Martin Family Meals for Nine

My friend at the gym asked me yesterday "Do you cook dinner for everyone every day?" with the follow-up question "What the heck are you cooking every night?" Haha!  

These questions don't bother me, especially coming from a good-hearted person who is genuinely interested in the answers.  I can remember having a young family and looking to older more experienced moms for advice like this.  I also understand that, for me, a normal night of cooking for nine is what others compare to their big holiday gatherings and they couldn't imagine doing it every single day.  Well let me burst some bubbles.

First, cooking dinner on a weekday for a lot of people is so different than hosting a dinner party or holiday meal for that same amount of people.  Way less planning.  Way less creativity.  Way less pomp and circumstance.

Second, we probably have 20ish meals on repeat with a new recipe thrown in here and there and we meal plan for the week.  It's more of a generalized "here's five or six meals for the week" and then the day doesn't matter.

Third, we eat pizza almost every Friday.  We either order it from a place with the best deals (currently Domino's) or we buy frozen pizzas and bake them (usually Aldi's) and I don't worry about veggies because it's Friday and we've all worked and schooled and sported all week so there.

Fourth, whoever is home first starts cooking dinner.  I mean Phil or I.  The kids are pretty useless in this area and it's my fault because I didn't train them and I hate messes and it's easier to just get it done right ourselves.  I'm sorry to their future spouses, but they will learn someday, as did I.

Fifth, Phil and I try to have a date night each week, and the kids either have a meal they like but we don't (like mac n cheese and hot dogs or chicken nuggets) or it's SMORGASBORD night (leftovers/clean out the fridge).

Sixth, my brain creates a meal by thinking of a plate of food.  On that plate we need a protein, veggie, and carb.  

Our go-to proteins are: Chicken breasts, whole chickens, ground beef, ground chicken, hamburgers, meatballs, sausages (including chicken sausages and kielbasa), thin pork chops, pork loins, chuck roast, stew meat, eggs, steak (rarely) and fish (for me).

Our veggies on repeat are: salads, roasted cauliflower, steamed broccoli, sauteed green beans, corn, raw carrots and cucumbers.

The carb sides include: lots of rice, pasta (mac n' cheese or with pesto or red sauce), potatoes, bread (as in garlic bread or cornbread or homemade beer bread) and chips.

To answer my friend's questions, YES we cook for everyone (almost) every day but not everyone is home to eat together all the time.  There's always enough food made and they can heat up a plate when they get home.  I don't want my big teenagers to feel like there's nothing to eat just because they had a late game.  Food is their love language!  

As for what we're cooking, well I kind of answered that already, but I realized that I do plan the weeks thinking about cuisines.  Each week, we usually have (the Americanized versions of):

1.Mexican food - tacos or taco salad or quesadillas or enchiladas

2.Asian/Indian food - something with rice, a stir fry or Korean beef bowl or Thai Peanut Chicken or Butter Chicken or Chicken Shawarma

3. Italian food - anything with pasta, meatballs, lasagna, bolognese

4. Grill food - my favorite because I don't grill!  Mostly hamburgers and sausages and chicken

5. Salad Night - we love to do a salad bar with toppings, or chicken caesar salad and we serve it with garlic bread

6. Sunday Dinner, like a roast or stew or anything that takes awhile to cook, though during football season the kids love "football food" to eat, things like pigs in blankets, baked ham and cheese sandwiches, stromboli

As for amounts, well we usually cook 3-4 pounds of meat at a time, 3-5 lbs potatoes, 2 pounds of pasta or 3 cups of rice or 2 loaves of bread, and 2 big heads of cauliflower or 3 big bunches of broccoli or 3 stalks of lettuce, etc.

Yes our grocery bill is insane, but so is our love for these kids, and one day we will hopefully make the rounds eating at their houses.  I hope their spouses are great cooks!