No Thank You Bite

Mmmmm.... home made pico de gallo....

I thought I'd write about a little trick I use around my house to get my kids to try anything and everything. I call it the "No thank you bite."

The kids are expected to take one bite of everything on their plate. After trying something, if they don't like it, they just say "no thank you" and they don't have to finish the rest. This eliminates all the fussing, crying, whining, bargaining, arguing, etc. on their end - and opens a door for them to expand their pallets and find things they end up liking - and sometimes even loving - without all the fussing, crying, whining, bargaining, arguing on my end - haha...

I am an avid fan of "The Chew" a talk show on at noon that revolves around food - and last week Gwenyth Paltrow was a guest on that show. She mentioned that she does something called "the no thank you bite" with her kids and I about fell over in my chair. As far as I knew, the "No Thank You Bite" was an invention of mine that I started using about 7 years ago. Turns out this little trick has caught on... go ahead and try it!!

*Remember that I don't serve the same things continually - so there is always something new to try. If you serve something like green beans or mashed potatoes frequently, I would ask them to have a "No thank you bite" every 6 months or so - OR whenever they are prepared differently and leave it at that.

Good luck!! Let me know if this works for you!!

Sun Dried Tomato Alfredo & Shrimp Pasta

This isn't exactly a recipe - more of an idea for dinner. Last night dinner kinda snuck up on me (this whole day light savings thing has got me all crazy). I hadn't defrosted anything - or had the slightest idea what I was going to make and everyone was starving...

So - I got in the freezer, fridge and pantry and came up with this... dinner was on the table in less than 15 minutes!

Sun Dried Tomato Alfredo & Shrimp Pasta

Shrimp - I use the pre-cooked, frozen for convenience

1 jar of your favorite alfredo sauce

sun dried tomatoes (pureed) *

artichoke hearts*

1/2 c toasted pine nuts*

Pasta (whatever you have on hand)

EVOO

Salt & Pepper to taste

Cook the pasta per directions on the package. Use a very small amount of EVOO to cook the shrimp. If you are using frozen (like I do) once they thaw out - you'll need to drain them (b/c of all the water that cooks off) then stick 'em back in the pan and season (if desired). Add in the alfredo and pureed tomatoes (I just eyeballed it - one big heaping scoop of tomatoes). Cook on med-low until the sauce is warm.
Drain pasta. Put pasta back in your stock pot and add shrimp mixture. I cut up the artichoke hearts pretty small and sprinkled the plate with toasted pine nuts. (Artichoke hearts not in the picture - this was my sons plate and he doesn't like them).

If you haven't toasted pine nuts before - don't be intimiated (b/c I was - how crazy is that?) get your smallest skillet - throw in a handful or pinenuts and cook on low until they are toasted (brown). The only real thing to keep in mind is that you want a dry skillet - no butter or oil please!

It was really good! Not bad for a last minute dinner!

Lots of tips/tricks on this one:)

*I have talked about my love affair with Costco before - but I am going to gush again. I buy a big ol' jar of Sun Dried Tomatos (in oil) - when I get home, I seperate the jar into dinner sized portions. I have a couple of containers of whole SDT and I puree the rest. Then, I always have that little 'gourmet' addition right on hand.

I also buy Kirkland Pesto sauce - and divide it into dinner sized portions to freeze as well - another 'gourmet' go to.

I buy a HUGE jar of artichoke hearts (marinated in oil) from Costco as well - you don't need to freeze these - they keep in the fridge for 2 years! I know crazy hu? I have also bought a big jar and split it with another family or 2.

Last one (for this post!) Pine Nuts. They are delicious. I buy a bag at Costco - and keep them in the freezer. You don't even have to defrost them - love that trick.