On the Hunt…
For the last several weeks, I have been scouring every cookbook in my cupboard to come up with a few “pleases-everyone-in-the-family” recipes. Every church cookbook, every edition of Pampered Chef “Season’s Best”, even Ms. Betty Crocker…you name it, I’ve read it. I really only have a couple of meals that everyone in my family really likes. Beyond that, someone is always unhappy, whining, and yes, sometimes crying because of the meal selection.
I don’t have a problem with the actual meal planning and preparing. My method is pretty simple:
1. Plan two weeks worth of meals (really only about 10 meals given things that come up and going out to eat) from my meal repertoire (which is in dire need of a face lift…obviously).
2. Put every meal on my calendar so I don’t have to think about what to make each day.
3. Make grocery list based on those meals.
4. Take grocery list to Costco every payday and spend 1/2 of husband’s paycheck.
This really works for me. But, what doesn’t work for me is when NO ONE EATS WHAT’S TAKEN ME TWO WEEKS TO PLAN!!! Mind you, there is a rule in this house that you have to take three bites of everything on your plate, but I have higher hopes than that. I dream of scrapped-clean casserole dishes. I dream of no left-overs to squeeze in the refrigerator. I dream of being the envy of future daughter-in-laws!
Maybe its not possible…to prepare a balanced, nutritious, meal that males 41 to 7 years of age will enjoy (my husband is by no means picky, but he would get a little tired of macaroni and cheese and pizza every night for three months…if it were up to my children!).
So I’m on a hunt and you can be sure I will share with you any successes I have in this area. I CAN’T be the only mom who struggles with this. What have you found that works? Any tried and true meals that your whole family just adores? Impart on me your wisdom…I’m sure more moms that just me want to know!
June 2nd, 2008 at 8:25 pm
OK, I am one of the lucky few that have children that eat almost everything I put in front of them (minus the veggies of course- the only veggie they eat consisently is salad and cucumbers). Anyway, favorite meals around here are:
-Spaghetti and meatballs
-Crock Pot Pot Roast, shredded and eaten like a taco, in a tortilla (http://lisatexasmommy.blogspot.com/2008/04/pot-roast-envy.html)
-homemade spanish rice
-quesadillas (OK, we are Hispanic and a lot of our meals center around Mexican flavors)
-Mexican Casserole (http://lisatexasmommy.blogspot.com/2008/03/whats-for-dinner.html)
-Chicken Tortilla Soup
-Lasagna
Hope this helps! Lisa
June 3rd, 2008 at 7:47 am
I have the same problems. I have a picky 2-year-old and a 1-year-old who wants to be like her big brother. I use a lot of Taste of Home recipes. It probably won’t work for your kids since they are older but we have to give our food different names: bear bites, monkey snacks, etc…to get them to even touch them! Good luck!
June 3rd, 2008 at 8:13 am
My “tried and true” recipes:
* Chicken Enchiladas
* Beef Stew and Biscuits
* Grilled Lime Chicken and Avocado Salsa
June 3rd, 2008 at 8:50 am
I have a few go-to recipes that everyone will eat. I think I’ll use your post as inspiration for a post of my own. A recipe collection (read two or three) will make a good Saturday post don’t ya think? Thanks for the idea!
June 4th, 2008 at 2:00 pm
Your post made me think about what I make every night and my repitoir is sadly lacking. Never-the-less I love cookbooks and I swap and save recipes like crazy. Here are a couple favorites that might fit the bill for the kids.
-Sloppy Joes – either the Betty Crocker recipe or good ol’ Manwhich…very different flavors, maybe one will be a hit
-Peasant stew – from Cooking Light Aug 02 http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=451343
-Pasta Bake – a spin on spaghetti
Brown ground beef, season with onion, garlic, salt, pepper
Add 1 jar or spaghetti sauce
Add 1/4-1/2 can of Parmesean (the cheap dry stuff)
Add 8 oz cooked penne or other pasta
Mix. Place in a baking dish.
Top with shredded “Italian Cheese” (Parm and moz)
Bake 350 for about 30 minutes
-Chicken Bruschetta – recipe on the back of the Chicken Stove Top box
-Have you tried something unconventional? Like breakfast for dinner? Having the boys each choose a new recipe and then help in the kitchen?
-I just ran across an interesting idea by Kraft. 1-Bag 5-Dinners. I haven’t tried it yet, but it could be interesting. http://kraftfoods.com/kf/Dinner/1Bag5Dinners/
I could go on and on!
Good Luck
June 5th, 2008 at 4:49 am
Here are some of my family favorites:
Pork Roast – I buy a big one. The first day I put it in a crock pot with Lipton Onion Soup mix and serve with rice and veggies. The leftovers go in a pot with BBQ for pulled pork sandwiches.
Pork chops – shake and bake OR in a crock pot with half a bottle of Italian dressing and a cup of soy sauce. It doesn’t sound kid friendly, but my kids adore it. The flavor is very nice.
Tacos – they can leave out the tomatoes or olives if they don’t eat that part.
Breakfast for dinner – our favorites are biscuits and sausage/ pancakes or waffles or French toast
Poppyseed Chicken – oh so easy and kids LOVE it!
3 chicken breast – chuncked (or shred bits of boiled chicken)
1 container of sour cream
1 can of cream of chicken soup
Mix all together and put in a casserole dish.
Sprinkle with poppyseed (as much or little as you like. Until the kids are used to it, you might not want to use much of that “black stuff”!
Cover with crumbled Ritz crackers.
Melt a stick of butter and drizzle over the top
Bake until warmed through (about 30 min. on 400)
We serve this over spaghetti noodles and another family I know serves it over rice (my kids don’t eat rice!) I like it both ways!
My kids love when I make a fruit salad to go with dinner. It’s always cleaned up well…and fruit is so good for them.
One other thing I do is sometimes prepare a variation of the same meal for my kids. When I make hamburgers I make stuffed ones for my husband and I (stuffed with swiss cheese and bacon) and plain ones for the kiddos. You can flavor chicken one way for your husband and yourself and just broil chicken for the kids. That isn’t quite like preparing separate meals and is very kid friendly!
Hope that helped!
June 5th, 2008 at 4:49 am
Eeeek. Sorry for taking over your comments. I just kinda got on a roll!
June 5th, 2008 at 4:53 am
Oh, one more thing, in the same category as making variations of foods, I know most adults don’t get too excited about grilled cheese, but most kids love them. Make them regular grilled cheese sandwiches but for the adults change the cheeses, use different breads, add deli meats and peppers (roasted red or banana), and spread the inside of the bread with Dijon mustard. This really livens up grilled cheese! Then you can serve it with soup or a salad and not feel like your eating kid food.
June 6th, 2008 at 8:09 pm
I don’t have any really good recipes, but a few idea’s to change things up! A couple of times on the weekends we have done “night out at home.” We have the cute little restaurant baskets and we will do a few different appetizers like the girls will have quesadillas and chicken strips and Ryan and I will do buffalo wings after that we will do Wii bowling. The other thing a family member did was everyone in the family took turns picking dinner recipes out of cookbooks.
June 11th, 2008 at 7:36 pm
Our family is pretty easy to please, though we do avoid cooking meals that someone in the family hates. Here is a favorite idea that works for us. Sometimes everyone will pitch in and contribute. Someone will make the main dish, someone else will make a side dish, etc… They make whatever they like, so you’re guaranteed to like something from the meal, even if you aren’t crazy about everything.
Alicia Smith
November 5th, 2008 at 11:58 am
My child is picky and so is my husband but I have found some great recipes. I post one every Wed. so be sure to come and check them out!
January 5th, 2011 at 11:05 pm
Sautee up 1 carrot, 1 celery, 1 onion with salt and pepper. Then add 2 quarts of chicken stock. I like to add a sprig of thyme and a bay leaf but most stock already has this in it. Let this simmer for about 10 minutes. Then bring it to a boil. Add about 1 handful of egg noodles and cooked chicken. I generally use leftover roasted or bake up a breast. Taste for seasoning. I generally use a little more salt and pepper at this point.