Two nights in a row....

My kids ate (and enjoyed) the dinner I cooked two nights in a row. I'm shocked...and thrilled.

I'm one of those moms who cooks one meal. You can take it or leave it but you're getting nothing else until breakfast. If I'm in a good mood, you may get the option of carrots and hummus instead of the dinner...but don't count on it.

I thought it would only be fair to share the recipes that lured my kids to the table. Enjoy!

Homemade sloppy joes
1 red pepper, chopped finely
1 celery stalk, chopped finely
1/2 onion, chopped finely
2 cloves of garlic minced
1 lb of the leanest ground beef you can find
1 - 15oz can of tomato sauce
1/4 cup of ketchup
1 tbsp of Worcestershire

Saute the first 4 ingredients until soft. Add the ground beef and cook until brown. Add tomato sauce, ketchup and Worcestershire and simmer until thickened...about 10 minutes.

I served mine on whole wheat dinner rolls (halved, of course,). Rolls are smaller than hamburger buns and I'm watchin' my waistline.

Green Beans with lime
1 lb fresh green beans
1 tbsp olive oil
1 lime
kosher salt

Cook green beans in a the olive oil on the stove top for 18-20 minutes. Add one tsp of lime zest during the last minute of cooking time. Remove from heat and squeeze lemon juice over the top and add salt to taste.

Coriander-Cumin crusted tuna with black bean salsa (from Cooking Light magazine)