If you can't relate to any this, then either your minis aren't old enough to push you to your end of your sanity or you're simply a better mother than the rest of mothers worldwide.
One thing I always said I would never do when I have minis is make a separate meal for the minis. "I will never make a separate meal for my minis, my minis are going to eat what I eat or they'll go to bed hungry." Somehow God heard my plans, had a good chuckle, and then gave me these three.....
Cute as can be, aren't they? Good thing too because, guess what?!?! My minis are picky eaters. Now, they will eat every fruit under the sun and all raw veggies. And that's all that they can agree on. I've got one that will eat meat, two that won't. I've got two that love cheese, one that picks it off of everything. Two that love pasta and bread, one that doesn't. Two that eat sweets, one that prefers chips and salsa. You get my point. These are the foods that I can serve that I know for sure all three of my minis will eat.
- fruit
- raw veggies with hummus
- bacon
Most mealtimes in our house consist of Mr. McGhee playing a game of "How old are you? Well, that's how many bites you have to take of each thing on your plate." while I grumble about how we should just have BLTs and fruit salad every night.
One thing my minis do love is asparagus. Throw a little olive oil, balsamic, and sea salt on asparagus and grill it.....my minis eat it like it's candy. So, when I saw a recipe called Absurdly Addictive Asparagus, I knew I had to try it.
- 4 oz pancetta, cut into 1/4 inch dice
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 lb asparagus, woody ends trimmed and sliced into 2 inch pieces on the bias
- 1 1/4 cup leek, thinly sliced crosswise (white and pale green parts only)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- zest of one lemon
- 1 tsp orange zest
- 2 tbsp toasted pine nuts
- 1-2 tbsp italian parsley, chopped
- salt and pepper to taste
1. In a large non-stick pan, sauté pancetta, stirring frequently, over medium heat, until crisp and lightly golden.
2. Add 1 tablespoon of butter to pan. Add asparagus pieces and leek and sauté until asparagus is tender crisp, about 3-4 minutes.
3. Add garlic, lemon and orange zest, toasted pine nuts and parsley and sauté for about 1 minute, until fragrant. Season to taste with freshly ground pepper and salt and serve immediately.
Here's pancetta, AKA italian bacon
Asparagus and leeks, ready to be added
Finished dish.
Now, I really wish this story had a happy ending. I really wanted my minis to love the absurdly addictive asparagus so much that I had to send Mr. McGhee to the store to buy more asparagus so we could have it again tonight. Unfortunately, all 3 of my minis took a look at this dish and said, "what's all that stuff in with the asparagus? I don't like that stuff, I only like the asparagus.....but, now the asparagus is going to taste like all that stuff. And I just don't liiiiiiiike thiiiiiiis." And I was like, "you know what? Have a kiwi instead." So, they did. And Mr. McGhee and I ate the absurdly addictive asparagus, which oddly enough....I did not find to be absurdly addicting. I thought it was quite tasty and will definitely make it again. But, the whole absurdly addictive name got my expectations up really high.
My minis ate their kiwi with leftover broccoli cheddar soup, and cheddar/muenster grilled cheese sandwiches. And, not surprising.....two ate the soup but didn't touch the grilled cheese, one ate the grilled cheese but didn't touch the soup. They all ate the kiwi and the Minneola tangelos we had for dessert.
And then Mr. McGhee and I tossed them into bed....with dirty teeth and no bedtime story.
