Meals

My son, Boy B is a very picky eater. If he could live on fruit, pizza and Doritos, he would be loving life. But the reality is, he needs to be eating other things. I’ve spent time reading and looking at cookbooks, as well as a million and one Google searches trying to find new things that he will eat.

So this morning, he and I talked and I explained my need to figure out what to cook for him and he seemed to get it. So for the next 15 minutes, he gave me ideas.  I don’t know that we got too far with the ideas of new things for him to eat, but for 15 minutes, we laughed, we talked about what he loved to eat and how important it was for him to be trying new things.

Having a child that is a picky eater, that is also ADHD and has sensory issues, is a challenge. But, I’ve been faced with a lot of challenges in my life thus far and what is one more? So, together and he and I are working on things that not only I can cook for him, but things that he can help me cook.

I’m starting to realize, that there might be a connection with foods, ADHD and being a picker eater, but I’m hoping that by involving him in the cooking process, he will be more open to trying new things. And understand, I have zero scientific basis for my thoughts, other than what I see everyday.

So this week, we start working on new recipes for him and I’m going to slowly add new foods to his eating and trying to broaden his horizon with things that he likes to eat. I can also speak from history too, as when I was his age, I was a VERY picky eater and probably ADHD too.

Here are a few foods that he does love:

  • Spaghetti
  • Pizza
  • Mac & Cheese
  • Fruit
  • Chicken Nuggets & French Fries

Now, here are few ideas that we discussed of trying.

  • Chicken Parm (I use the same spaghetti sauce)
  • Succotash (I’m from the south, but I put a twist on this)
  • Grilled Cheese (I’ll post my recipe at a later date, as I make the bread from scratch and use 3 different cheeses).
  • Grilled squash and zuchinni
  • Sweet potatoes instead of regular potatoes

I have no idea how this experiment is going to go? But, I feel that as not only his father and someone that has struggled with the exact same eating pattern, but as the one that cooks in the house, I have to try something to expose him to new foods. As I continue to grow as a cook, I find myself challenging myself to try new things.

I love to cook. I love to cook for my kids and to be able to teach them new things and soon, new cooking techniques. The one thing that I want to be able to eliminate from my thinking, is what to cook. I don’t want to be stuck on the same ideas and menus. I want to broaden my children’s view and palate of food.

Now, I’m off to the kitchen.

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Most Sunday’s I can be found in the kitchen and today was no different. On the menu for today’s sunday cooking is spaghetti sauce, marina sauce, pizza sauce, grilled chicken, grilled shrimp, grilled yellow fin tuna and grilled vegetables.

My wife and I have focused on trying to preparw as many meals as possible on Sunday as we can. It has even gotten to the point that we are cooking for weeks in advance. I am really focused on cooking as many different things as I can as I want to expose the boys to as many different foods as I can.

So as many enjoy their Sunday day, we have sunday cooking day. And i have started getting the boys involved and helping me cooking.

#foodporn

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There really isn’t much to say here other than the fact that if you get a chance, stop what you are doing and eat one. Having lived in the great state of Texas, we would have Turducken for Thanksgiving and it is nothing short of amazing. Well, a local restaurant took it a step further and made a Turducken burger and it was AMAZING.

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Here is an easy Orange Chicken Recipe that I found a few weeks ago and have fallen in love with it.

What You’ll Need:

4 – 5 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts, thawed
3/4 cup Smuckers Sweet Orange Marmalade
3/4 cup of Sweet Baby Ray’s Original BBQ Sauce {it’s SO good!} -> I used the Weber’s Buzz’N Honey BBQ Sauce
2 tbsp. Soy Sauce
Crockpot

What You’ll Do:

Cook chicken in crockpot on high for 3 hours {covered}
After 3 hours, drain juices from crockpot
Mix together bbq sauce, orange marmalade, and soy sauce
Pour mixture over chicken, and cook on high for 30 more minutes {covered}

View the entire recipe and instructions here.

But here is the best part, not only is this Orange Chicken recipe easy to make, it is really inexpensive. It is so good, that I might not order from the local Chinese restaurant anymore. Seriously, the chicken is cooked perfectly and it is not fried. I served this for my wife the other night and she could not stop talking about how great that it tasted. She even said that she could not order Orange Chicken at a restaurant again, after eating this meal.

I’ve really been focusing on making easy meals that 1) I can eat throughout the week, but 2) that I can use ingredients in multiple recipes. So, I’ve basically figured that to make this meal, it costs me about $8.00 for 4 pieces of chicken or $2.00 a serving, however you want to look at. But, in reality, that $2.00 a serving, is really spread out over several meals. And where can you really eat a good and healthly meal for $2.00 a server?

Please Note: I use the Weber’s Buzz’N Honey BBQ Sauce for another recipe, so that cost is split into 2 meals. The Orange Marmalade can be used on biscuits and who doesn’t love a homemade biscuit on a Saturday morning?

So, as you make these recipes, think about your ingredients and what you can use in other things.  Cook smart, eat better and save money.

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Who doesn’t love fish sticks? To my knowledge, the boys have not had fish sticks thus far, but that is all about to change. On Sundays, I try to cook as much as I can for the week. Well, this past Sunday, I snuck in a recipe for the boys: Homemade Fish sticks.

Here is the recipe from One Hungry Mamma and on initial tasting, the fish sticks are really good. That being said, now that I have made them, I will probably alter the recipe a little. But overall, this is really a healthy recipe and the boys really loved it.

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It is so funny watching the boys when we take them out for dinner.  Last night we took the boys to Buffalo Wild Wings and the boys just had a blast. They love the tvs. They love that they can be loud. And they love that they can be kids there. And for us, it makes our lives easier, because the boys can be kids there. And the staff goes out of their way to stop and talk with the boys and interact with them.

And, they love the wings. Mild of course and boneless.   Dinner out is a treat with our schedules during the week, but a family atmosphere is exactly what we needed for our dinner out.

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Sunday night after dinner, my mother who is in town, said why don’t we get ice cream?  Well that is like asking the kids if they want to go to the park and play, we all know the answer. So after dinner, we went over to get ice cream. And I have to admit, the ice cream shop is smart, because they gave the kids a small cone of vanilla for free and we spent a good $10 on ice cream for the adults. And it was money well spent.

The kids loved having their own cones, even while trying to get licks in off of ours. There is just something about eating ice cream on a hot summer day.  And I am pretty sure that we have started a new family tradition as well.

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Memorial Day is the start of summer for most. But it is also a time to get together with friends and families and BBQs.

This year, we have family coming over and I’ll be enjoying a lot of quality time at the grill and smoker.  Brisket, Baby Back Ribs, Chicken, Burgers and Brats, and the list goes on.
But as much as I love standing and smelling the food cooking, I love the fact that I get to spend the weekend with my boys.

So take time this Memorial Day weekend and spend time with your loved ones.

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I love pizza, I mean, who doesn’t? So recently I tried a store bought pizza dough and loved the flavors and the way that it tasted. And then I thought, why not make a homemade pizza? So after searching around, here is what I came up with and I’ll denote if there were any changes to the recipes.

First the pizza dough: This will easily make 3 large pizzas. So, if you look at it from a cost benefit – the flour might be the most expensive ingredient for this recipe.
Olive Oil Dough Pizza Crust – If you don’t own the Artisan Bread book, please consider picking it up.

Then, the pizza sauce: Again, we are looking at enough sauce for 3 large pizzas. For the cost stand point, this is a verable cost, because the tomato paste could be used with fresh tomatoes and the herbs could be fresh, etc.
Pizza Sauce – I used herbs that I had at the house that were in a jar, but that was because they were already there. Next time, I will be using fresh herbs and maybe a little less rosemary than what is called for.

Basically, 20 – 30 minutes of work to make the pizza crust and sauce and you might be out, maybe $10- 15 dollars depending on your costs? Not bad for 3 large pizzas.

And, if you wanted to include something for the kids. Take a cookie cutter and cut a little dough for the kids and make a small individual pizza for them. Not bad for 20 – 30 minutes of work and I promise, you’ll never buy another store bought or chain pizza again, provided you have the time to make all of this.

*Note: We did purchase a bottle of Butter Flavored Olive Oil, so I used that instead of the extra virgin olive oil for the pizza crust and used a Tuscan Herb Olive Oil for the sauce.

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Lately, I’ve been doing a lot of cooking on the weekend for the week. And this week, with the weather turning a little warmer, I thought that I would fire up the smoker. So this weekends menu will be as follows:

Saturday – smoke a turkey and sausage links. This will be a 6 hour smoke, using hickory wood, so this will also give me time to whip up some homemade BBQ sauce as well.
Sunday – I found this recipe for Slow Cooker Bacon-Wrapped Apple BBQ that really peeked my interest. Since I will only be cooking 4 pieces of chicken, I’ll probably make some Chicken Enchiladas too.

So what are you cooking this weekend? Next week, I’ll share with you the recipes that I’ve been using for homemade pizza.

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