What’s For Dinner Tonight?

Like many moms, the question often on my mind is, “What to serve for dinner?”

That question is a daily one for me. I am not the greatest of cooks, and although I regularly browse women’s magazines for recipes and watch the Food Network, I never know what to cook. I find that when I do try out new recipes, they either aren’t that good (but my family may have finicky tastes), or that at least one family member doesn’t like it. It usually ends up that if my husband – who tends to like spicier foods and meats – likes it, the kids (who like standard kid fare) don’t, and if they like it, he doesn’t.

I have a few dishes—and I mean a few—in my repertoire that I can make, but they tend to be pasta-based, things like spaghetti and meatballs, angel hair with clam sauce, lasagna and pasta salad. But those dishes aren’t great hits with my husband, who much prefers rice over pasta. I can cook a stir fry, but my kids aren’t that fond of them – I think it’s the vegetables.

My husband is actually the better cook (he makes a great Korean kalbi that we all love), but because of his hectic work schedule, he doesn't cook very often.

Even though I am in my forties, I only have been cooking dinner regularly for about five years. Before our kids were born, my husband and I ate a lot of takeout. We weren’t as concerned about making homemade dishes – a box of macaroni and cheese jazzed up with a little real cheese was fine. And, when our children were born, my mother-in-law (who cooked like a restaurant chef) moved in and took over the cooking for a few years.

My favorite recipes are things I can make in the crock pot, things like pot roast and corned beef, because it’s very hard to ruin a recipe in there.

As usual, this morning I was wondering what to make for dinner tonight. I hit the grocery store before my family woke up. Since I’ve been feeling under the weather lately, I decided to pick up something quick. So, I did something I don’t usually do. I grabbed a bag of frozen breaded chicken (with whole grain breading), and will serve it with veggies and rice. I looked at the ingredients on back of the bag of chicken, and surprisingly, there wasn’t a long list of unrecognizable ingredients, so maybe it’s not that bad. It will have to do for tonight.