What's for Dinner?

[becca]

I had a turkey defrosting, so cooking that today.  Going to try a savory pumpkin casserole for a lower carb side, maybe pull out the bread machine for fresh bread to go with it, and going to cobble together a sad salad with romaine and 5 grape tomatoes, lol.  Oh, I can put olives on mine.  I'm contemplating sending dd out for produce.  But, I feel guilty about it.  We're running to many errands.  I'm not good at planning out a full week of meals/food.

[hezzier]

We are having beef and broccoli tonight.

[BensMom]

becca, I sit down on Saturday or Sunday morning and plan the week's meals and make a list based on that. I hate having to figure out what to make for dinner the day of, so I'm happy to have my menu planned. Once you get in the habit, you might like it. That doesn't mean I only go to the store once a week. I normally go out mid-week and get some produce or something I forgot and whatnot. But nowadays I'm being more careful and just going once a week, though I heard that a store had tp so I went and got some this evening.

[becca]

Picky kids make it very hard to plan a single dinner that all 4 of us will eat each night.  I try to cook a lot of grilled chicken or steak, and have another meal or lunch from leftovers. My kids are so picky and bland that I can't do meals every night for all of us.  If I make chili, for example , I need someone's for the kids.  Sigh....it's a lot of pasta, meatballs, hot dogs and burgers for them these days...

Tonight I roasted a turkey and Ds choked it down.  It was good, but he's just not a fan.  There was rice and a pumpkin casserole thing.  He wasn't happy about any of it.  🤷🏻‍♀️ 

[Janelle205]

Slow cooker ravioli lasagna casserole, steamed broccoli, garlic bread, strawberries and grapes.

There was something off with the broccoli (frozen).  I have 3 more bags that I bought at the same time, so if the next one is weird, I'll just toss them all.

[hedgehog]

Becca, my kids were picky too. And there were few things both would eat. What I did for years was to make sure that everyone had something on the table they liked. If the main dish was something one person didn't like, I made sure there was a side they liked. And neither was fond of vegetables, so often there was fruit on the table. So maybe not the most well balanced, but it worked.

[hezzier]

DS used to be pickier, always needed something on the broccoli...sometimes it was parmesan, or salad dressing...I really didn't care as long as he ate it.  He still does it for sometimes if I feed him chicken too many times in a row, he will get out mustard or dressing to change the taste.  If I can make it into a quesadilla then he's more likely to eat it.  I honestly think this will make him a less picky eater, but the food we have in the house is what's available for the next week and a half or so.

[becca]

Becca, my kids were picky too. And there were few things both would eat. What I did for years was to make sure that everyone had something on the table they liked. If the main dish was something one person didn't like, I made sure there was a side they liked. And neither was fond of vegetables, so often there was fruit on the table. So maybe not the most well balanced, but it worked.

That's my typical strategy, but we don't have all the usual variety around these days.  Ds is currently not into much meat/chicken unless tacos, shaved steak subs, burgers, meatballs, and my present selection is solid meat products.  He can fend for himself pretty well and have yogurt, oatmeal, sandwich, or ramen as long as those last.  There's hot dogs.  I refuse to make him a different dinner.  But at 16, he's capable, but often too lazy. 

[becca]

Pretty sure we just got a meat delivery.  There's 8 burgers in that.  I can make him a burger while the rest of us work through the turkey leftovers. 

[hedgehog]

Or he can make himself a burger while the rest of you eat turkey.  I know he is lazy, but a burger is pretty easy.

[GoingNuts]

This was last night. Not bad, but it must be served right away before the gnocchi gets hard. I tossed it with some fresh mozzarella. 


https://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-crispy-sheet-pan-gnocchi-and-veggies-247360

Don't known what tonight is going to be. I was planning on fish, but can't get through to the fish market. Maybe just some tuna fish, toast and what's left of the salad.

[BensMom]

Picky kids make it very hard to plan a single dinner that all 4 of us will eat each night.  I try to cook a lot of grilled chicken or steak, and have another meal or lunch from leftovers. My kids are so picky and bland that I can't do meals every night for all of us.  If I make chili, for example , I need someone's for the kids.  Sigh....it's a lot of pasta, meatballs, hot dogs and burgers for them these days...

Tonight I roasted a turkey and Ds choked it down.  It was good, but he's just not a fan.  There was rice and a pumpkin casserole thing.  He wasn't happy about any of it.  🤷🏻‍♀️

I'm a picky eater (I pretty much panic at being invited to someone's home for dinner unless it's a bff--but thankfully dinner invitations don't really happen), but by some miracle, I ended up with kids who are not picky eaters and who love vegetables--especially dd. Both my kids ate broccoli before I did. I like it now, but it took until I was 45 or so.

[BensMom]

GN, I posted something similar in the sheet pan recipe thread. We really liked it.

[Janelle205]

I honestly think this will make him a less picky eater, but the food we have in the house is what's available for the next week and a half or so.

I somehow got lucky with kids that eat most anything - DSD doesn't have a lot of tolerance for spicy food, but that's about it.  The thing that I think will improve from self-isolating/stay at home is DH and DSD's whining about leftovers, since we are trying to make sure that we are using our food supply wisely.  DH doesn't complain at all now, and DSD only does very infrequently.  I'm trying to go to grocery pick up every 10-12 days now instead of once a week.

I was somewhat picky as a kid - a weird kind of picky, I didn't like most fast food options.  The smell of McDonalds french fries still makes me nauseous.  Now I would describe myself as particular.  I like a lot of foods, but I like them prepared certain ways.  I will still eat something that isn't prepared in a way I prefer, but I'll usually just eat enough to look polite.

Tonight we had slow cooker sweet and sour chicken, rice, egg rolls, and mixed veggies.  I have enough chicken to serve for leftovers later this week and everyone seemed to really like it.

[Janelle205]

Sausage and pepper risotto.