Soup..........

I've been looking for some good recipes that I can make on a regular basis.  I find recipes or read them on blogs, and then decide if I can make them or not.  But I seem to be the kind of cook who has a few recipes but no specific ones that I can rotate.  I have heard of moms who have a whole rotation of menus and make certain things on certain days. I just can't get myself motivated to do that.  I want to, but I don't know where to start.  The moms say it makes it easier at the grocery store if they have lists of what they want and buy the stuff that goes with certain meals.

I've also been using my crock pot a bit more and adventuring out to meals I would not normally make in the crock pot.....ie Chicken and Stuffing.  Well, that one was a bomb, mainly because soggy stuffing is not good.  I read a review of that recipe where someone had soggy stuffing but I gave it a try anyway.  It was not a repeat.  LOL.  No one liked it.  But in these times of wanting to cook at least 5 days a week (that was the goal I set, previously it was 4, so I added another day) we ate it.

I have been making some soups in my crockpot lately and came across this one that we tried tonight.  Dave had to work late so the girls and I sat down to try this soup and see if it measured up to be added to the, "will you eat it again?"  (mostly directed at Dave).  All 3 of us felt it was really good, and LGA had two bowls.  We'll see what daddy thinks when he gets home.

Here's the recipe in case you are looking for meals to make in your crock pot and want to try a basic, fairly kid friendly recipe (the kids didn't care for the cabbage but they ate it).  It's from Taste of Home.

http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Veggie-Meatball-Soup-2

Do you face challenges at meal times?  BGA is the pickiest eater and can tend to be the last one eating.  It drives Dave crazy, as he grew up in (the best way to put it) a household where you came to the table, you didn't mess around, you ate, you got up from the table and you went about your business.  My family was the type that you sat at the table, ate, talked about your day and then moved on.  Totally opposite.  So when Daddy is at the table we eat and go about our business.  When it's the 3 of us, the girls and I, we tend to have some interesting conversations.  Probably not fair to set a double standard, but I think they get the picture.  Daddy just doesn't have the patience to sit through the conversation part of dinner.  To be fair on him, though, most times he's coming home from work and we sit down to eat and he just wants to relax and not have to sit at the table waiting for BGA to eat.

I am finally enjoying a bit of cooking, I never was much of a cookmy mother never really taught me.  I learned in high school in Home Ec.  But I never really put it in practice till the girls came home and I started cooking regularly. So it's nice to find some recipes (and have some good cookbooks) I can go to and make and everyone likes.  Each person has their own favorite food that I cook, too.  For Dave it's the pot roast, and I mastered chicken fried steak at one point (but we do not eat it very often), and I'm sure he has other things that I make, turkey is one of his faves.  LGA likes spaghetti, and BGA likes meatloaf.  Both girls like Daddy's tacos.  Not really great cuisine, simple kid stuff.  I do change it up and make pork loin roast or chops, and chicken is a staple at our house.  I try recipes that are outside of normal kid food, so that the girls get used to eating other stuff.  Plus how many meatloaves, spaghetti and tacos can you eat before you get bored??

Sometimes I can sneak some fish in meals, but the girls are not huge fish eaters.  Dave and I like fish, so I think I need to find kid friendly (not fried) fish meals. Although we never really had fish in our house, and the first time I remember having fish was in England with my dad and cousins at a wine bar type of restaurant and I had Dover Sole and Blue Nun (I think it was called Blue Nun) wine.  :-)  I was 18  - and could be in a bar at 18. Whoo hoo, how sophisticated was I??  LOL. 

There are a few more things I want to write about, but for now, here's an easy post about cooking.