Ciao Bella! Janet's Pizza Night - Recipe

 

Buon Giorno! Welcome to the day after Janet's Pizza Night!

I'm feeling pretty good today because all the kids in The Better Halves love me because I fed them PIZZA!

(Yes, after torturing the kids with dinners like Spinach Pie and Roasted Vegetable Pasta Primavera --including...ack...asparagus--I'm shamelessly making them love me again with super kid-friendly pizza.)

At last week's Better Halves' meeting (more on those later!), we discussed adding some meat-free nights to the rotation. So--sorry, kiddos--no pepperoni...just cheese with tomato sauce for you. And for the grown-ups, lots of slow-roasted tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, goat cheese...and--because I'm a little bit crazy--an all-zucchini pizza that some enjoyed and some didn't... 

(Can't win 'em all!)

Amy's Chili with Bread Bowls

Recipe is coming!

Krista's Creamy Orzo with Vegetables

Recipe is coming!

Keri's Flash-Flood (aka Save-the-Veggies!) Beef Stew

This meal was actually prepared in September following the flooding in our basement which caused us to lose our fridge and defrosted all my farm fresh veggies I'd blanched and frozen just weeks before. So instead of trashing them all, I borrowed Krista's recipe and added all the vegetables I had! So for dinner this week I defrosted four bags of stew, heated them on the stove, baked some biscuits and dinner is served! And though to me not the most visually appealing, in other words, YUCK, it really does taste YUM! Alright, I'll stop the chit-chat and get to it...thanks Krista!!!

1 pound beef cubes
1 can tomato soup
1 can water
3-4 tsp. tapioca
large bag carrots
large stalk celery
1 onion
1 Tbsp salt
1 Tbsp sugar

Cook at 250 for 6-8 hours. Thicken with flour and water if desired.

Janet's Chicken Pot Pie with Cornmeal Crust

My first meal that I cooked for The Better Halves...not sure if I would tackle something this time-consuming now, but it sure was yummy!

(Serves 4 to 6)

· 2 chicken chicken breasts, bone-in, skin-on
· 1 ½ tablespoons olive oil
· Kosher salt
· Freshly ground black pepper
· 2 1/2 cups chicken broth
· 1/2 stick unsalted butter
· 1/2 cups yellow onions, chopped (optional – I don’t really like onions, so I leave them out)
· 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
· 1/8 cup heavy cream (optional, but really good)
· 1 cups medium-diced carrots, blanched for 2 minutes
· 1 cup frozen peas or frozen sugar-snap peas, chopped
· 1/4 cup minced fresh parsley leaves (if you have parsley, more power to you. I never have any)

Welcome!

Welcome to The Better Halves! Our grand experiment is now well over a year old, and going strong!

We still can't quite believe how beautifully this dinner co-op has worked for our four families. It is not an exaggeration to say that The Better Halves has changed our daily lives...for the BETTER.

As we roll into Spring and the crazy school and sports schedules that come along with it, we are especially grateful to have home-cooked meals on our dinner tables every night. Even more so, we're grateful for the friendship and support of our neighbor friends and we wonder how we ever managed without them...

We're excited to share the recipes, the laughter and the friendship with you...WELCOME!