You Get What You Get….
Picky kids. Picky husband. With seven kids and a super picky husband, meal planning was never easy. Our motto ..”you get what you get, and you don’t throw a fit”. I learned this from a former co-worker and utilized it on a daily basis!
My husband and I have been married for over 18 years, and I do admit that I’ve adapted many recipes to suit him.
Tator tot casserole in my home is now made with cream of chicken instead of cream of mushroom..and no vegetables at all in it. I miss the mushroom soup and green beans, but his version is decent as well.
I love bierocks, he hates them. My three oldest sons enjoy bierocks, but the rest take after my husband . On one occasion , several years ago, I made a batch of bierocks and I looked down to see an entire bierock sitting on top of the trash with ONE bite taken out. ONE BITE!
I almost “lost my shit”! I went to each kid in my quest to find out who did this. When I found out it was my stepson, who admitted it in a very calm, cool, nonchalant manner..I blurted out “Don’t you know that bierocks are like GOLD?”
Apparently he didn’t feel the same way. 🙂
These days I refuse to stop making bierocks, so I compromise. When I make a batch of bierocks, I also make a batch of ham and cheese pockets. This seems to appease everyone (except my husband, who complains about the cabbage smell).
If you’d like to try bierocks, heres an easy recipe: https://cookiesandcursewords.com/the-best-bierocks-ever
Ham and Beans
Of course, when all of the kids were living at home I would try to plan out cheap but filling meals. Most of the family enjoyed ham and beans..EXCEPT the two girls.
This particular incident took place when we had been married for about a year. We tried so hard to make this new blended family thing work, which included eating at the dinner table each night as a family.
I had cooked a big pot of ham and beans in the crockpot, and of course we had cornbread (and this time fried potatoes )to go with it! Our two girls did not like beans and they had been very vocal about this throughout the day.
We had adopted the phrase “you get what you get and you don’t throw a fit” early on in our blended family journey. Basically, this meant that we would serve them whatever the meal was and that was it. They didn’t have to like it, they could choose whether to eat it or not, but we would not prepare something different just for them. With so many people, it was just impossible to please everyone (unless we went to McDonalds)!
Back to the story..
My husband and I have always worked together in the kitchen. We served up the bowls of ham and beans, set them in front of each child, and prepared to eat. Our son Bryan was about six years old and he started gobbling up his beans, while the girls sat with their bowls in front of them because they were choosing not to eat. Not a problem, they could eat their cornbread and fried potatoes. The girls started giggling. My husband and I couldn’t figure out what was so funny. They laughed harder and harder as they watched their brother eat (I think my older boys were spending the weekend at their dad’s house, so they weren’t there).
Finally, my husband asked them what was going on. One of them revealed that they had poured a bunch of dry koolaid in the pot of beans in the hopes that it would be ruined and another meal would have to be made. They were laughing because their brother was oblivious to this and his bowl was almost empty now.
My husband was livid, but acted calm as a cucumber when he informed the girls that since they chose to do that, they WOULD now be eating THEIR entire bowl of beans.
I’m sure there were tears, but I don’t remember exactly what happened after that..except they ate the beans. Their little trick backfired on them! For the record, I ate those beans as well and they were very tasty, koolaid and all. 🙂
Today
Now that we only have one child left at home, meal planning SHOULD be easier. When our youngest was little, he would eat ANYTHING. The only thing that he has never liked is beans (poor old beans again).
He will be 17 this month, and has become the pickiest eater of all. He hates any kind of steak, chicken and noodles, cowboy soup, grilled cheese (unless we gave tomato soup with it), tomatoes (but he loves ketchup and tomato soup), bierocks, meatloaf, tacos, fajitas… and the list goes on.
He used to eat all of this stuff, except beans. Now he only likes chicken wraps from McDonalds, broccoli cheese soup (and anything else made with broccoli), chicken strips, and pepperoni pizza (sometimes).
The things he does like, my husband can’t stand. It has become very difficult to do the “get what you get” thing, because usually the only one in the house that will eat everything is me. My sister in law Kara used to eat everything when she lived with us..but now that she’s moved, it’s just me.
Yesterday was Halloween. I made a huge crockpot of cowboy soup, as I do every year. ONE bowl was eaten..mine. The rest is in the fridge, and will be my breakfast and lunch today. My son used to love it, although now he says he never did.
When he works, he uses his own money to buy his chicken wraps. My husband is out of town two days a week now. I’m seriously thinking it may be time to stop cooking big meals.
Oh- that brings up another point. I am now realizing how difficult it is to cook meals for three people when you have been cooking enough for an army over the past 18 years!
Changing times call for adjustments, that’s for sure! Time to sign off, as I’m headed to the kitchen to warm up some cowboy soup…
