I am in a food funk. For better or worse, working mom or not, the task of planning and making dinners in our family has fallen to me. Until recently this has never bothered me - I generally enjoy leafing through magazines and websites looking for interesting new recipes to try, and time in the kitchen has never really felt like a chore for me.
But. Ever since Elliott has gotten to the age where you can't trust him on his own for a millisecond, I've had a very limited amount of time to cook dinner - basically between when Dan gets home around 5:45 and when the kids disintegrate from hunger around 6:15. So cooking dinner has become stressful.
To add a level of complexity, I seem to have very picky eaters. I'm a firm believer that every person is allowed one food which they can absolutely refuse. Mine is bananas. EWWWWW. I HATE bananas. Sometimes when Elliott poops, I can't tell if I'm smelling poop or bananas. That's how much I hate bananas. My mom always hated celery. No big deal - everyone gets one food, no questions asked.
The problem is that when you have a lot of people, there are suddenly lots of foods that are off the list for dinner.
Me: bananas
Dan (who refuses to follow my one-food-only-rule): mushrooms AND any type of seafood.
Nory: onions (yes those things I used to put in everything. yes, she can tell even when they are pureed in a soup)
Elliott: so far, he won't touch anything with soy sauce.
We still have bananas and fish and mushrooms, because I don't want the kids to grow up picky. And I still cook occasionally with onions and soy sauce. But those nights are a battle.
So I'm looking for some ideas, please! For dinners that my entire family might enjoy. Something quick to make or that I can make ahead. I'd also like to start cooking more vegetarian meals. Please help get us out of our food funk!
And if I see another box of macaroni and cheese in my lifetime it will be too soon.
11 comments:
Try a crockpot meal of pulled pork or anything else that sounds good. That way it will cook all day and the smells might entice the kids.
awww... when I come visit (it'll happen! they have to let me graduate some day), I'll cook something for you!! :)
Haha! I agree. I hate "cooking" dinner lately. Probably because it's 90 degrees in my house, making turning on the stove impossible, Peter is super-picky, Moira, who is not picky, is in that phase of being three where anything else is more interesting than eating and I have this stupid gestational diabetes. It's another hard lot to please.
Tacos. My go to. Soft or hard shell. Taco meat or not. Mix: 2 cans black beans, 1 can corn, 1 can green chilis, 2 diced tomatoes, 1tsp cumin, 1/4 diced cilantro, salt, stir and serve with cheese, taco meat, chicken, salsa , chips or vegetarian. We eat it a lot and it doesn't require turning on an oven.
Great idea! I actually haven't used my crockpot in a while because it has been so hot in the house. But now that fall is here I will pull it back out. And I even got a new one for my birthday. Yay!
Isn't thesis writing time the perfect "I need to go on a trip RIGHT NOW" motivator?
I cannot imagine adding a diabetic diet to the mix! Good idea with tacos- nory won't eat taco meat with taco seasoning ("spicey") but I never thought about adding all that other stuff and letting her leave the meat out. Will try :)
My kids seem to really like "spaghettis". The cool thing is that I can make it lots of different ways and still call it spaghetties and they love it.
(Tuna casserole, regular spaghetti with meat sauce, lasagna--which i do with lots of veggies in the crock pot, btw, or even pasta with scrambled eggs and steamed veggies. If it's got noodles, they'll eat it).
Baked potatoes with toppings
Chicken quesadillas
Crock pot soups and grilled cheese sandwiches....
ummm...I'm not a great cook and pretty bad at planning stuff out in advance too, so that's about all I've got right now :)
I go in and out of food funks on a weekly basis. My favorite new blog right now is http://www.sproutedkitchen.com/ There are some great vegetarian recipes on that site. And so far, everything I've made has been great!
Also, I got the 'How to Cook Everything' by Michael Bittman app for my iPhone. There's a vegetarian and meat-eater version. What I love most about it is that it writes you a grocery list from any recipe(s) you chooose. Brilliant!
And there is nothing wrong with having breakfast for dinner: waffles with bacon is a special treat, quiche (you can put most anything in and even do it without crust), fish tacos made with frozen fish sticks is easy and fast, cheese enchiladas (keep some canned sauce on hand), anything that mixes pasta or rice with some veges and a protein, put cheese over the top and bake :-)
Just made a black bean salsa/salad that might fit the bill as a vegetarian meal. It's easy to make without onions, and everything else is on the "go" list: black beans, tomatoes, corn, lime juice, and a few other things. I served it with tortilla chips and some apple slices. The recipe is here: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/black-bean-salad-recipe/index.html
Judy,
I have a new favorite soup recipe I love. I usually make extra so I can freeze and pull out later when I'm not up for cooking. If I'm rushed I use a store bought roasted chicken, dinner one night, soup the next. You can leave the onions or celery out if you have a picky eater. Works great in a crockpot too.
Ingredients
8 Cups fat free chicken broth
1 boneless, skinless chicken breast (6 ounces)
2 Medium carrots, peeled and cut into small pieces
2 Medium celery stalk, sliced
1/2 Cup finely chopped onion
1/4 Cup chopped spinach
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/4 tsp oregano
1 Tbsp chopped fresh basil
1 Cup orzo
1 Juice of 1 medium lemon (about 1/4 cup)
1 bay leaf
Directions
Place all of the ingredients except the lemon juice in a 4 quart pot. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender and the orzo is cooked al dente.
Remove the chicken breast from the soup, slice into strips, and return to the pot. Add the lemon juice, stirring well to mix. Remove and discard the bay leaf.
Ladle the hot soup into individual bowls and serve immediately.
Yield 4 servings
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