June Recipes - Week 2

As is was HOT all week, I stuck to the quick, easy and no or minimal cook salads. I did, however, turn the oven on one night when it was a little cooler to make the Cheesy Quinoa Bake with Peas and Carrots (very tasty). I did the chicken for the Pasta Salad with Chicken and No-Cook Asian Chicken Wraps in the slow-cooker, but you could also buy a rotisserie chicken at the store if you prefer.

Black Eyed Pea Salad
http://www.marthastewart.com/326491/roasted-pork-with-black-eyed-pea-salad

Preparation Tip:
Make this salad in advance! It is really quick and easy and only requires chopping a red pepper and some green onions.

Lilah's Take: Lilah isn't a huge fan of eating raw vegetables so she kind of picked around the red pepper and green onions, but she did eat the beans and I am sure some of the vegetables inevitably made their way into her. 

Cheesy Quinoa Bake with Peas and Carrots
http://www.eatcleandiet.com/the_kitchen_table/recipe/recipe.aspx?id=2161

Preparation Tip: 
Make the casserole ahead of time so you just have to pop it in the oven at dinner time. Make sure to cook it for an few extra minutes to account for it being refrigerated. I added a can of black beans before serving this dish to give it a protein boost.

Lilah's Take: 
Lilah was a fan of this dish which is great because I am always looking for ways to get different kinds of grains into her.

Couscous and Lentil Salad
http://www.canadianliving.com/food/couscous_and_lentil_salad.php

Preparation Tip:
This salad can be made in advance as well. I added 2 cans of tuna to add a protein boost and to make this salad into a complete meal.

Lilah's Take: Lilah is a HUGE fan of pearled couscous so telling her this was little baby couscous made her more interested in the dish. She actually really likes feta cheese so that helped as well.

Falafel Focaccia Sandwich
http://recipes.todaysparent.com/Recipes/View/Falafel-focaccia-sandwich

Preparation Tip: 
This sauce was WAY too salty and I used dried mint instead of fresh which was a big mistake. If I make this again, I will add the salt in the end and taste until I find the right balance and use fresh mint. Otherwise, these were really easy to make, particularly because you just throw everything into the food processor and you are done!

Lilah's Take: I deconstructed this sandwich and omitted the sauce when I served it to Lilah. She loves bread so that was the first thing to go followed my a few meager bites of the falafel.

No-Cook Asian Chicken Wraps
http://www.parents.com/recipe/chicken/no-cook-asian-chicken-wraps/

Preparation Tip:
Throw a chicken in the crock-pot in the morning and all you have to do is make the sauce and cut up a few vegetables to be ready to serve dinner! Refrigerate the leftover chicken for use in the Pasta Salad with Chicken.

Lilah's Take: Wraps = fun in Lilah's eyes, especially when she gets to put them together herself!

Pasta Salad with Chicken
http://www.parents.com/recipe/chicken/pasta-salad-with-chicken/

Preparation Tip:
Use the leftover chicken from the No-Cook Asian Chicken Wraps to make this pasta salad and you will only have to boil the pasta, make the dressing and chop a few vegetables to have dinner ready!

Lilah's Take: Again, Lilah is a big fan of feta cheese and she absolutely loves macaroni (which I used as the pasta) so she did pretty well with this salad.