Established Ways: The Dinner Diva's Broccoli Block

I love the Dinner Diva! She helped me get started organizing the way I cook. Rubber chicken (it tastes better than it sounds) is a personal favorite, and may be yours too if you like to spend less on groceries. She is a wealth of nutritional information and has menus for everything from weight-loss to gluten free to holidays. Hop over to her website after reading her article below!

Broccoli Block by Leanne Ely, C.N.C

I have been going through Broccoli Block. You know, when you forget to turn on the veggies and you have your dinner ready to go but the veggies are sitting on the stovetop, cold, raw and just waiting for someone to turn them on and get them cooked?

Why is that?

I think the reason is we are zooming around the kitchen, multitasking as we should be and for me anyway, the stove isn’t where my prep area is (it’s to my back) and I just simply forget. Not always, but sometimes. It ticks me off! I’ve been cooking for a LONG time and to forget to turn on the veggies is outside of my realm of thinking, or so I thought. I’ve thought about the old adage, out of sight, out of mind and thought, that’s the ticket! So I’ve taken to moving my prepped veggies (pot and all) and putting it on the countertop where I am preparing the evening meal. Now it’s in my line of vision and I can still stay preoccupied with all the stuff I was so preoccupied with before, but now I won’t forget to turn on the veggies!

If you’re having Broccoli Block, maybe you want to fix it too, by putting whatever it is you’re forgetting, right in the line of fire, so you see it and remember to do it! Part of getting dinner on the table every night is getting all the components ready at the same time. Doesn’t take rocket science, but you do have to think about it!

Here’s a recipe to make your next dinner a success, especially if you’ve got summer heat to deal with—

Pasta Salad with White Beans
Serves 6

1 (16 ounce) package fusilli pasta
1 cup canned white beans, drained and rinsed
5 ounces smoked turkey or regular ham, chopped (or omit)
4 plum tomatoes, chopped
1 small red bell pepper, seeded, deribbed and cut in long, thin slices
10 Kalamata olives, pitted and halved (or use black olives)
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped

EASY BALSAMIC VINAIGRETTE
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 clove garlic, pressed

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