4-weeks of homemade meals: Day 2

Yesterday was Day 2 of my 4 weeks of homemade meals challenge. Although a big part of my energy goes into fixing flavorful, healthy dinners, I have to also make sure we have breakfast, lunch and snacks that are homemade as well. Yesterday was a busy day of hospital appointments and errands. In my rush to get to our appointment on time, I forgot to take snacks with me for my 1-year old daughter. Of course, Starbuck's is conveniently located inside the hospital. It was very difficult not to cave in and buy a small snack for my daughter to keep her happy as we waited, and waited, and waited for our medicine. But I managed to keep her entertained long enough and then made a rush back home. Note to self--always have snacks handy, no matter how short or long your trip away from home will be. Once back home, I

proceeded to get dinner ready. It was fairly simple, since I dedicated part of Monday to meal prep--cutting vegetables and making sure I had all the other ingredients for all of the weeknight meals. I roasted a chicken with garlic and lemon and some fennel seeds and then took my chopped bell peppers and zuchinni to the grill and cooked those for about 10-12 minutes, enough so that they weren't charred but were soft. I cheated a little and used frozen tortellinis as part of my pasta salad. You could easily use plain pasta or couscous with the veggies and toss in some shredded parmessan for extra flavor. I tossed the tortellini and vegetable salad with a homemade lemon and garlic vinaigrette that was super delicious. Want to give this meal a try? Just go to www.foodnetwork.com for Ina Garten's Perfect Roast Chicken recipe. I got the idea of a tortellini and veggie salad from Southern Living magazine--the October 2014 issue.

Buen provecho,
Gaby