Friday, April 5, 2013

Calling all Cooks...

It's no secret to my friends that I hate to cook. I loathe it. If I could afford to eat out every single meal I would!

Before I had children and lived on my own, I would live off of fast food or corn-dogs and mac n cheese.

Now, I have 2 little people always complaining they are hungry! UGH!!
(Really, you just ate umm... 5 hours ago, I'm not hungry why are you?)

Chris is an amazing cook, and he suggested I watch the cooking shows maybe that would teach me something and give me inspiration.  I watched those damn shows for years and they did nothing but make me hungry.

I lack imagination, Chris can take any 3 ingredients and make a freaking meal out of it.
"See Ellen, was that so hard? You could have done that!"
"Oh hush and give me my plate!" That's usually my reply to that comment.

I don't understand how people can even want to stand in the kitchen hunched over a pot, pan or a counter for any amount of time.  I get bored too easily.

Don't get me wrong I cook, but I have my go to dishes, easy shit like.

Mac n Cheese
Hot Dogs
BBQ Chicken in the crock pot (my kids won't eat it anymore I made it too many times)
Tacos
Frozen Pizza (yes, that counts I had put it in the over and cut the shit up)

I lack love and tenderness when it comes to cooking.

And, my kids are so damn picky! Yep, I'm going there I'm blaming the kids. Why should I cook anything that they either refuse or piss and moan about it.

The only things the kids will eat is chicken. I'm out of ideas...
So, I'm calling all cooks and people with picky kids to please, please help me!!
I'm on my knees here... believe you me, I do not get on my knees often!  ;)

I'm taking suggestions here, recipes (nothing too hard).. website to refer me too.

I don't expect to fall in love with cooking, just something to keep the kids from bitching and moaning.

Thanks in advance!
xoxo

27 comments:

  1. My suggestion on easy meals? Simple bento boxes. Not the fancy stuff. Just like a sandwich with veggies and fruits...some stores sell those already cut up. Or how about taking what you know and adding stuff? Add frozen peas to your mac-n-cheese water halfway through pasta being boiled and a can of tuna when you add/make the cheese sauce. Or make wraps...any meat (deli, home made, left over, whatever) and cut up veggies/fruit (raw or cooked), then wrap it all in a tortilla that you have spread with something (cream cheese-plain or flavored, ranch, mayo, sour cream, peanut butter).

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    1. Hmm. Wraps... I think the kids will eat that! Sounds yummy. Damn, you're making me hungry now. Thanks for the tips!!

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    2. My littles like peanut butter and honey sandwiches so I made that a wrap, cut it in 4 peices and they are hooked. Now they will eat just about anything in a wrap...but it has to be cut in 4 peices. :0)

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  2. 18 Frozen CHicken Nuggets
    1 pack frozen broccoli
    2 cups shredded cheddar
    1 can condensed cream of mushroom or cream of chicken soup
    1 pack frozen pre-cooked brown rice
    A little milk

    Cook the chicken nuggets. While they bake, mix the frozen rice, can of soup, and broccoli on a pan until every thing is hot and bubbly. Add chicken nuggets you have cut into chunks, cheese, an a little milk until it's creamy. Boom.... done. Delicious!

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  3. I have a post up with recipes. They are easy and you'll love em. :D they are mostly snacks tho or sweets. But the hashbrown casserole is the best

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  4. I should mention the only kind of potato they will eat are french fries! :(.. I love the one w/ the chicken nuggets!! See, how the hell would you think of that??
    (bows to you)

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  5. Holy crap, I read the title and read Calling all Cocks and was all excited! You are on your own for cooking. I will stick with cocks.

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    Replies
    1. Holy Shit.. so sorry to disappoint you!! Haha!!

      Thanks for the laugh.

      :)

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  6. Sorry, I'm like you--hopelessly inept in the kitchen. My go-to meals are: mac n'cheese with hot dogs, frozen pizza, Del Taco, then repeat.

    I do make chicken quesidillas. They're pretty easy. Fry a corn tortilla in oil til warm (not hard); flip it over; add shredded cheese and cooked shredded chicken on one half; fold over with a spatula and press down; flip over once to make sure cheese is all melted. Drain excess grease on a paper towel--Voila! Takes less than 5 minutes--you can't beat that.

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  7. My kids are picky, too. I don't know why I bother cooking 90% of the time. At least my hubby likes leftovers.

    My favorite meal - that everyone will eat is Easy Meatloaf (check it out on allrecipes.com) or Chicken and Biscuits . . . it's a Gooseberry Patch recipe. Basically you mix the chicken (cooked) with a bunch of veggies some cream of chicken soup and milk. You let it get nice and hot and bubbly. Then you add the Bisquick made Biscuits to the top and throw it back in the oven until they are done. (I always add the french fried onions to the biscuit mix, too) :)

    Thanks for linking up to the Mixer this week!

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  8. Girl you need a crock pot! (also known as a slow cooker) You don't cook so much as combine and turn on. There's tons of recipes online and on Pinterest for slow-cookers, such as BBQ pulled pork, Cheesy Chicken Spaghetti, Beef Stew, and even desserts. I also find it helpful because dinner always comes at a time where I'm just sick of everybody's shit and don't really feel like doing MORE work; with a crock pot you throw stuff in in the morning and at dinner time you just serve it up!

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  9. Slow cooker, pasta dishes. There are tons of simple recipes online. Or get a basic Betty Crocker cookbook -- with the red and white checked cover like your mom might have had. Better yet? Involve the kids in the prep work. I'm visiting from the blog hop.

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  10. I do have a crock pot.. I will check out all those recipes.
    What aggravates me, I spend the time to plan and cook and the kids bitch about it. What to do? What my Mom did? Eat it or nothing??
    I'm such a freaking pushover!

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  11. I know I sound like an old fart but when I was growing up we ate what mom prepared, she wasn't a great cook, or we didn't eat.

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    1. No, you don't sound like an old fart. It was the same way in our house. My mom thought she was a great cook. Oh bless her soul, she wasn't. Better than me tho. I don't know why parents or maybe it's just me, feel like we have to please their children so damn much! Oh no, you may be waking up a monster here!
      Thanks for coming by Stephen :)

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  12. Hi, tacos are my easy meal to go with... I let my daughter choose her own toppings and the only thing I have to cook is the meat, the rest of it is just toppings. I never get a complaint from her.

    I also grew up in a house hold where you ate what you were served or you didn't eat, I believe in options but I don't believe that children should run the house. My little one does not complain, if she doesn't like it, she just doesn't eat it :)

    Great post :)

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  13. Oh I feel your pain, I really do. I sent you a facebook message with a recipe in it. I know your kids only eat chicken (my little one is the same) but this recipe has tuna. If they arc up just tell them it's ocean chicken. Seems to work for me.

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  14. Damn. Reading all these comments made me horny...I mean hungry (food does turn me on, tho). I agree w launna re: tacos. Especially now a days, cuz u can buy the kits. And you don't have use beef. You can cook up chicken breast, shred it, season it w the crap that comes in the kit and booyah! Chicken tacos! Adding tuna to Mac and cheese always seems to be a hit with the kids. And check THIS out (plus it's fun for everyone): get the balls of Pizza dough from the bakery at Publix. Throw some flour down on the counter, have chris roll it out, smear ricotta chz one side and then let everyone choose their items (pepperoni, mushrooms, onions, chicken, olives, endless possibilities...and u can even get the already prepared grilled chicken), add mozerella, fold over and bake. Calzones!! They are quite big, so you can do half and half in a single one for the kids and another for you and Chris. Me and the boys do it all the time. SO delish. I do chicken, mushroom, artichoke and spinach in mine. And they do typical pizza/calzone stuff. Don't forget the marinara for dipping (and u can melt some butter and garlic in the microwave and brush it over the top before putting them in the oven). You can get as creative as you want and the four of you will have a blast making them together.

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  15. Ha! You are going to hate me for this but I LOVE to cook and come from a long line of fine cooks! See, we're all foodies here, which is a curse because we have to watch our weight constantly. I have the food channel on my kitchen TV whenever I am in there and nothing makes me happier than to spend hours in the kitchen over a stove. BUT since you hate it so much---I would totally make use of that crock pot--I have a whole section of recipes for that on my Pinterest site you can check out. Cooking quick is easy now because there are so many pre-made sauces available--all you need is meat, pasta and a veggie, throw it all together and you're done! Campbell Soups has super easy meals to throw together, too, if you check out their website. How about a crock pot of chili? Oh, I could go on and on---there are SO many things you can cook up quick and easy! If you lived closer I'd bring you some of my specialty casseroles!!!

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  16. For what it's worth here's a link to the recipe page on my blog. I have links to all our favorites - some are my own, some link to the blogs I found them on.

    http://seeingthetreesfortheforest.blogspot.com/2012/01/chicken-piazza-sort-of.html

    Also one piece of advice for dealing with picky eaters. I let the kids each pick one dinner a week, the rest I pick (since I do the cooking). Everyone eats the same thing. If they don't like the meal, tough, they'll make up for it at breakfast. I admit in the beginning my now 6 year old chose mac & cheese most nights, but has since branched out.

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  17. So the Italian in me must speak up. Chicken parmesan. So easy. Boneless chicken breasts coated with seasoned bread crumbs. Sauteed with olive oil in an oven proof pan. Once browned, add sauce and shove in a 350 degree oven til cooked through, about 20-45 minutes depending on the thickness of the chicken. Cook up some pasta, add sauce. In the last few minutes add motzarella cheese to the chicken. Voila dinner.

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    Replies
    1. You know, I think Em might actually like that! I don't know why I never thought of that. My dad used to make it all the time. Thanks Barb.

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  18. We are exactly alike in this. Buy some boneless chicken breasts and get some French's crunchy onions. Recipe is on the can. Takes 5 minutes. It's really good and easy. Also the crock pot is your friend. There's a lot of other things you can do beside bbq. They have stew mix and crock pot mixes and you can even use salad dressing. French toast is so easy, just dip the bread in eggs and fry. Bacon out of the microwave tastes great. Broil pork chops and boil frozen corn on the cob, takes 15 minutes. Spaghetti takes 10 minutes. Grilled cheese and soup, just spray your pan first. And check out whatever Meno Mama says, she's a real cook...I'm all chicken nuggets, fish sticks and frozen pizza.

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  19. I love this post soooo much. I feel the same way! I really don't like cooking. When I was pregnant with my 2nd child I underwent some sort of temporary insanity where I was obsessed with cooking shows, especially Barefoot Contessa (I love her, I want her to adopt me!), and Everyday Italian, and thank God I spent about 7 months learning how to cook. That was 6 years ago and I am back to my regular ways. The kids (a boy, 10, a girl, 6) are fairly picky so it's a lot of pasta, ravioli (store-bought), pizza, chicken strips, mac and cheese, etc. around here. I will cook on Sunday, usually something more labor-intensive like lasagna or beef stew, to deal with my motherly guilt. I also like making my own pasta sauces, they are so much better than store-bought and you can slip vegetables into kids that way ha ha! Thanks for following my blog. I am now your newest follower! XO, Jill

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  20. sorry, I got nuthin...cant even help you there...

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  21. So your kids piss and moan about your cooking? You've already answered your own question with picture #3. If they get hungry enough, they'll eat. Or learn how to cook for themselves. Their future spouses will thank you 20 years from now. ;)

    S

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  22. Have I told you lately how much I absolutely LOVE your blog? Well, I definitely do! I love your FB posts, too. Wonderful!

    I just nominated you for a Liebster award! Check out my blog to retrieve it! :)

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Lay it on me!