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french dinner

(1 rating)
docheart avatar
Recipe by
Susanne Heartsill
@docheart
Memphis, TN

I don't know that this dinner is particularly "French" but it makes my kids feel fancy...so they started calling it "French Dinner". Loaded with excellent nutrition and being easy to prepare after a hard day at work makes this one of my favorites as well. This is also a great way to clean out the fridge and avoid wasting produce which used to be a problem in our house.

►
(1 rating)
yield 4 serving(s)
prep time 25 Min
cook time 20 Min

Ingredients For french dinner

  • 1 lb
    chicken sausage (with apple)
  • several
    assorted cheeses (cheddar/stilton with mango/blue/havarti/etc)
  • 1
    green pepper
  • 1
    red pepper
  • 1
    avocado
  • 1 bunch
    broccoli, bunch
  • 1 pkg
    baby carrots
  • 1 bunch
    grapes, seedless
  • 1 pt
    strawberries, fresh
  • 1
    cantaloupe
  • 2
    apples
  • 1 c
    hummus
  • 1
    french bread loaf (or other crusty bread)
  • 1/4 c
    ranch dressing for dipping veggies
  • 1
    limes, juiced

How To Make french dinner

  • 1
    Preheat oven to 375.
  • 2
    Place French bread loaf directly on rack. Bake for about 5-7 minutes or until toasty brown. Slice into 1/2 inch rounds. Grill or saute chicken sausage until cooked through. Cut into bite sized pieces and place on large serving platter.
  • 3
    Slice green and red peppers into strips. Slice avocado into bite sized pieces. Wash and cut broccoli into bite sized pieces. If your kids won't eat raw broccoli, I found that briefly grilling the broccoli reduces the bitterness and my kids LOVE it.
  • 4
    Slice strawberries and apples into managable size. Use a melon baller to prepare cantaloupe into bite sized pieces. (If you are in a really fancy mood, slice the bottom off of the canteloupe and put balls back in along with strawberries as a serving bowl...my kids think this is great!).
  • 5
    Sprinkle avocado and apple slices with fresh lime juice to avoid oxidation (browning). I don't know about your kids, but mine refuse to eat oxidized fruits or veggies.
  • 6
    Arrange veggies and fruits on platters. Cheeses on cutting boards with bread. Serve Ranch dressing as you wish but my kids like to have their own little ramekins of Ranch (again, my girls like to be fancy). The peppers are great dipped in the hummus.
  • 7
    With this meal (which creates a huge table full of food), we practice 'eating until you are full'. This might seem like a silly concept but with restaurant portion sizes seemingly becoming more rediculously huge day by day, we are trying to teach them to recognize their own point of being full.
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