Yum! Just don't mention tigers!

Tonight we had some middle-eastern style lamb dishes, some beef, some chips, onions and croquettes, all barbecued, probably our last BBQ of the summer.

Some WA '05 shiraz, then vintage (if you call 7yo vintage!) Hunter Valley shiraz.

Hanging out by the water, then back inside to watch an old HD DVD.

A nice night in for a change. :) No substantial travel or food miles this time.

Tonight we are having shredded beef tacos with spanish rice. Chips and guac on the side as well.

I put a chuck roast in the slow cooker this morning and it has been going on low for about 10 hours. Gave it a little spice rub and covered it with water that also has some spices in it.

Hopefully it will be good!

What's for dinner?
 

This is probably the most asked question between my wife and I...neither one of us our very creative when it comes to cooking food for our family...we have a 3 year old (who is pretty picky) and 4 1/2 year old who will try/eat virtually anything...so I'm hoping some other FT'ers are in the same position as me and can share some ideas on good, fairly quick, fairly healthy choices.

sole almondine. we use frozen sole.

In West Texas, we know lots of folks that will eat standard American food and Mexican - they are very averse to vegetables and ethnic foods. Our two kids were raised to eat whatever was placed before them - or they went hungry (or they continued to see the same food as leftovers until they had eaten it). We had some early struggles of will, but they didn't last all that long. We tried to involve the kids in cooking; they washed and cut vegetables, would stir sauces, roll up eggrolls, assembled casseroles, etc.

Both kids now have kids of their own, and they are grateful for how they were raised.

Tonight was Porterhouse, grilled rare, and roasted potatoes with herbs before the freezes sets in and fat free grated parm.

Look for things you can make in a slow cooker. Decide on a couple of things on the weekend for the coming week. Buy everything you need, cut the meat and bag it, have all the ingredients ready to go. Then in the morning just put everything into the slow cooker, turn it on, and it durn near ready to eat for dinner. The decision is made and just add a couple of finishers.

To be really lazy, there are now premade seasonings especially for slow cookers. They may be a tad high is sodium so make sure and read the labels. But for a once a week meal they're probably ok to use.

Thanks everyone for the suggestions so far...last night we just cut up a zucchini and some squash and sauteed it in olive oil, threw some pasta under it with goat cheese and called it a meal...I really like the idea of the slow cooker, I'm going to dig up some recipes today and shop this weekend!

The slow cooker is great. I taught himself how to use it. He now makes great soups and stews.

There are some good slow cooker receipts out there. I use the ones where you just throw everything in.

I got anxious for Thanksgiving so I roasted a 1/4 turkey breast and 2 drumsticks last night. I found cranberry sauce and made gravy. The highlight was the sage sausage stuffing (found the sausage in the freezer and that's what got me started. I called my kids and had a crowd at the table when the food was ready. Turkey sandwiches for lunch today too. Mmmm.

Oven-baked fried chicken, green salad, homemade biscuits, Dreyers Thin Mint ice cream.

Jamiacan Beef Sandwiches from Costco.

Dinner: Weißwurst and red cabbage
Dessert: Strawberries

Some excellent sashimi and a spicy tuna roll.

Mozzarella and Tomato Salad, Lobster Mac and Cheese, Steak Au Poivre with roasted red potatoes and corn on the cob.