The family that cooks together

It is no secret that we eat the majority of our meals at restaurants and fast-food emporiums. When I say majority, I’m talking in the 95% range. Maybe higher. When we both worked full-time that course was set early on following the discussion that went something like this: “I’ve worked all day and I don’t feel like cooking. Do you feel like cooking? Then where shall we go eat?” In fact, I think there is just a tinge of pride when Barbara tells people, “I don’t cook. No, I really don’t cook.” If you want proof, consider that we couldn’t get the oven door open for about two years. Well, it would open when the oven was off and cool, but once it warmed up it would not open, trapping whatever was in the oven in a bad place. We learned this on a very eventful Thanksgiving when the kids were here. Rob wound up carrying a hot oven door around until we figured out how to get it back on the unit.

Now I confess that there are some problems with this course of action; two areas come to mind immediately – cost and health. We rationalize the cost by thinking of all the money we save not buying groceries. I mean, have you seen what they charge for that stuff these days? And it’s raw! No sir, just allocate that money toward a good meal at Chuy’s. Now I agree that health issues are a little harder to rationalize. You can look at us and reasonably assume that we are what we eat. And that we are a lot of it. And you cannot pick up a newspaper or magazine without some health nut nagging you about what you should be eating instead of the triple by-pass burger. It begins to wear. I’m even to the point where I now only eat half my queso-slathered fajita chicken burrito, refried beans, Spanish rice and creamy jalapeno sauce. And save the rest for later.

So, now that we are semi-retired and have more time for this nonsense and in the spirit of eating better for less, last week Barbara took a shopping list for two week’s worth of meals with us to the grocery. This came from an article in Family Circle entitled “No-stress Weeknight Suppers.” I’m into the no-stress part. The article emphasizes “…two weeks of 450-calorie (or less) family pleasing soups, burgers and steaks, along with a rundown of all the groceries you’ll need.” Wait, there’s more! “Plus, there isn’t any waste. A bunch of scallions is used in both chicken slaw and sloppy Joes while a bag of spinach does double duty in a frittata and a shrimp dish.” How could we go wrong? Of course, the grocery section at Wal-Mart isn’t really a scallion, cooked turkey meatballs and arugala type of place, but who can tell the difference in little green onions and scallions?

Now I confess that I don’t know what a frittata is. I don’t think they are on the menu at Chuy’s. Not that I ever use the menu at Chuy’s. When the hostess takes us to “our table” and the waitress comes by and asks “The usual tonight?” you really don’t need to look at the menu. But I’m willing not only to cook a frittata but eat it as well, so let’s bring it on. I mostly slice and dice, because I never learned much else, but it definitely is a family affair. When the pots start rattling, I’m there! Okay, there is some truth to the fact that I better not be sitting reading the paper while Barbara actually cooks, but the important thing is togetherness. Bonding over the scallions and frittata – that’s the ticket.

Week 1: Tex-Mex Chowder, Stuffed Potato Skins (save potato for Thursday’s mashed potatoes, Skinny Cheeseburgers (on English muffins), Grilled Pork Chops and mashed potatoes (see Tuesday) and Ravioli “Lasagna.” Ummm, umm! Okay, the Skinny cheeseburgers weren’t bad. Grilled Pork chops and mashed potatoes are hard to ruin. I’ve sworn off all Chowders for the rest of my life. We don’t get to the frittata until next Wednesday. I’ll let you know. But, I’m out of time. We’re on our way to Poke Jo’s for some BBQ.