Before I introduce this new Lunch Tray feature – “TLT’s Table” – I have to offer a big disclaimer: I’m not a recipe developer or a super-accomplished cook, and I never intended this blog to become a site for weeknight family recipes.  There are already plenty of other great sites for that, most notably Aviva Goldfarb’s Six O’Clock Scramble, Waverly’s Peace and Love in the Kitchen, Cooking with My Kid, and many more.

But even though I’m not an expert, I am a parent who slings the hash five nights a week, always searching for something healthful and easy to add to the endless dinner rotation.  (And did I mention?  It also has to be something my kids will actually eat.)  If you do that long enough — and I’m now in my eleventh year behind the stove — you inevitably start to compile a list of dinners that fit the bill.  So I decided that every now and then I’ll post one of these recipes along with a photo, on the off chance that one of these recipes will help you out of your own dinner rut.

To kick off “TLT’s Table,” I recently made a family favorite, Asian Turkey Meatballs with Rice, a recipe I adapted from this one from Martha Stewart Everyday Food.

Make the meatballs as instructed by Martha, but trust me, you’ll want to reduce the Thai fish sauce and Sriracha from four teaspoons to three if your kids like strong flavors (as mine do), and even a little less if you’re worried about kid acceptance.  As for the rice, I ignore the part about cooking it with carrots and just make plain rice.  (Normally I make a mixture of white and brown rice for the kids, but on this night I was curious to try black “forbidden” rice so that’s what my husband and I had, and the kids had a mixture of white and black.  My review: black rice is tasty but it might be too dense for some, and it looks very weird in the photo– I promise this meal looks much more enticing with regular rice!)

Took this BEFORE I knew I was going to post. Not very "food styled!"

Then, on the side, I lay out little bowls of shredded raw carrots, chopped cucumber, chopped cilantro, sliced green onions, lime wedges, extra Sriracha, and a sauce I make from lime juice, dark brown sugar, fish sauce and water.  (I wing this sauce and can’t offer firm measurements – basically the juice of one juicy lime, a spoonful or so of the sugar, maybe two of the fish sauce, and then about the same amount of water to dilute by half, but be sure to taste and adjust.)

Everyone fills their bowls with rice, a few meatballs, the condiments they like and then they douse the whole thing with a bit of sauce. The result is a relatively cheap meal that’s nutritious, flavorful, and easy to make.

Let me know what you think, and feel free to share links to your favorite family weeknight recipes with the rest of us.

Tagged as: asian turkey meatballs, Everyday Food, forbidden rice, Martha Stewart, recipe, weeknight dinner