Another good idea - I have the seasonings for that. Never tried to make it.
Pork Butt
- Thread starter SamSpade
- Start date
When I had kids at home, I let them choose the menu. Each kid, and also the big kid Larry, would choose a dinner and I'd make my grocery list from that. If one kid picked something another kid didn't like, too bad, eat it anyway. Or at least a little bit for nice manners, then go heat up leftovers or get a bowl of cereal.
lucky_bee
RBF expert
This summer I started making my teenage stepson pick a meal every week. He has to study the recipe, look thru the pantry and fridge for ingredients, write down any we will need, grocery shop with me (also to teach him how to pick out produce/meat, budget friendly items, why I choose this item over that, how to judge a good deal, etc.), and then he has to make the actual recipe when it comes time. I was always in the kitchen helping my mom, but she never really showed me that stuff and I struggled a bit in the beginning. I just don't want to see him like his older brother who lives off Dr. Pepper, ramen, and Sheetz
We have one kid - the boy - who really doesn't care - but he eats sparingly, doesn't like anything exotic or spicy. Even a cheeseburger will get one bite and then he's done. Once or twice, he's eaten a whole personal (small) pizza. He'll eat mac and cheese every day, and will eat ham and cheese sandwiches endlessly. He is usually easy to please, he just barely eats.
The girls - they drive me nuts, especially the youngest. Middle girl hates anything sweet, at least, dinner food. So no marinara stuff, like spaghetti or ziti or anything with teriyaki and the like. Baby girl hates cheese and bread (but likes pizza). And isn't a fan of most meats.
During school year, most dinners rotate through the same dozen or so meals - tacos, baked chicken, pork chops, something with rice, something with noodles, something with potatoes, meat loaf, chili - you get it. Basic dinner stuff for a family. A few times a month I go outside my comfort zone and make something I've never done before, and the result is usually favorable. A little while back I made a crab and shrimp bisque with cheese biscuits (recipe a la Red Lobster) that went well. I also make a few Asian dishes if I make it to the Asian market - bulgogi, pork lo mein, bef and broccoli. Sometimes some Indian food. No one eats my Greek food. It's just as well.
I *wish* I could just make them eat - but - teens. They'd just as well starve than eat something they don't want - and when ASKED what they want, I don't get an answer - just more whining about what they DON'T want. Baby girl will fuss and ask to just buy her own Panda Express takeout.
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We lucked out greatly with brother in law here - he cooks better than me by a mile, and even when it's only decent, the kids will still eat it, because they adore him.
Sneakers
Just sneakin' around....
My dad was like that. We could never figure it out. Hated cheeses of any kind other than a pizza.
When my mom was ill, I tried a lot of things out of the norm to entice her (dad wasn't a great cook). Made things like stuffed pork loins, stuffed meatloaf, grilled whole lobster with white sauce, lion's head meatballs.... stuff I wouldn't normally make for myself. I got a ton of ideas from PBS cooking shows like Cook's Country.
My wife's Facebook posts are easily HALF recipes she's gleaned online, and I typically take it as a cue saying "I'd like to try this".
Sometimes, it works out. Tomorrow night I am going to try to make jerk chicken and fried plantains for the first time.
