If you are like me, one of the phrases that can put you right on the edge of sanity is, “What’s for dinner?” When you are dealing with kids that are picky, busy days and trying to eat clean, the simple task of deciding what you are going to feed the family can feel like a mountain that you have to climb each day. Eating the same thing over and over can get really boring, and trying new recipes can be, well, frankly, it can be risky, (hello, picky children!!) Well, I’ve had it with this particular mountain.
Not only and I NOT going to be the only one deciding on what to cook in my house anymore, I am also NOT going to be the only one cooking it. Starting today, I’ve devised a menu, inspired by the ever-so-sorry school lunch menu stuck on my fridge, only this menu was filled out by all of us. I have Sundays and Tuesdays, Skyler has Mondays, Liana has Thursdays, Phil has Wednesdays and Fridays and Saturdays we are either on our own or getting take out. This means that at least four times a month, the kids will get what they want for dinner- AND- they will help cook it! The only rule is that you can not complain about someone else’s meal choice.
This new plan is not without mine fields. For example, Liana has chosen lasagna and hot dogs for two of her meals. A couple of issues with these meal choices: Lasagna is amazing, but is grain & dairy based. I will be needing to research how to do a noodle & cheese free lasagna- at least for me! And the lovely hot dogs. Well, I must confess. I don’t do hot dogs. Well, not unless it’s fall and I’m at a football game and we’ve had a little pre-function going on before hand and maybe have a beer to wash it down with. In case you are wondering, that hasn’t happened in YEARS! Not even the organic, nitrate free variety make it into my shopping cart. Organic sausage is very borderline for me too, and the bun, well, I don’t need to tell you more. So, when Liana says she wants hot dogs for one of her meals, I simply gulped, and smiled and took a deep breath and said, “hot dogs it is”. I won’t be eating said ground mystery meat, but I will be on the hunt for the best hot dogs that I can find, and helping myself to leftovers…
Now, as for the trying new recipes out, I plan on trying out a lot of new recipes, and I plan on letting you know how they are. Hopefully this will make your experimenting less risky!
Tonight, I made the Five Spice Stir Fry. I had a couple of modifications. I used half ground beef and half ground pork, I tossed in some snow peas and I doubled up on the spices and sauces. The verdict? The veggies, meat and shrimp were a great combination. The sauce was just okay, in my opinion. It was fairly salty and just needed a bit of zing to it, this coming from someone who likes mild hotness. I’d recommend maybe adding hot mustard or chili oil to it.
Again, decent the way it is, but I would only make it again if I modified it.
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