Being a part of the Hidden Valley parent panel has been great. I have been learning a lot of practical tips regarding how to get my kids to enjoy vegetables. While that takes a bit of work and thought, one thing is easy…using dressings as marinades for the meats that I prepare on our counter grill. Recently, I was sent their Farmhouse Originals Italian with Herbs Dressing to review. I marinated some thinly cut pork cutlets in the dressing, placed them on my grill for 5 minutes and the meat portion of our meal was done!
I cook dinner most nights of the week and friends often ask how I get it done on my super busy days. Honestly, most of the meals that I cook take 30 minutes or less to prepare (unless it’s a slow cooker meal). For instance, this meal with the Italian pork chops took less than 30 minutes. I prepared the rice and spinach and then grilled the chops. That was it.
I had a conversation with a girlfriend a couple of weeks ago about cooking rice. To my surprise, she mentioned how hard it was for many people to cook rice. I couldn’t believe it until I looked online. I think that people make it more complicated than it is with their instructions! (I find that to be true in regards to the cooking of a lot of basic items…i.e. do a google search for “how to boil an egg”. I did that before and became so confused until I just did what I already knew to do!) Anyway, I never cooked rice growing up (we were more of a mashed potato family). However, when Reggie and I were married, he taught me how to make rice. He said, “Put two cups of water in a small pot over a high flame. Once the water is boiling, add one cup of rice. Bring the rice to a boil. Stir the rice and lower the flame to a low setting. Cover the pot with a lid and let it cook over a low flame for 15 minutes.” That’s it. It has always worked for me. (If I buy boxed rice, I just follow the directions on the back of the box instead.)
One of my favorite vegetables of the moment is freshly cooked spinach. It is healthy, tasty and easy to prepare. All three of “my guys” enjoy it fresh (not frozen, except in lasagnas) so it’s one of my seasonal staples.
Simple Spinach Recipe
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
- 3 cloves garlic
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 bunch of spinach
- Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
1. Mince the garlic and cut the stems off the spinach.
2. Over a medium flame, heat the olive oil in a sauté pan and add the garlic. (Garlic browns quickly, so you only need to cook it 30 seconds to 1 minute.)
3. Add the spinach to the pan and turn it over in order to get the olive oil and garlic mixture on all of it. Sprinkle everything with salt and pepper.
4. Lower the flame to medium-low and let the spinach cook until it reaches your desired taste. (I usually cook it for 3 -5 minutes.)
That’s it. Making this meal was so easy and the entire family enjoyed it. What is one of your easy 30 minutes (or less) meals?