeteners of any kind needed – just apples and spices.
Ginger Apple Bran Muffins

If you could put an apple crisp into a muffin, these ginger apple bran muffins would be how . . .These are relatively healthy, super-fiber apple and bran muffins. Because they are made with apple, dates, and bran, they are packed with nutrients and natural sweetness (no refined sugars in the recipe!), making them both…
Orange Fennel Chicken Breakfast Sausages

These orange fennel chicken breakfast sausages are sweetened with chopped dates and caramelized fennel and flavored with a hint of orange and nutmeg.
Simple Sweet Potato Pancakes

Basic and very easy recipe for sweet potato pancakes that is very popular with my kids . . .