Meatless Monday started out strong. As in roasting brussels sprouts in olive oil, s&p, balsamic vinegar and honey strong. Mondays I am usually home all day so that is my day to leisurely stroll through the aisles of Trader Joes with no makeup on, my maternity yoga pants (that I still wear,) UGGS and do multiple drive bys on the sample station. I'm some sort of walking mom cliche and I own it...hard 

I did a lot of things wrong this particular evening. But first, lets start with the right. I picked up Jenson from daycare, came home and immediately assessed my fridge for dinner ideas and it was pretty uninspiring. Read: condiments, a half-eaten pouch and a lonely bottle of O'Doul's as there always seems to be pregnant people in my house these days. I then went to the freezer and fished through the mounds of stuffed chicken kievs sent by my adorable (and the light of my life) grandparents....but there is only so much stuffed  chicken one can consume in a week that legit has 53 ingredients listed on the back of the container.

We have another Sunday video installment. And I realize it is Thursday. But we all want it to be the weekend....so it's just coming a bit early. Every Saturday in the New York Times Magazine they feature a recipe that I usually vow to clip on my fridge and make for Sunday dinner. That has never happened. 

But this particular Sunday I could not fight it any longer. It was chicken shawarma and it was speaking to me in very clear nostalgic tones. I have ended many a evening with chicken shawarma and at times I didn't necessarily remember the specifics of the sandwich...but it didn't matter because I just knew it was amazing. 

It was not a typical Thursday.  It was Chinese New Year so Jenson's daycare was shut. Huh? Yes. My 18-month-old celebrates the Chinese New Year at his Mandarin-influenced daycare so this day was their Superbowl. Jenson had ben prepping all week long making paper mache´ red lanterns and brushing up on Mandarin animal flashcards. It was time to rest. And that meant it was a time for dad to take a sick day because mama just couldn't swing staying at home. I mean, I had really important things to do. Like participate in a Kathie Lee and Hoda TODAY show segment. Enough said, right? Really, any time I can get my hair and makeup done for free, even if the most exciting excursion I am making that day is up to the 9th floor to get a taco salad

Furst Bites YouTube launched a few weeks ago and we're already getting buck wild and launching a series....a series. Now hopefully this won't be a series of one video as I realize I'm putting this out and now have to walk the walk.  This whole day job thing really gets in the way of creating fun food videos with my son. But that day job does not interfere on Sundays, so may I present the inaugural video in my new "Sunday Routine" series. And what better Sunday to kick it off on than Super Bowl Sunday.

I was supposed to come home and make some broccolini for dinner and then let my "cooking creative juices" run wild from there. That didn't happen. I made the (amazing) mistake of opening up my freezer first and saw the three cheese pizza staring back at me. It was speaking to me and it said, "screw your broccolini...don't you want your son to LIKE you? MAKE ME"  Done. 

I was about to put it in the oven and started having MINOR pangs of guilt that I thwarted my healthy dinner plans for a frozen pizza, so I grabbed some garlic and fresh basil out of the fridge and put it on top. I then broiled some baby tomatoes coated in olive oil, salt and pepper and figured the meal wasn't really that bad for us.