Category: Meal Ideas for Picky Eaters

At first when I had thought of making meatloaf, it was a bit intimidating. I thought, “Would I make it right;” “Would I put in the proper ingredients;” “Would my family like it the way I choose to make it or would they want it a different way;” “What was the best recipe…”? After much research for recipes online and in books, I chose one from a recipe book from Fort Loudon, PA. The meatloaf recipe was entered by my dad’s uncle, Uncle Percy “Bill”.  Out of all of the recipes I came across, “Uncle Bill’s Favorite Meatloaf” recipe was worth a try. Uncle Bill even included a recipe for a piquant sauce to top off the meatloaf. 

My Family’s Tastes

This seemed like a very simple recipe. Of course I had to alter it, and thought my family was sure to give it a thumbs up, or at least eat everything on their plate without complaining.  I was originally not quite sure how the piquant sauce would go over with my picky eater. Therefore, I made that as an optional topper, to put on after cooking.  After I made “Uncle Bill’s Favorite Meatloaf” and served it to my family with mashed potatoes and green beans or corn, my whole family decided they enjoyed this very much. My picky eater did not try it with the piquant sauce. The next time I made “Uncle Bill’s Favorite Meatloaf I included the piquant sauce on top before it went into the oven.  That was not a hit for my picky eater, but the rest of my family enjoyed it very much.

“Uncle Bill’s Favorite Meatloaf” recipe is below, but meatloaf in general can be made a variety of ways.  Some options include using a different meat. For example, instead of ground beef, use turkey for the meat. Another change is cubed bread crumbs or panko crumbs (I prefer panko). Most recipes include eggs; ketchup; brown sugar. To change it up, Uncle Bill suggested to use salsa instead of ketchup. Another option is to use steak sauce instead of ketchup. Some of my friends add vegetables to sneak into their kids’ diets (for those kiddos who don’t like vegetables).  Meatloaf can bring out creativity while cooking. 

Creative Meatloaf

One of my friends made meatloaf for April fool’s day for dinner.  She put the meat into muffin cups before baking.  After they came out of the oven she topped the meat muffins with prepared mashed potatoes, to resemble cupcakes with frosting on top.  Of course, the baking time would need to be adjusted if using muffin cups versus using a loaf pan.  The amount of time to bake would decrease, just be sure to check the internal temperature of the meat.  It should be a minimum of 160 degrees.  Let me know how you like “Uncle Bill’s Favorite Meatloaf” recipe or how you make it differently.  Did you add the piquant sauce or use other ingredients or serve it with something different?

My husband and I both grew up in Pennsylvania, but in different parts of the Commonwealth.  We both remember pierogies as a yummy potato-filled food, but learned to make them differently. I had pierogies with vegetables and a meat, or just alone. He had pierogies and sausage, similar to how we eat them as a family now.

Pierogies and Sausage for him

He was used to having pierogies fried in a skillet with onions.  When he was a child he did not like onions so he did not eat them, but enjoyed the flavor they added to the pierogies. When fried, the shell or dough of the pierogies become crunchy and crispy when cooked this way. As mentioned, the onions give this dish more flavors, whether or not they are eaten along with the pierogies.  He had them with sausage links, which was also cooked in the skillet, usually before the pierogies. 

Pierogies for me

I grew up boiling pierogies in a sauce pot with water, similar to making pasta. When they were flimsy and steamy the water was drained and we ate them with vegetables and meat, the pierogies being the starch of the meal, served with sour cream, of course. My husband did not have sour cream on them when he was a child, but now enjoys pierogies topped with the condiment.

How we eat them now

We usually make them fried now, as my husband is the cook for this meal. He cooks up Italian sausage links or country sausage links in the skillet to have with it. However, we have them without the onions. Some of my family likes pierogies served with sour cream. Sausage and a steamed vegetable like green beans or mixed vegetables complete this meal.  The few times I prepare pierogies for my family they are boiled. My picky eater likes them either way. Fried or boiled, pierogies are enjoyed by our whole family. Sometimes the sausage is not a favorite, though.

Tell me how you make and eat pierogies.     

Breakfast for dinner is a change from the normal meal. Though it sounds fairly jump simple, this may prove to be a little tricky at first.  Sometimes when we serve breakfast for dinner, or Brinner, as some call it, my boys are hungry soon is ti this oneafterwards.  Some ideas for this include scrambled eggs with sausage links or bacon and fresh fruit on the side.  We have done frame eggs with bananas, sliced peaches or sliced pears. French toast bake is a delicious option, as well.  

Breakfast favorites

Two options in particular that my boys enjoy are a French toast bake and Chunky monkey pancakes.  Both are fairly easy, and they love making pancakes with their daddy.  The pancakes have nuts, chocolate chips and bananas in them.  If you prefer blueberries or another mix-in, you could go that route, instead. 

I first had the French toast bake at church.  Oftentimes, someone will make or bring food to munch on, like doughnuts, fruit or muffins.  One day there was a casserole dish with pieces of bread cooked together, topped with cinnamon and more.  I cut some out, put it on a plate, added butter and enjoyed the sweetness of French toast with a little more to it. 

Where I found the recipe

I asked my friend for the recipe and she directed me to Dinner then dessert‘s website. The recipe calls for certain bread, but whatever is available is suitable.  That morning at church the casserole was made with left-over hot dog buns from a picnic they had prior.  Sometimes I get a loaf of texas toast bread, located in the bread aisle, other times I get some French bread from the bakery.  Whatever works to give enough bread to soak up the egg mixture and fill the casserole dish is good. Sabrina Snyder is the author of this recipe, Easy French Toast Bake.

Serve with fresh fruit like melons or berries on the side.  Let me know how you like it and what kind of bread worked or did not work for you.

Poor Man’s lobster, also known as Mock lobster, was a favorite of mine growing up.  Poor man’s lobster is boiled haddock. I always knew when my mom was making this meal. I could smell the sharp smell of white vinegar and old bay seasoning boiling on the stove top.  She always used the same beige colored mugs with a burgundy rim to melt and serve the butter. 

Now my family enjoys this just as much as I did and usually leaves little to no left-overs.  We like to have Poor Man’s lobster with rice or egg noodles.  For a vegetable we make steamed broccoli or mixed vegetables. 

I don’t have the beige colored mugs with a burgundy rim to serve the butter in. Instead, we use Pampered Chef one-cup glass prep bowls without the lids.  Really, any similar-sized microwave-safe container would work fine.  We put about 1/8 to ¼ cup of salted butter in each dish. Then we microwave it in intervals of fifteen to twenty seconds until the butter is melted.  Some people dip their haddock into the butter.  We like to immerse pieces of haddock completely into the butter. 

As delicious as this meal is, we must be careful to check for bones.  They are not often in the meat but occasionally one very thin bone will stick out of a chunk of haddock. The bones are very small, about the size of a small needle. Therefore, they are easily missed.

Let me know how you like poor man’s lobster and if you did anything differently. 

If your kiddo does not care for tuna, tuna melts are probably not the right meal for you.  My boys like it how I make it, most of the time. Tuna salad can be made several ways, with many different combinations of ingredients.  I have been making and eating tuna salad for many years and came to a ratio of ingredients that I enjoy most. 

Base

The base of most-if not all- tuna salad mixtures is tuna and mayonnaise. Of course, I like to use real mayonnaise, not miracle whip. I like to add some dill to mine and sometimes celery salt.  For this recipe, feel free to make the tuna salad how you like it or try something new. 

Bread

There are many options for the bread, too. For example, try sliced, French, bagel, English muffin, hot dog bun, hamburger roll and even tortilla. Though, if using a tortilla, you may want to cook this on the stove-top, like a quesadilla. We typically like to use hamburger buns.

Baking

I cover a baking sheet with parchment paper, and if I am using the tray for the toaster oven I cover that with foil. Then place the bun, outsides down on top.  I put a tablespoon or two onto the bottom half of the bun, then put a slice or two of cheese on top of the tuna.  My kiddo is picky about cheese, so, of course. Therefore, I only use Cooper Sharp American for my family’s melts. However, sometimes I put swiss cheese on mine.  Then I bake the melts in the preheated oven, or toaster oven, until the bun is golden brown and the cheese is melted over top of the tuna. 

We like to serve this with chips, celery, carrots, other fresh vegetables or steamed vegetables.  Tell me what you put in your tuna salad and what you serve it on. Also, the recipe is written for 2 servings, double ingredients for more. They can be as filled as you would like.