We had an actually pleasant dinner last night, which makes me wonder if my children have been replaced by aliens and if I have to try to get my children back.
We had pork chops, cooked with apricot jam and ginger, along with broccoli. When I carried the pork chops out to the table, Amanda made gagging noises about the "white hamburgers", and was trying to tell me that she hated them, but I made her try one. She proceeded to eat all the meat on her plate (and afterwards told daddy that the white hamburgers were really yummy!).
Eleanor was pacified by giving her a sharp knife. She did use the knife to cut off all the "skin" (the part with the jam on it, since she doesn't like sauce) and kept trying to use her fingers instead of her fork to hold the meat as she cut, but she was too distracted by the fun of a new, dangerous tool to complain much.
Luke ate his usual amount without much fuss. He has a tendency to stuff 4 or more pieces of food into his mouth and then cry because he can't chew with his mouth so full, but he only did this once last night.
We also had broccoli, which the girls like to dip in butter (actually margarine). One of my theories of serving vegetables is that you can't put too much butter on them. Michael disagrees, but the girls agree with me. Amanda asked for seconds and thirds of broccoli---I didn't give her very much at a time, but it still gave me a kick to have her ask for more. Eleanor eats the stalks and Amanda eats the florets, so they give each other the leftovers.
What else went well? No screaming, no glasses of juice spilled, pleasant conversation without fights or threats, no "you must eat one more bite to get dessert!". Hardly any food on the floor. Some use of forks. I only had to herd the kids back to the table 2 times. Healthy food, a beautiful sunset, what could be better?
It strikes me, reading this, that perhaps the reason I am thinking dinner was so pleasant is because my standards have gone down. Oh well, I hope tonight is just as nice.
Here is the recipe for the "white hamburgers" Amanda liked. It probably takes about 15 minutes to cook, maybe a little more if your pork chops are thick.
Apricot Pork, based on a Cooking Light recipe
4 boneless pork chops
cooking spray
salt and pepper
1/3 cup apricot jam
1/3 cup broth
2 tsp fresh ginger (I use the ginger people bottled)
Heat a non-stick skillet coated with cooking spray. Cook the pork chops until they're done (about 10 minutes per inch of thickness). To help them cook faster, cook with a lid on for the first 7 minutes or so. Take off and set aside.
Mix up the jam, ginger and the broth. Add to the hot skillet you used to cook the pork and scrape up any bits that are left. Cook for 1-2 minutes, then return the pork to the pan. Turn to coat the pork. Serve drizzled with sauce, unless you're Eleanor.
We had pork chops, cooked with apricot jam and ginger, along with broccoli. When I carried the pork chops out to the table, Amanda made gagging noises about the "white hamburgers", and was trying to tell me that she hated them, but I made her try one. She proceeded to eat all the meat on her plate (and afterwards told daddy that the white hamburgers were really yummy!).
Eleanor was pacified by giving her a sharp knife. She did use the knife to cut off all the "skin" (the part with the jam on it, since she doesn't like sauce) and kept trying to use her fingers instead of her fork to hold the meat as she cut, but she was too distracted by the fun of a new, dangerous tool to complain much.
Luke ate his usual amount without much fuss. He has a tendency to stuff 4 or more pieces of food into his mouth and then cry because he can't chew with his mouth so full, but he only did this once last night.
We also had broccoli, which the girls like to dip in butter (actually margarine). One of my theories of serving vegetables is that you can't put too much butter on them. Michael disagrees, but the girls agree with me. Amanda asked for seconds and thirds of broccoli---I didn't give her very much at a time, but it still gave me a kick to have her ask for more. Eleanor eats the stalks and Amanda eats the florets, so they give each other the leftovers.
What else went well? No screaming, no glasses of juice spilled, pleasant conversation without fights or threats, no "you must eat one more bite to get dessert!". Hardly any food on the floor. Some use of forks. I only had to herd the kids back to the table 2 times. Healthy food, a beautiful sunset, what could be better?
It strikes me, reading this, that perhaps the reason I am thinking dinner was so pleasant is because my standards have gone down. Oh well, I hope tonight is just as nice.
Here is the recipe for the "white hamburgers" Amanda liked. It probably takes about 15 minutes to cook, maybe a little more if your pork chops are thick.
Apricot Pork, based on a Cooking Light recipe
4 boneless pork chops
cooking spray
salt and pepper
1/3 cup apricot jam
1/3 cup broth
2 tsp fresh ginger (I use the ginger people bottled)
Heat a non-stick skillet coated with cooking spray. Cook the pork chops until they're done (about 10 minutes per inch of thickness). To help them cook faster, cook with a lid on for the first 7 minutes or so. Take off and set aside.
Mix up the jam, ginger and the broth. Add to the hot skillet you used to cook the pork and scrape up any bits that are left. Cook for 1-2 minutes, then return the pork to the pan. Turn to coat the pork. Serve drizzled with sauce, unless you're Eleanor.
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