Got a wake-up call about our meals

[Anonymous]

I just want to thank everybody again for all the ideas. We haven't stopped at a fast food place in two weeks. DS said he only missed it once. We've had "breakfast for dinner" - eggs, fruit & whole grain toast. On a night when we got home a half hour early I made marinated chicken cutlets, sweet potatoes and green beans. On a night when we got home a half hour late we had salads with cut up chicken that was leftover. Another night I made a salad and ravioli.

DS has been helping in the kitchen and it turns out he really likes it. One Sunday he wrote out a meal and wanted to cook it, so we had baked salmon, roasted brussel sprouts, and quinoa. I kind of hate cooking, but he loves it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I just want to thank everybody again for all the ideas. We haven't stopped at a fast food place in two weeks. DS said he only missed it once. We've had "breakfast for dinner" - eggs, fruit & whole grain toast. On a night when we got home a half hour early I made marinated chicken cutlets, sweet potatoes and green beans. On a night when we got home a half hour late we had salads with cut up chicken that was leftover. Another night I made a salad and ravioli.

DS has been helping in the kitchen and it turns out he really likes it. One Sunday he wrote out a meal and wanted to cook it, so we had baked salmon, roasted brussel sprouts, and quinoa. I kind of hate cooking, but he loves it.

Go OP, go! I'm so glad this is working for you!

A suggestion: Keep a running list or, if you need recipes, a binder of meals that work for you on weeknights. You can reference it as needed to figure out what will work during a given week, and keep adding to it as you find new things. That way you don't have the sensation of inventing the wheel every time you take a little time to plan for meals.

Yay for you!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I just want to thank everybody again for all the ideas. We haven't stopped at a fast food place in two weeks. DS said he only missed it once. We've had "breakfast for dinner" - eggs, fruit & whole grain toast. On a night when we got home a half hour early I made marinated chicken cutlets, sweet potatoes and green beans. On a night when we got home a half hour late we had salads with cut up chicken that was leftover. Another night I made a salad and ravioli.

DS has been helping in the kitchen and it turns out he really likes it. One Sunday he wrote out a meal and wanted to cook it, so we had baked salmon, roasted brussel sprouts, and quinoa. I kind of hate cooking, but he loves it.

That's great. Congratulations! A nice success story.

[Anonymous]

That is awesome, OP - way to go! Can your son come cook for my family one night Seriously though, what a valuable "life skill" he is learning.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I just want to thank everybody again for all the ideas. We haven't stopped at a fast food place in two weeks. DS said he only missed it once. We've had "breakfast for dinner" - eggs, fruit & whole grain toast. On a night when we got home a half hour early I made marinated chicken cutlets, sweet potatoes and green beans. On a night when we got home a half hour late we had salads with cut up chicken that was leftover. Another night I made a salad and ravioli.

DS has been helping in the kitchen and it turns out he really likes it. One Sunday he wrote out a meal and wanted to cook it, so we had baked salmon, roasted brussel sprouts, and quinoa. I kind of hate cooking, but he loves it.

Awesome! This is great to hear, OP. it really is all about the planning and strategic grocery shopping. And what a bonus that your son is enjoying himself in the kitchen. This will serve him well in the future!

[Anonymous]

When my husband was deployed and we had a schedule like yours, I was often too tired to cook, even on weekends. So, my super fast meal was baby carrots, grapes, and lunch meat. We also microwaved casideas and baked potatoes with frozen broccoli and cheese. On weekends, I loved the crock pot or baking something (even just chicken). For me, time to sit and talk to the kids was more important than a fancy meal. I also found having the kids help with chores (cleaning & laundry) on the weekend helped a lot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That is awesome, OP - way to go! Can your son come cook for my family one night Seriously though, what a valuable "life skill" he is learning.

Seriously - tell your son that his spouse will love him even more if he can cook dinner. It adds to the appeal of the guy, in my opinion. My DH doesn't cook "fresh" meals, but his ability to try to cook is impressive

[Anonymous]

Here are some easy options:

Whole wheat pasta with jarred tomato sauce, steam in bag microwavable broccoli

Refried bean burritos with whole wheat tortillas, salsa, tomatoes and shredded lettuce, sour cream and cheese

Homemade chicken nuggets (easy to do - cut up into small pieces, dredge in egg, dredge in whole wheat bread crumbs mixed with parmesan cheese and some seasoning, bake on a cookie sheet coated with cooking spray on 350 for about 15 minutes) with sweet potato fries and a green vegetable

Use the crock pot as your friend - visit the 100 Days of Real Food Blog to check out her whole chicken in a crock pot recipe. Part of the chicken can be used for one meal - pair it with Uncle Ben's microwable wild rice packet and a steam in bag veg, use the leftovers to make stock (you do it right in the juices from the first meal) and then use the stock and leftover chicken to make soup - add some frozen peas and carrots, diced celery and onion, and a bay leaf. Cook on low all day - done!

I know it is hard - but I manage by spending my first 30 minutes in the office on Monday planning a few meals for the following week. (You can use your lunch hour or 30 minutes after your kid goes to bed if this works better for you.) I then go to Peapod and put everything I need into an order. They deliver every Friday and then I am set for dinners for the following week. Wash rinse repeat every Monday and then you are always planning ahead and never stuck in that what's for dinner conundrum. It saves me so much time and money.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I just want to thank everybody again for all the ideas. We haven't stopped at a fast food place in two weeks. DS said he only missed it once. We've had "breakfast for dinner" - eggs, fruit & whole grain toast. On a night when we got home a half hour early I made marinated chicken cutlets, sweet potatoes and green beans. On a night when we got home a half hour late we had salads with cut up chicken that was leftover. Another night I made a salad and ravioli.

DS has been helping in the kitchen and it turns out he really likes it. One Sunday he wrote out a meal and wanted to cook it, so we had baked salmon, roasted brussel sprouts, and quinoa. I kind of hate cooking, but he loves it.

Can I just say seriously, mom - I LOVE your kid! The fact that this meal was what he asked for tells me you are doing something right. Hang in there and keep up the good work!

[Anonymous]

I loved reading this outcome! How fantastic!

[Anonymous]

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/01/dining/a-mother-lets-her-sons-do-the-cooking.html?pagewanted=all

HERE is what our personal chef prepared for dinner the other night: seared duck breast with an apricot-orange sauce, wild rice pilaf and haricots verts.
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He delivered it to the table with professional aplomb and served everyone himself. Though the duck skin might have been more crisp and the pilaf fluffier, my husband and I were effusive with our praise.

The chef, after all, was our teenage son.

I cannot remember exactly when it occurred to me that my children should be cooking dinner for me instead of the other way around.

It almost certainly came at the end of a typical long workday: I rush home from the office, start hustling in the kitchen even before my coat is off and then, maybe 15 minutes later, a child stumbles downstairs from playing a video game. He peers into a bubbling pot and moans, “Not pasta again,” or “Don’t you know I hate tomatoes?”

So, about six months ago, I asked each of my sons, ages 14 and 10, to cook dinner once a week. I was not proposing a heartwarming mother-son bonding experience. I made it clear that they could cook only when an adult was in shouting distance, but the goal was to have them plan and execute the meal on their own while I commuted home or ran errands — or drank a glass of wine on the couch.

The boys did not protest too much, mainly because I offered a reward. Our longstanding routine had them cleaning the kitchen after dinner under my husband’s supervision — loading the dishwasher, scrubbing pots, wiping counters, sweeping the floor. Now I was offering a get-out-of-jail-free card: You cook; we clean. They were elated by the idea.

And I was not just throwing them into the deep end of the pool. They had already helped me a lot in the kitchen and learned basic safety rules, like not leaving the room when a burner is lighted, and how to hold their fingers when chopping. They had mastered making a few dishes from scratch: popovers, biscuits, pasta carbonara.

All the same, their shaky progress from apprenticeship to control involved a steep learning curve — about recipes and planning, techniques and strategies — for all of us. A half-year into the experiment, I am pleased to report that despite a minor burn, there have been no house fires and all fingers are accounted for. We’ve had some yummy home-cooked meals. And, best of all, my boys are proud of their handiwork.

The biggest obstacle has been getting them to commit to a menu in advance. On Saturday mornings, before the grocery shopping, I ask them to decide what they want to cook for the week and to assemble a list of ingredients.

There are a few ground rules. They must make a complete, balanced meal. It needs to be more healthful than not, so deep-frying is out. I try to steer them away from heavy meat or cheese dishes; simple fare, like soup and sandwiches, is fine by me. And though I dream that they will end up more like Alice Waters than Rachael Ray, I have not banned timesaving processed ingredients like canned sauces and broths. I just lobby against them.

Sometimes the boys are ready with ideas. Recently, my younger son Joe’s fifth-grade class assembled a cookbook, and he was eager to try some friends’ recipes. I nixed one, orange creamy chicken (made with marmalade, onion soup mix and mayo), but gave the green light to Greek meatballs.

More often, though, they lack any inspiration, and I endure a maddening game of procrastination. To get through this, I try to have several suggestions ready for them, usually foods they have mentioned wanting to eat or at least cuisines they have requested for takeout. It gives us a starting point for discussion. Still, great reserves of persistence are required.

I have a large selection of recipe sources, and my sons have used the full range, from Martha Stewart Everyday Food magazines to more sophisticated cookbooks like “A Twist of the Wrist” by Nancy Silverton. Usually, though, a notion pops into their heads first, then they search for a recipe. That’s why there is an Internet.

For quality assurance, I have to approve each meal plan. When my older son, Sam, proposed making creamy carrot soup with grilled cheese sandwiches, the concept was good but the balance was wrong: too much dairy. We settled on a salad with nuts and pears as a better accompaniment for the soup.

If I’ve erred in my judgments, it is toward approving recipes that are too ambitious. Joe recently asked about making spanakopita, and because he normally resists vegetables in any form, I jumped at the thought. But working with delicate prepackaged phyllo dough was above his skill level. The dish turned out to be delicious, but more of a team effort than either of us wanted.

We did better a week later. He proposed filet mignon (knowing only that it was fancy meat) and mashed potatoes. I countered by suggesting shepherd’s pie: ground meat with frozen vegetables mixed in, topped with a mashed potato crust. A quick Google search produced a simple recipe.

Joe won’t cut onions, so I did that. But he browned the meat, added the veggies and a gravy made from demi-glace (my idea), cut and boiled the Yukon gold potatoes, mashed them with milk and butter, grated the Cheddar and baked the dish. It was not haute cuisine, but it was all his.

Though my sons learned some basics while cooking with me previously, their time in charge has showed how many subtleties they missed. I am still surprised by the questions I get:

Q. How do you mash garlic?

A. Use the side of a knife.

Q. Can I use the hand blender to chop onions?

A. No, don’t be lazy.

Q. If I make a chocolate parfait for dessert, do I still have to make a vegetable?

A. Are you kidding?

Q. What about flambé? (My older son thought it sounded “cool.”)

A. That one answers itself, don’t you think?

To allow some mentoring, I’ve encouraged my younger son to cook on Sundays, when I am around to help, even if the meal will be served later in the week. This is fine for dishes like stews, which get better with time.

For my older son, who prefers to cook when I am not around to interfere, I’ve compensated by adding instructions to the recipes. If I stood over his shoulder and told him that, when boiling dry pasta, he should add a small handful of salt to the water, not a sprinkle, he might not listen. So I e-mail him the amended recipe and hope for the best.

But letting go has not been easy. A few weeks back, Sam was making a simplified version of pho, the Vietnamese soup. He assembled the dish, as instructed by the recipe, by pouring the boiling beef broth (flavored with fish sauce, cinnamon and star anise) over thinly sliced raw steak and rice noodles, and adding handfuls of cilantro and basil.

He first served Joe, who quickly complained that the steak, which had been sliced too thick, was not cooked enough. Without thinking, I stepped in and — even as Sam yelled, “Don’t!” — threw a handful of raw meat into the stockpot, to give it a few minutes’ head start to cook before the boiling broth did the rest.

Sam stormed upstairs in a fury and despite my apology missed what turned out to be a very delicious meal. Later, he said he would have preferred serving the dish the way the recipe said to. If the meat wasn’t cooked enough, he would have put the bowls in the microwave. It’s not what I would have done, but it was his meal, and I should have let him make his own mistakes, too.

Last week Sam made chicken satay and vegetable fried rice. The chicken had marinated overnight, the rice was cooked and cooled, and the vegetables had been chopped. But Sam waited until I walked in the door at 7 to begin cooking.

I sat on my hands and said nothing as he meticulously threaded the chicken onto skewers. I remained silent, but did squirm a bit, when he left a small flame on under the fried rice while waiting for the skewers to broil. I could barely watch as he awkwardly flipped each satay, taking minutes to do a job that should have taken seconds.

But my patience paid off. The rice did not burn. The chicken was juicy and expertly seasoned, much better than the overcooked stuff you get in the average Thai joint. When he sat down proudly to join us for dinner, I could honestly tell him that it was the best satay I’d ever eaten — and that I was looking forward to doing the dishes.

[Anonymous]

OP- you're awesome, and so is your DS. It sounds like you're a great mom and you have a great kid, and it's SO wonderful that you've managed to make the daily grind into something bonding for you guys to do together!

To add to what others have said, my advice to you is USE YOUR FREEZER. Almost anything you can make, you can freeze. Meatballs, meatloaf, pasta sauce, soup, chili, pre-rolled burritos, steel cut oatmeal, pancakes, prebuilt panini, baked french fries, stews, baked beans, etc., etc. Then before you go to bed you can pull something out to thaw the next day. When you get home, exhausted, just heat and eat.

My hat really goes off to you -- good luck keeping it up!

[Anonymous]

I would do a rotisserie chicken one night with a loaf of bread from the bakery and quick steamed fresh broccoli, figure out a couple easy slow cooker dishes you can alternate (pot roast is really easy, chili maybe) that you can prepare in the morning or night a head after your buddy is in bed, breakfast for dinner, easy spaghetti, etc. Once you get in the habit, it's really easy to figure out the dishes. Good for you for recognizing the need for the change. Your child will thank you one day.

[Anonymous]

Oh! I did the last post. I also make cream of wheat for dinner with fresh fruit. Super easy, super healthy. Also, nothing wrong with sandwichs. Tuna melts are very easy. Tuna fish on a toasted english muffin in the broiler with cheddar on top for a few minutes. Serve with tomato soap. Yum!

Another quickie, buy some of the fresh, premade linguine from the deli. Cooks in 2-3 minutes. Saute chopped asparagus with prechopped garlic and olive oil. Serve together with fresh parmesan. Can also use the parmesan later in the week with the spaghetti. That meal takes less than 10 minutes and is great.

[Anonymous]

Me again from the last post! All these ideas keep coming. In England they have Jacket Potatoes often, which we do. Just bake a potato....can do in the microwave, and serve with baked beans and cheddar on top. Good with a salad too. Might be a cultural dish, though, with the beans. Meaning, may be hard to get used too.