The Cook Can't Win

After cooking the same 10 recipes for approximately 15 years of our married life, I've decided that I need to try some new ones.

Unlike early on in our marriage there are now more people to please, not just two adults. We now have two little ones, one of whom is a self-selecting vegetarian, and the other who can live off of burgers, pizza and pasta. Last week's vacation proved both these points out.

So a couple of weeks ago I tried a recipe called Chicken A La Impress Me from AllRecipes. The summary is that you roll up chicken breasts with cheese, ham and julienned carrots and zucchini and bake them.

As I am pounding the chicken breast flat so I can roll them up, the self-selecting vegetarian comes up to me and asks me where chicken comes from. She suddenly makes the connection that the chicken that we eat is the same as the animal that has feathers and lays eggs.

"You mean, this is an animal?" she says.

Yes, but a delicious animal.

"So do they have to kill it to eat it?" she asks. "How do they kill it?"

"That is a good question," I say, "And one you should ask your father; he used to live on a farm."

She comes back in after a while and observes me putting the ham on the chicken.

"Mommy, is ham an animal too?" she asks.

Despite her doubts, the chicken was a huge hit with the kids. They think it looks delicious, they love the carrots in them, and they both gobble it up.

I ask my husband how he likes it; he shrugs his shoulders and says, "It's chicken."

Okay...next recipe.

Last night I dug up a recipe for a crock pot beef stew -- according to the author, she tested several versions before her boyfriend finally gave his approval on this recipe. So I decided to give it a try. Last night I did the prep work, and this morning before leaving for work I turned the crock pot on and left for work.

We came home to a house that smelled ah-maz-ing.

We dug in, and I got a huge thumbs up from the husband. He LOVED it.

The girls, on the other hand, wouldn't touch it. Lindsey at least tried it, I will give her credit for that, but she didn't like it because the carrots weren't crunchy, like fresh ones.

The self-selecting vegetarian, on the other hand, ate a good dinner of grape tomatoes, fresh carrots, yogurt and strawberries.

Now it's your turn -- what are your family's favorite recipes? Please share -- anything that your kids and spouse will eat. Help a cook out.