Spaghetti with Lemon and Olive Oil

I haven't posted in quite awhile. Mostly, we've been surviving on quick meals like spaghetti and meatballs or breakfast for dinner type dishes. However, I did stumble on one pasta dish that I thought I would share because it was very easy and a nice simple dish if you're in the mood for carbs.

Spaghetti with Lemon and Olive Oil.

I thought it was a little bland although the lemon flavor came through but the husband and toddler approved so I'll probably make it again since it was so easy. The toddler asked for seconds then thirds. I served the pasta with chili lime roasted chicken and roasted asparagus.

Bernadette: what we've been eating

Last week, I abandoned the meal plan rather quickly because I made the meal plan forgetting my father-in-law was visiting - and he has distinctly different taste than I do. We ended up eating out a lot and consuming a lot of leftovers since everywhere we dined dished up huge portions.

However, I did make the Linguini with Avocado and Arugula Pesto, which was a success with both husband and toddler! I made the dish over a week or so ago and the toddler is still asking for "green noodles." I foresee more pesto or just spinach fettucini in our future. I followed the recipe as written but would recommend halving the amount suggested because it makes a TON of noodles. Unfortunately, I didn't particularly like it as a leftover dish. It's not very tasty cold and because the sauce has avocado, the idea of microwaving it or heating on stove did not appeal to me.

A few nights, I made Chili Lime Chicken with Cucumber Pineapple Salad. My husband liked the chicken but didn't touch the cucumber pineapple salad. I really liked this dish because it was so quick and easy, very satisfying for the minimum prep required.

Photo: Johnny Miller

The toddler refused to touch either chicken or salad and just ate some pasta that I had seasoned lightly because I had a hunch that the husband might want carbs on the side. Someday, I hope to get the toddler back to tasting everything like she used to when she was a little younger. Right now, all she wants to eat are carbs....

More recently, I made Roasted Salmon with Lime and Cilantro and Roasted Sesame Asparagus. Both of these dishes were extremely easy, almost no prep, and both dishes roasted in the oven for about the same amount of time. It was a very no-fuss dinner and my husband ate almost all of it. The toddler, sadly, insisted on pasta.