I have been writing to this blog for almost 4 years now. You could probably count on one hand the number of times that my loving husband has ever read it. So imagine my joy and surprise when I was notified that Gregory had left a comment on my last post. Wow, I thought, my husband is taking an interest! That's awesome!
And then I read his comment.
"Posting...where is my dinner?"
It is reminiscent of his comment to me on facebook a few weeks ago, about needing someone to do some laundry because he needed clean socks. I told him to go do it himself. Really, these comments don't insult me; he thinks he is being funny, and he knows if he said it to my face I'd have a witty, sharp and original comeback (like, "go to hell" or, "I don't know, what are you cooking?"). In this particular instance, however, I am going to use his comment as a forum for me to discuss the totally awesome dinner I made last night.
Now, we all know that I am not the chef in the Raising Mommy household; Greg is. (That is partly the reason that it is so funny for him to be asking me about dinner.) However, Juliette has tee ball on wednesday nights, so I was prepared to cook dinner while Greg was out at tee ball practice. I am not a spur-of-the-moment cook; I can't open the pantry and throw something together. I need to plan my meals out in advance. So yesterday (while downloading my new iPod apps) I spent a few minutes browsing for recipes, settled on one, and made a shopping list; I left work a few minutes early so that I could run to the grocery store before getting the girls from school, and I was prepared to be all domestic while Greg did his fatherly duties.
Then tee ball got rained out. Hence, Greg twiddling his thumbs waiting for me to cook dinner. Which, despite his comments (I only saw those later), I did, and boy was it good. A quick and easy, one pot "Skillet chicken with broccoli, ziti and Asiago cheese." I found the recipe at Cook's Illustrated, my new favorite culinary website. Yeah, the recipe was good, but I was most proud of how well I executed it; everything was cooked perfectly and it was creamy, tasty, and filling. Greg ate 2 servings, and then finished Juliette's plate. Cosette ate her dish and ate Juliette's pasta, too. And Juliette... well, she took one look at it and said "Disgusting. I'm not eating it."
Sigh. We are working on Juliette's eating habits. And her manners. She sat at the dinner table for a long time yesterday, while we waited for her to take one bite. One bite to taste, and if she really didn't like it we would modify or come up with alternatives. Oh, it was pure torture for her, and Lucy got to lick a few noodles off the floor after they 'accidentally' fell off of Juliette's fork. Eventually she ate the one bite, and then she was excused. How did we get such a picky eater? And what am I supposed to do with her?
Still, this recipe is a keeper. And now I have a request: if anyone has a good recipe to share, please email them to me or leave them in the comments section. I would love some slow cooker recipes, if you have them, but anything for a culinarily challenged busy working mother will do!
6 comments:
i made a pretty simple Weight Watchers recipe last night, Southwestern Skillet Macaroni & Cheese. I substituted quick-melting Velveeta for the reduced fat cheddar cuz thats all I had, but it was a pretty yummy substitution. And I didnt put in any chiles. And I think the whole thing took about 15 minutes to cook. Check out the recipe about halfway down this page: http://tinyurl.com/cv8mvr. I need to try your recipe out...sounds like something Todd would love!
Don't have any recipes to share, but something else for the picky eaters: We told Evan he had to take a 'no thank you bite'. After the bite, he could then say no thank you and could get yogurt or a bowl of cereal - something he could get on his own while we kept eating. Once we started calling it the 'no thank you bite' life did get somewhat better for us all.
Well, crap, I just tried to get the recipe because I was all excited about it and you have to be a member! :(
Anyways, I made a yummy Rachel Ray recipe (say what you want about her, I've never had a bad recipe from her) that involved chicken, wilted spinach and cannellini beans that was good. Tonight I'm trying a Mario Batali recipe that is grilled....
And Mike must have gotten all the cooking genes, I'm a good cook but I need to follow a recipe.
Try Spicy Honey-brushed chicken thighs. It is delicious, quick and easy. The reviews indicated that it is a kids fave. I used bone-in thighs and therefore, doubled the cooking time. And since I was only serving adults... add more crushed red pepper and minced fresh garlic instead of garlic powder. Yum! Have Juliette give it a try and let me know what she thinks.
http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1591042
A friend gave me a subscription to Everyday Food (http://www.marthastewart.com/everyday) and I've found great, fast, and basic enough recipes that kids should like most of them! They always seem to have a slow cooker recipe too. I've made two or three recipes from there and have loved them all!
I made up a simple pasta thing I call Pasta Bake that the kids seem to love and simple food loving adults too. Rotini cooked al dente, or how ever it comes out. Jar of sauce. Brown 1/2 lb ground beef and 1/2 lb. sausage to give it more flavor. Mix it all together in a casserole dish. Stir in your favorite Italian cheeses. Either bake for about 20 minutes on 350 to heat together and melt the cheese, or cover and refrigerate until the next day. I typically put it in the oven and turn on to 350 and let both warm up together and cook covered with lid or foil for about 20 mins, then uncover and cook for another 20 or until heated throughout. Serve with garlic break and salad, and your favorite wine.
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