Then I have the challenge of pleasing various palates. Okay, I can say it - some of my kids are VERY picky eaters. I've given up on Josiah. I plan meals for the rest of us with pieces and parts that he might eat. Keziah? Her tastes change every day which makes predicting what she will eat is next to impossible. Plus she still criticizes all my cooking. Her Chinese foster mother was a far better cook than her "Merica" mom.
Throw in a little chaos and insanity from our every day life which leaves me no time in the kitchen to actually get a meal on the table for the family, and I become overwhelmed and clueless how to feed these people.
How bad is it?
There are many days right now when I start the taxi service at 2:30pm to pick-up and drop-off people. Schools get out at various times. Caleb has rehearsals for the school play that don't END until 5:30pm at the earliest. Other people have music lessons in the late afternoon. Sports practices start up by 6:00pm and some don't end until 8:30pm or later. Band practices last until 9:00pm or later. We may not be home together as a family until 9:30pm. Hmmmm...bedtime used to be 8:00pm with stretching it on special night until 8:30pm. Now we are LUCKY if we can eat dinner before 9:00pm!
So I've been experiencing quite a dinner time dilemma for a while. Having hungry people and no food is not a good combination.
Solution -
The book Make It Fast, Cook It Slow by Stephanie O'Dea was recommended on an adoption site that I frequent. I had tried a recipe that someone posted and checked out the website crockpot365.com . That first meal we tried was a hit so I bought the cookbook last week.
A whole cookbook of crockpot/slow cooker recipes!
I didn't realize until I had the cookbook in hand that the recipes were also glutten-free. Okay, this is not important to my family, but my nephew has Celiac Disease which means he can't eat anything with glutten. As soon as I read that I sent a text to my sister-in-law to recommend the cookbook to her. She went right out that day and bought her own copy. We've had fun sending text messages back and forth about recipes we are trying out on the families.
Oh, yeah! You bet I put this cookbook right into use! I'm loving trying out a variety of recipes! Tossing dinner in the crockpot and then not worrying all day about how I will get a meal on the table late at night when we all drag our tired selves home. Plus, a lot of the recipes we've tired also call for a rice companion which makes me ever so happy that I splurged a little a bought a rice cooker with the delay timer. Toss in the rice and water, set the timer to have it ready for dinner time, and run out the door to drive the evening taxi service. When we finally get home, I can quickly cook a veggie, add a salad or friut, maybe a bread or roll, and PRESTO! We have a delicious, homecooked meal!
I will admit to two new problems...Christopher may not love having to make sure my crockpot crockery is washed and cleaned by the next morning. (I had to request that it make it in either the late night dishwasher load or the first one in the morning.) Then Miranda has discovered that the cookbook is filled with other yummy recipes besides main dishes for dinner. She wants to make herself some oatmeal with apples for breakfast and try out a creme brulee!
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