When you visit someone else’s kitchen, do you like peeking into their fridge and cabinets? Confession: I do! Seeing what other folks are buying, cooking, and eating is inspirational, right? Here’s a snippet of what I’ve been sampling, curious cats:

Fruit Plates – I’ve been craving fresh fruit lately, so it’s either slices of mixed fruit or oatmeal with berries for breakfast.

Simple Snacks – More of the reasonably healthy and fresh stuff (bananas, oranges, almonds, cucumber slices, olives, cheese sticks, etc).

Low-Carb Mexican – Plenty of chicken and homemade salsa, little or no rice and beans. This helps me get a good dose of yummy food minus all the calories. I could eat Mexican food 5 days in a row and never get bored.

Ashitaba Tea – I normally like green tea, and I’ve heard many good things about Ashitaba, but I’m not a fan. The tea, which is made from a powder, has a bright green color, strong smell, and appeared to be some type of slime from Ghostbusters! (I think I’ll stick to pre-made tea bags going forward.) Alternatively, it can be mixed with almond milk and honey for a sweeter drink (didn’t try it yet, don’t have the nerve!).

Vegetable Soup – Since cabbage was on sale for St. Patrick’s Day, I picked up two huge heads for only $0.27/lb. One went into a nice big pot of veggie soup. The other will be made into coleslaw. Cabbage isn’t my favorite veggie, but it’s good mixed into other ingredients.

What’s on the menu at your house?

Joy of Kosher has a great article featuring 20 unique Hamantashen recipes. Both sweet and savory are included, along with some combos I’ve never even heard of (pear with goat cheese; gingerbread apple; lemon meringue).

Hamantashen has come a long way from the treats I ate growing up. There were only two versions back then—one made from cream cheese or a pareve cookie dough. I will always enjoy the traditional triangle-shaped pastries, but I love all the new ideas, too. Aren’t these truffle pops adorable?

My Jewish Learning has a recipe for Sweet and Sour Meatballs that looks delicious. It uses a combination of tomato and lemon to make the sauce—something I’ve never tried before. They also suggest pairing with egg noodles which would be a nice change from the mashed potatoes I’d usually pick.

I can’t wait to make them. Maybe this Friday for Shabbos? I’ll post an update with the finished result after I do. Yum!

Sometimes it seems like my whole life revolves around food. Between the shopping, planning, cooking, and cleaning up, I’m in the kitchen non-stop. Don’t get me wrong, I love to cook and try new recipes and I don’t mind making an effort, but it can be a grind, day after day.

If I want to have time for other activities—and I do!—I can’t spend 4 hours on an elaborate feast. Dinner needs to be quick (no more than an hour), healthy, and homemade if possible. By keeping the kitchen well stocked, being organized, and focusing on simple meals, I can accomplish my goal.

Simple to me is a meal that consists of 3 things or less. I don’t include dessert in there, because I’m limiting sweets and serving dessert only on the weekend, if at all. Some examples of how I use the “3 things” rule:

• Meat, starch, and vegetables
• Main dish, vegetable, and fruit
• Soup, bread, and salad
• Sandwich, veggies, and fruit

My go-to meat dishes are baked chicken or fish, steak/meatballs/burgers, or a whole roast made in the crock-pot. Whole roasted chickens are also easy.

For a starch, I like to serve rice, potatoes, or pasta. On my most frazzled nights, I will simply serve slices of bread with butter and call it good-enough!

Veggies can be fresh or frozen, depending on the sales and what’s in my kitchen. If I’m turning on the oven, I try to roast a veggie. Fruit is the same, whatever’s on sale or cheapies like apples, oranges, bananas. Salad is usually counted as the veggie instead of a separate course.

Getting beyond the basics may not be possible for most busy moms, but a “3 thing” dinner can be do-able (for most of us anyway).

 What are your favorite simple dinners?