"Hey Mom, What's For Dinner?"

     "Hey Mom, what's for dinner?"  I'm asked that question every day...in the morning...before school even starts.  That question is the bane of my cooking existence.  Don't get me wrong, I'm a good cook.  I like to bake much better, but I'm a good cook.  The problem is the finicky appetites around here.  The good thing is tonight we're having tacos and everyone likes them in one way or another, whether it's on a soft shell, hard shell, or by crumbling up tortilla chips on a plate and dumping stuff on top.  I make tacos once a week so there's at least one meal that will go unscathed.  
     When I make spaghetti Eldest won't eat the sauce, but will eat noodles with butter and cheese. Young'un will eat the sauce, and with the Kid it fluctuates and I have no idea until we sit down to eat.  Because of the differences in sauce opinion, as much as I enjoy lasagna, it's a rare treat.  I have a great recipe for homemade chicken tenders.  Eldest and Kid like them, Young'un says they taste like fish.  Young'un doesn't like fish.  Or steak.  Or hot dogs.  Or meat of any kind according to him...but he doesn't eat vegetables either.  Now you're wondering how he survives.  Bribery.  Pure and simple.  I'm not above a big dose of bribery.  If he wants dessert he has to eat so much of the meat and vegetables to get it, regardless of whether he thinks it tastes like fish.  Some days fruit and vegetables are interchangeable around here.
     There's one food they all agree on as big negative.  Lamb.  I know, your wondering how that worked out considering we raise them, but I chalk it up to our kids having very strange taste buds.  When I make hamburgers they're skeptical, thinking they'll take a bite and find out that they're lambburgers instead (no, they still do not know they actually ate goat burgers earlier in the summer and you're not to tell them either).  Hon grilled marinated lamb chops a few nights ago, which were very tasty, and they still fussed and moaned.  Not one child ate dessert that night.  Hon and I enjoyed it, though.  Nothing like enjoying a yummy homemade pumpkin pie from Mrs. Yoder (not a dump the can of pumpkin in the shell kind, either) with a healthy dose of whipped cream on top.
     I saw on The Pioneer Woman's website earlier this week that a new child oriented cookbook titled "Weeelicious" by Catherine McCord is coming out.  Maybe it already is now.  Who knows.  What I do know is next time I'm in the area of a bookstore I'm going to make it a point to stop in and check it out.  Maybe I'll find something else to add to the food repertoire that everyone enjoys because.....Young'un doesn't like the pizza but will tolerate it with sausage and Eldest will only eat pepperoni, Eldest doesn't like Chinese food but Kid and Young'un do, Eldest will only eat raw carrots, Kid hates them raw....
     So, there you have it folks.  My sorry food plight.  On a positive note, the one thing everyone does enjoy is breakfast for dinner and although Kid likes burnt bacon and Young'un wants it floppy, everyone likes mild sausage.  That's life on the farm...or as my dad would say, "Life in the swamp."  Smiling & Waving, Sharon 

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