The Dinner Dance

Hi Peeps! How is 2012 treating you? We've had a good start to the year. Well, most of us have. Jake, the puppy, is having a hard time figuring out the facts of life here in Busy Momma land. You see, it's almost like he is trying to tell us something. And that something is: "Well, now WHY would I poop and pee-pee outside where it is cold when I can just poop and pee-pee in here, on the carpets where it is warm? You silly humans you!" Hmmm - problematic doggie thought proceess - huh? It wouldn't be such a problem if he wasn't so gosh-darn cute. But he is so cute and cuddly and soft and wonderful - it's hard for me to yell at him and get terribly angry at him. (Especially since I stopped procrastinating and I picked up Darling Dixie's ashes yesterday. :( I cried. ) And isn't it true that all puppy accidents are really PEOPLE's issues - as in our fault? As in - we weren't watching carefully enough? And by WE - I mean PC and the kids - 'cause as we all know - mommy here is beyond reproach. I mean look at that little yummy pup kissing Bella! He's delicious!!! How could you get mad at that? (If you want the answer to that question - check out PC's blog at http://www.whatwerewethinkinggettingapuppy/?.com Just kidding!)

But I digress - the topic of this blog isn't Jake: The Wonder Dog. That will be a post when he is COMPLETELY housetrained! No - today's blog is about a topic that we ALL have in common - the daily dinner dance. Am I the ONLY mommy who is just sick and tired of making the SAME things for dinner week after week? I can't be! I cannot put another pot roast into the slow cooker again without wanting to slit my wrists. And I think my family agrees. We have fallen into a dinner rut over here and we need to break out of it and explore other recipes! But here is our issue - I have a very picky eater at my table. Jack is an eating champ. He has tried sushi, he loves salad, he eats calamari, shrimp, chicken, EGGPLANT - pretty much whatever you put on his plate. Bella on the other hand is a bit pickier. And that makes menu planning really hard. I cook what I know Bella will eat. And that consists of stir-fry, plain chicken, rice, plain pasta, pizza, pork chops,burgers, pot roast, and anything that covered in barbecue sauce.

Now in her defense - she has gotten a bit more adventurous. Tonight she ate eggplant and beef ragu over sauteed polenta. (The recipe is in this month's Weight Watcher's magazine)Now I know that sounds exotic - but it's basically meat sauce with eggplant over polenta - that she didn't really like. But she really is trying. And I am so proud of her for that. But she definitlty knows what she likes and doesn't like. When she was little, I used to make all of those yummy "sneaky chef" recipes for her. The ones that involved steaming and purreing veggies and "hiding" them in food. The recipes are SO good - but now that I work full time - I really don't have the time to do that. AND I really don't think that "hiding" veggies is a good tactic for tweenagers. They have to make good choices for themselves.

So - what is a Bust Momma to do? I am REALLY hoping that you guys can help me. I am in desperate need of some recipes that are healthy and picky-eater friendly. I really like to cook at least 5 night a week and I try to make healthy meals. So - Here is my "dinner dance card" - the meals that rotate in and out of our weekly rotation - and while they are all super yummy - we are kind of sick of them!. If you want any of the recipes - just comment on the blog or on FB and I'll be happy to share. All of these meals take 30 minutes or less to prepare - unless they are slow cooker recipes. Ready?

• Pot Roast and veggies (slow cooker)
• Home-made Chicken Soup (Ina Garten's recipe - so easy - it cooks itself)
• Turkey Cutlet Marsala
• Chicken Parm (This takes a bit longer than 30 minutes)
• Chicken and Veggie Stir-Fry with rice or noodles
• Burgers
• Tacos
• Cranberry Chicken
• Pulled Pork (slow cooker - Kathi Spaeth's recipe - YUMMO!)
• Pork Tenderloin on the grill (Kathy Caslin's recipe - so good!)
• Rachel Ray's 30-Minute Shepard's Pie (Really great!)
• Steak/London Broil on the grill (Hermione's dry-rub for London Broil is to die for)
• Marie Collander's Chicken Pot Pies - SHAMEFUL!
• Gigi's stew (Sookie's Mommy's recipe - oh yum!)
• Roasted Chicken (A Sunday night staple)

And that's all folks. Sometimes we do breakfast (pancakes and bacon) for dinner and we do pizza WAAAAAY to often. I try to stay away from fast food for dinner. In fact we never do it for dinner unless we have an emergency. (However - I don't consider pizza fast food. :) ) Can anyone help me widen my repetoire? I am trying quesadillas next week. I think they will go over well. And that is the extent of my culinary prowess. So - can anyone out there help a Busy Momma out? Let me know what's in YOUR weeknight rotation. Maybe we can all help one another.....