Please tell me what your family ate for dinner this last week.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Not jealous. Incredulous. I guess it is a matter of priorities. Shopping and cooking ala 1960 is not my idea of a good use of time..

No one in the 1960s would have eaten some of the stuff I've seen posted here. We ate real food back then.

Did I read ELK meat? And DEER meat? And (not that I want it) where do you get that? Don't tell me DH hunts.

We have a freezer full of deer meat. My dad killed the last buck, but yes, most of the men in our family hunt. The only ones who don't would if they lived closer to the family land.

Hunting is not an "urban" thing. And yet here you are slumming on DCUM. Get back to the kitchen, woman!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I suppose you all use the good china, fine linens and polished silver on weekdays, too. This is all a little too June Cleaver for me. I imagine you all in an apron, waiting for DH to get home from work. The rest of us have a life.

This is a very bizarre comment. We don't use good china, fine linens & polished silver on weekdays, but we do use real plates, cloth napkins and flatware.

I work full-time and it takes about a half-hour to make dinner each night. It is far healthier and far cheaper than any takeout or prepared/frozen options. To me, it is akin to showering, blow-drying my hair, making my bed, doing laundry, etc. Just another household task, and not optional.

What part of that boggles the mind?

[Anonymous]

^^^
PP here; I posted at 22:51 on page 1. Our menu:

Monday - glazed pork with couscous and green beans
Tuesday - salmon teriyaki w/brown garlicky rice and broccoli
Wed - quesadillas w/refried beans & spinach, rice, salad
Thurs - black beans & rice
Tomorrow's plan - pasta w/tomato sauce, sweet Italian sausage, salad

The most time-intensive of those meals was the beans & rice, which I pre-made on Sunday (the beans; we made the rice that evening).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I suppose you all use the good china, fine linens and polished silver on weekdays, too. This is all a little too June Cleaver for me. I imagine you all in an apron, waiting for DH to get home from work. The rest of us have a life.

This is a very bizarre comment. We don't use good china, fine linens & polished silver on weekdays, but we do use real plates, cloth napkins and flatware.

I work full-time and it takes about a half-hour to make dinner each night. It is far healthier and far cheaper than any takeout or prepared/frozen options. To me, it is akin to showering, blow-drying my hair, making my bed, doing laundry, etc. Just another household task, and not optional.

What part of that boggles the mind?

I agree. It is June Cleaver to eat well? What the hell do you propose-pizza or frozen crap, or MCDs? Fast food in our house is pasta tossed with olive oil, parm a salad and good bread. Which btw is a great dinner but seriously 15 minutes total. The reality it is that good food is simple food. It doesn't take much time to roast some veggies, grill a protein, cut up a salad etc. etc It is more a matter of planning.

[Anonymous]

Yeah, I don't really understand the hate on this thread. I've posted a couple times now. I hardly think it is a flashback to Leave it to Beaver that we value healthy, home-cooked meals in our home. We do eat out from time to time (maybe once every two weeks?), usually Indian food or a nice brunch.

Eating healthy and sharing meals together are something we make a priority in our family. When I was growing up, my mom rarely cooked much that didn't involve a microwave, and we almost never ate together as a family... if we did, the television was always on. Not what I want for my family now.

[Anonymous]

I plan, use Peapod, and front-load most cooking on Sunday afternoon. Planning is the hardest part, but once I plan the meals are healthier, faster, and cheaper.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yeah, I don't really understand the hate on this thread. I've posted a couple times now. I hardly think it is a flashback to Leave it to Beaver that we value healthy, home-cooked meals in our home. We do eat out from time to time (maybe once every two weeks?), usually Indian food or a nice brunch.

Eating healthy and sharing meals together are something we make a priority in our family. When I was growing up, my mom rarely cooked much that didn't involve a microwave, and we almost never ate together as a family... if we did, the television was always on. Not what I want for my family now.

I'm not a hater on this thread. When I was growing up we ate dinner as a family as often as we could (probably about 4 nights a week) and I strive to do that too. And you're right, it's not that hard.

But elk and deer meat? Really?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
can those of you who use crock pots give me details?

which type and how large?

I am beginning to look into getting one to prepare some good, easy comfort food this winter.

do you use yours a lot or are they just another appliance that sits around?

TIA!

We use our (Hamilton Beach programmable) 6 quart crockpot daily. We are a family of 4.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Not jealous. Incredulous. I guess it is a matter of priorities. Shopping and cooking ala 1960 is not my idea of a good use of time..

No one in the 1960s would have eaten some of the stuff I've seen posted here. We ate real food back then.

I was born in 1960 and most of the things I make (in a crockpot) were on the menu back when I was growing up.

[Anonymous]

Some of these people with doubts sound lazy or just dense. It's not hard to make a meal plan, make a list based on said plan and go from there. Crock pots (mentioned in several meal plans) speed the process and make it a no brainer. Plus we save money and eating together is valuable family time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Monday: Northern Thai Curry, rice and stir fried broccoli
Tuesday: Stewed chicken with lemon grass and kaffir lime, rice and stir fried cauliflower
Wednesday: Green Curry, rice and stir fried baby bok choy and shiitake mushrooms.
Thursday: Spaghetti squash,marinara sauce, meatballs and salad.

Recipes please! These meals sound delish.

[Anonymous]

These all sound so yummy. Every dish I've made for my 2&4 year old boys this past week been wrapped in a whole wheat tortilla. We've had: pb&j, beans/rice/guacamole, chicken,cheese,broccoli and chicken,cheese,carrots.

They are in an insane phase where they are pretending to be dogs and they must eat "doggie bones." Ridiculous when they say "ruff" instead of thank you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not jealous. Incredulous. I guess it is a matter of priorities. Shopping and cooking ala 1960 is not my idea of a good use of time..

Def not 1960s in our house. To start with DH does most of the cooking. We both work FT. We like to cook.

[Anonymous]

1960s was overcooked meat and a side of instant mashed potatoes... Right? I was not born in the 60s and we did not eat crap at my house in the 80s.

I don't think this it is Cleaver-esque to eat well. I am addicted to the Food Network. It is so much fun for me.

We eat on our regular porcelain dishes with cloth napkins and our everyday flatware. I have china (two different sets, actually) but honestly most of my friends did not even bother registering for it. I love dishes and setting pretty tables but I know that dining norms err on the side of casual.

Cloth napkins are just lovely, though, and I use them every night.

[Anonymous]

I figure the only people who would actually post their meals on here are people who actually cook. I don't think people who eat take out or hungry man dinners would bother. I cook a full meal five nights of the week, the other two are leftover nights.