What's for dinner

As a mom this is a very real dilemma.  And after a few years, and a few more... you find you're repeating the same old same old.  Then the kids get sick of eating the same things to the point that they don't want to eat those meals. Ever. Again.

My kids once pointed out to me I was making the same meal every week, even to the day.  Monday Spag Bol, Tuesday fish fingers and chips....

I've made sure I try to avoid doing that again.


I've recently started trying to add in some variety.  (I really do tend to make the same thing. Over and over.) New and exciting meals don't need to be time consuming. 

It helps that I currently have a very helpful child in the house.  He wants to be a chef (I think he's sucking up to me when he tells me it's because of me... but in a way I guess it is - because I encourage him).

Getting the kids to help can work in your favour, and it can also work against you. I've had times where I've had twice as many dishes, or the meal has taken me forever to cook... But when you want to make something new and fun, getting the kids involved can not only help you get it done, but also gets you to spend some very important  time with the kids.  I work a very long day. I get home and work on my part time business during the evenings, so I don't get to spend much quality time with them.  This gets us to work together.
Making kebabs would usually not cross my mind. But now it's a fun experience... Cutting the chicken, skewering them onto the sticks, and even making a satay sauce...
Another one we've had lots of fun with is crumbed chicken strips... Mom cuts, and Kayden dips in flour, then egg/ milk and lastly in the crumbs (our favourite is bread crumbs mixed with crisp crumbs - preferably something like sour cream and chives flavour).

Spag Bol doesn't need to be boring. Halving the mince and making the bolognese with one part, and meatballs with the other half. My son's favourite is making the meatballs, so he gets stuck in with that - adding carrots, onion, bread crumbs, herbs and spices and an egg... Rolling in flour then into the hot pan.  His comment this week was quite funny... "Why is there a fork in here? (I'd put it there).You don't mix meatballs with a fork. You use your hands!"

Corndogs! I never thought of making them before. Yet they're so easy to do!

Cooking has become a fun experience again. And little by little we're adding some new exciting dishes.