The Poopsie Collective

Recipe: Roasted Lemon Garlic Herb Shrimp

Written by GWEN 

Today I received an email from one of my FAVE fellow yummy mummies - a mother of twin girls. She is an AMAZING chef and I trust her on everything to do with food, babies and most things really! 

ENJOY… a la Natalia.

ROASTED LEMON GARLIC HERB SHRIMP

Source: Cinnamon Spice & Everything Nice

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

Yields: 3-4 servings

Ingredients:

1/3 cup olive oil

1 lemon, zested then half cut into thin slices and other half into wedges

3-4 fresh thyme sprigs, leaves removed

sea or kosher salt and fresh black pepper

spaghetti/pasta, couscous or rice for serving

2 tablespoons butter

1 pound fresh shrimp, medium-sized, deveined with tails off

5 cloves garlic, minced

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. In an 8x8 glass baking pan combine olive oil, lemon zest and thyme. Olive oil should liberally cover the bottom of the pan, if it doesn’t drizzle in a little more. Season with salt and pepper. Bake in oven for 10-12 minutes, checking every few minutes, if it looks like it is getting too brown remove and proceed to next step. Meanwhile cook pasta, drain and toss with a pat of butter or olive oil.

2. Remove pan from oven, add butter and move it around a little to melt, add shrimp, garlic and the thin sliced lemons (don’t squeeze them), toss to coat with oil mixture. Bake for 8-10 more minutes or until shrimp turn pink and just start to curl, check often. Serve over pasta, couscous or rice tossed with additional extra-virgin olive oil and fresh-squeezed lemon with additional lemon wedges for serving.

Note: Adapted from Fine Cooking

Recipe: Rigatoni with Eggplant & Pine Nut Crunch

Written by ERICA

Source: Bon Appétit | March 2011

Moms face approximately 8 gazillion dilemmas on a daily basis…how to get that pesky booger out of your squirmy child’s nose, how to help your dog lose 5 lbs while your toddler throws cheese into the dog’s mouth at every meal, how to get the Dora the Explorer theme song out of your head, how to clean poop off your child’s balls when he’s cold (there, I said it, they shrink, the poop gets stuck, it’s gross, and it’s really difficult)…anyway, we’ve got enough on our plates. So considering all the difficult tasks we deal with, preparing dinner shouldn’t be one of them.

These days I only cook meals that I can make a lot of, with the intention of a certain toddler reaping the benefits of my efforts the next day (and the day after that, and the day after that…). And if I can dirty 3 pots/pans/bowls or less, major bonus. Cue my favorite family-friendly pasta dish, originally from Bon Appétit, with some minor adjustments from this lazy mama. It’s not exactly a quick dish to prepare, but it’s one of those great “leave it in the oven and chase your kid around the house while it bakes” kind of recipes. And the end result is the gift that keeps on giving if you’re into leftovers, which let’s be honest, you are.

Ingredients:

Nonstick vegetable oil spray

1 unpeeled large eggplant, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

2 medium yellow bell peppers, cut into 1/2-inch squares

2 cups grape tomatoes, cut in half lengthwise

** I add other veggies for added nutritional benefits/flavor, such as: broccoli, onions, zucchini, yellow squash** 

Garlic

Olive oil

2/3 cup (firmly packed) fresh basil leaves

1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, divided

1/4 cup pine nuts

1 pound rigatoni (**I prefer to use whole wheat penne, ideally Barilla Plus because it’s loaded with protein, omega 3s and fiber**)

1 pound whole-milk mozzarella cheese, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

1 jar of tomato sauce (whatever sauce is your favorite, or whatever you’ve got in the pantry; if you like a lot of sauce, go for 1 1/2 jars)

Preparation:

- Preheat oven to 425°F. 

- Spray large rimmed baking sheet with nonstick spray; add the cubed eggplant, peppers, grape tomatoes (and any other vegetables you choose to use).  

- Using garlic press, squeeze 1 garlic clove onto vegetables. Or sprinkle with garlic powder, or use pre-minced garlic. 

- Drizzle vegetables with olive oil (enough to coat); toss. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast vegetables until tender, stirring often, 35 to 45 minutes.

- For Crunch Topping: Combine 2/3 cup basil, 1/2 cup Parmesan, pine nuts, and 1 garlic clove in mini processor. Blend until crumbly. Season topping with salt.

- Cook pasta in pot of boiling, salted water until just tender but still firm to bite; drain & return to pot. 

- Toss with roasted vegetables, tomato sauce, and 1/2 cup parmesan. 

- Transfer to 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking dish. Sprinkle with mozzarella & pine nut topping.

- Bake pasta until heated through, 25 to 35 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes and serve.

Drool-worthy and shockingly easy. Plus: a few extra meals baked in thanks to a busy mom’s savior, leftovers!

What’s For Dinner?

Written by BROOKE 

Stephanie’s “Simplify Series” this week inspired me to write a post about how I do dinners. I haven’t figured out everything in the world of homemaking but I would dare say that dinner time is something I have greatly improved on in the past few years. Gone are the three nights a week of takeout or frantically unthawing meat under hot water ten minutes before my husband gets home. 

Here are my secrets…

Plan a Menu

Usually on Saturdays, but always by Sunday we (meaning I involve the hubby for the most part) plan a menu. We look over the weekly grocery ads to check the sales, take inventory of our freezer and pantry and plan five meals. I’m a realist. We’ll eat out, go over to friends or eat leftovers at least twice. Sunday-Thursday usually does it for us. Having a menu plan makes everything easier; shopping, making sure whatever meat I need is out of the freezer, and it helps that I post it on the fridge so I don’t have a husband who comes home and says “Tacos? I had those for lunch.” It’s on the menu! My menu is flexible. Although some meals are slated for certain nights because of work schedules, I have no problem switching things around too. Nothing is set in stone at our house. 

My cute menu planner that I keep on the fridge. You can get one at Anthropologie.

Make Your List

I’ve learned this the hard way. Now, I painstakingly go through my meals and figure out what I need, even if it means getting out the recipe. Too many times I’ve gone to make something and been missing a key ingredient (ask my neighbors, they’re always the ones I call in a panic) and, well you’ve seen what happens when I try to drag my kids to the store for “just one thing.” I also make sure my list includes items for breakfasts and lunches (those are pretty simple around here, lots of sandwiches, fruits, veggies, yogurt). 

Shop

I usually have to hit up some combo of Trader Joe’s, grocery and Costco but if I can, I try to cut one of those out each week (Costco can usually be every other week or every three weeks and if I’m getting something at Trader Joe’s, I sometimes plan my whole week around items I can get there). 

I try to shop sans kids. Saturday night is my preferred time, but sometimes the hubs and I split it up on Saturday during naps. 

My goal is to only shop once a week. I find it saves tons of money when you are not running to the store three times a week and it saves sanity! 

Know Your Schedule

Be realistic. What is your week like? Is your husband working late every night? Don’t make a huge meal for just you and a toddler. What about work, lessons, etc.? I work out of the home on Mondays and Wednesdays in the afternoon. I don’t get home those days until 6:30, which is way after my kids normal time for dinner. On those days I try to plan something that I can totally make ahead that my husband can heat up for the kids when he gets home, or something in the crock pot that will require minimal effort. It’s not that my husband can’t cook (he’s a great cook) but by the time he gets home and I’m still gone the kids are starving and they need something quick. Plus I like to have something as soon as I walk in the door.  

Prep and Freeze if Possible

I actually don’t mind making somewhat elaborate meals. I try to keep it pretty simple but once or twice a week I make something more involved or try something new. The secret for me, in this stage, is that I have a napper. I can usually get my four year old to have quiet time while the little one naps and during that time, I prep dinner. Anything that can be done ahead of time, I do. I cut up veggies, cook chicken to shred, anything I can get done before that dinner rush. The ideal meal for me is something I can almost completely prep ahead of time. Also, when I can, I’ll cook double of a meal or part of a meal and freeze it. I haven’t really perfected this yet but taco filling, stuffed pepper filling and some soups freeze really well and it’s great to have a few meals stashed away in the freezer for a crazy week. 

Go Easy on Yourself

We have PLENTY of nights when it just doesn’t come together. A few weeks ago we had family in town, life was crazy and I realized on Friday I had fed my kids quesadillas three times that week. It happens. But it’s nice on those weeks when you have it all under control. And having a plan assures that happens more often than not. 

The response I hope to get from dinners…