2010 New Year's Resolution and purpose of this blog

My 2010 New Year's resolution may prove to be an insurmountable challenge as it involves not just changes to myself but also major changes in my children!! I pledge to try a new recipe each week (not frozen or out of a box) in an effort to expose my 3 children to new foods and expand their palate. The goal is that by the end of the year they will be eating what we eat (more or less) and I'll no longer be a stressed out short-order cook on the fast-track to the Betty Ford Clinic!

I tried to convince my kids that trying new foods would be a good resolution for them this year but they weren't biting! (pun intended)

This is also an experiment to determine what causes a picky eater? Is it genetic? Are some kids just not as adventurous as others when it comes to trying new foods? (Perhaps the frequent gagging at my dinner table is a sign that may be my answer!) Or is it that I've been lazy and haven't really forced the issue or exposed them to enough new foods on a consistent basis? Maybe it's karma because I was a picky eater myself as a child??

Getting my kids to eat new meals at dinnertime has been the greatest source of my parental frustrations. I LOVE food and trying new recipes but cooking is a lot of effort when you're doing 2 separate meals every night and you have a toddler clinging to your legs! I'm hoping this little experiment might put an end to the insanity, chaos, gagging, whining and wine consumption that ensues in our household every night! Isn't mealtime supposed to be a time of family happiness? Please tell me there is light at the end of this 52 week tunnel??? I'll keep you posted.....

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Saturday, January 30, 2010

Week 2: Double-Cheese Meatloaf (Courtesy of Cooking Light Magazine)


The ingredients:










  • cooking spray
  • 1 cup chopped onion
  • 6 tablespoons ketchup, divided
  • 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard, divided
  • 1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
  • 1/2 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
  • 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 large egg, lightly beaten
  • 1/2 pound lean ground beef
  • 1/2 pound lean ground pork
  • 1/2 pound lean ground veal

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
  2. Place a medium nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add the chopped onion, and saute for 3 minutes. Combine the onion, 1/4 cup ketchup, 1 tablespoon mustard, mozzarella, and next 6 ingredients (mozzarella through egg) in a large bowl. Crumble ground meats over cheese mixture; stir just until blended.
  3. Pack mixture into an 8 x 4-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Combine 2 tablespoons ketchup and 1 tablespoon mustard; spread over top of loaf. Bake at 375 degrees for 1 hour or until meat thermometer registers 160 degrees. Let meat loaf stand in pan 10 minutes.
  4. Remove meat loaf from pan, and cut into 12 slices.
I've been a little delayed in posting new recipes but HAVE been abiding by my resolution to serve my kids a brand new recipe each week. I've been making this meatloaf recipe for years but never for the kids! Believe it or not this is a recipe from Cooking light magazine and I think in order to "keep it light" you have to slice the meatloaf pretty thin. A serving size is 1/12th of the loaf. That might work for the kids but my usual portion is more like 1/8th!

Parent Review: Has always been a fave comfort food! Easy to make...I often substitute the premixed meatloaf mixture but usually this doesn't come in a lean version. Serve with mashed or baked potatoes and salad (corn, raw carrots & french fries for the kids) 9
Hayden: Gives it a 7.5 esp. if visible onions are removed and served with ketchup! Ate 5 bites after 10 mins. of pushing food around the plate!
Sammy: Gives it an 8. Ate the entire thing happily.
Anna: Was in bed by the time dinner was served but ate it for lunch the next day.
Overall rating: 8
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