Wednesday, August 6, 2014

An Acquired Taste

I think I had the pickiest eaters of all of the kids in the world. I know, much like my kids do, you’re sitting there rolling your eyes at me. Yeah, yeah, your kids went through a stage too. But we’re not talking stage here. We’re talking all the way through pretty much now.

When my boys were little they ate very few things and they still don’t. The doctor would tell me to put 3 things on their plate: one they would definitely eat, one they might possibly eat and one they more than likely won’t eat. The idea was that eventually they’d get used to more foods. HA! You poor naive man. My older son lost so much weight we ended up adding supplements to his milk and started calling Carrot Cake a vegetable.

An acquired Taste | graphic designed by and property of www.BakingInATornado.com | #MyGraphics



Younger son has a hyperactive gag reflex. No, I won’t go there but suffice it to say that he was and still is a kid who you do not force to try a food that doesn’t appeal to him. Unless you want to wear it.

So what would they eat? Burgers? No. Pasta? No. Hot dogs? No. Pretty much it was chicken nuggets, pizza and lobster. They might have come by the latter taste in-utero. Their mom IS a Bostonian after all.

It appears that my cooking is an acquired taste.

Fast forward a few days  weeks  months  years decades.

My older son, College Boy, is going to be a sophomore in college and still comes to the table and complains when he looks at what’s on his plate whether he’s tried it before or not. If it isn’t a burger or homemade spaghetti sauce, he’ll eat a little to appease me and then go make himself a peanut butter sandwich. He’s able to eat a more diverse diet at this point but mostly doesn’t care to.

My younger son, PurDude, is actually, slowly developing a more varied palate. FINALLY. He does care more about health and is motivated to make dietary changes. A to the MEN.

It figures that when he’s finally appreciating my cooking, PurDude is 2 weeks from leaving home for college.

If you’re keeping score, that leaves an awful lot of catching up to do in a very short time. So I’m trying to develop new recipes with him in mind.

I made Crockpot Barbecue Pork Sandwiches and he really liked them. I had leftovers and rather than just serve them again, I decided to give the barbecued pork new life. I shredded it and made it into a pizza of sorts, right in a skillet on the stovetop. It took minutes to make and he loved it.

Winning!

Stovetop BBQ Pork and Apple Pizza | recipe developed by www.BakingInATornado.com | #recipe #dinner

Stovetop BBQ Pork and Apple Pizza
Stovetop BBQ Pork and Apple Pizza | recipe developed by www.BakingInATornado.com | #recipe #dinner

 


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Stovetop BBQ Pork and Apple Pizza
                                                                           ©www.BakingInATornado.com
 
Printable Recipe
 
NOTE: You can use your favorite pulled pork or make my Crockpot Barbecue Pork Sandwiches and shred the leftovers for this recipe.
 
Ingredients (makes one):
1 TBSP butter
1 10 inch tortilla
3 slices sharp cheddar cheese
½ cup cooked barbecued pork, shredded and warmed
½ scallion, chopped
½ of a Granny Smith apple, cored and sliced thin
1/4 cup shredded lettuce
 
Directions:
*In a fry pan that the tortilla will fit into, melt the butter over medium heat. Once it’s hot, swirl the butter so it coats the whole bottom of the pan.
*Put the tortilla into the pan. Cook for about 2 minutes just until it’s hot, then flip the tortilla over. If there are bubbles in the top of the tortilla, gently pop them with a fork.
*Immediately place the cheese slices on the tortilla. Top with the barbecued pork, then the chopped scallions and apple slices. Lower heat a notch. Cook 2 to 3 minutes until cheese is melted and all the ingredients are hot. Remove, garnish with shredded lettuce, slice and serve.

19 comments:

  1. Keep pumpin' out those recipes and maybe he'll think twice about moving half way across the country when he goes to grad school!
    I love pork and apples together... this is a must try!

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  2. Crockpot pork is a fave of ours. Actually, anything crockpot.

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    1. Hope you try this the next time you make crockpot pork. It's a great way to change up leftovers.

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  3. Picky children, unite! I had no idea some children actually grow out of it :) I think Jo will live on Ramen and the nuggets for life. Enjoy every meal with PurDude; he'll count down the days at school until he can eat your cooking again.
    I LOVE BBQ! Great recipe, my friend <3

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    1. Unfortunately I hear that the food is great at Purdue. Hope that's not true, I'd love for him to count down the days till he can eat my cooking again.

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  4. Well, I thought my boys were picky, but I think you win! I love that they like lobster though :) My younger son is less picky than the older, but they won't eat leftovers which drives my husband crazy. I don't know why - it leaves more for him. I'm going to give this recipe a try - looks so good!

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    1. Let me know what you think of the recipe. It's so quick and easy yet flavorful.

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  5. My older one had similar issues, but you're right; it was a phase and he's much better now! Glad your younger one is finally appreciating your cooking!

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    1. Me too. It'll be so much fun having him taste test my main dishes instead of only my baking.

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  6. Chicken nuggets and pizza??
    What did they eat as babies?
    Back in the days when you were spooning stuff into their mouths?
    Surely you fed them vegetables? Home cooked and mashed vegetables?
    Fruits?

    A few years ago on TV out here, we heard about a girl in England aged 16 who had eaten absolutely nothing but chicken nuggets for each meal since she was two. Fourteen years of nothing but chicken nuggets!
    At least your boys ate pizza. I'm betting they ate other stuff too.

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    Replies
    1. Well, I think you may be taking this just a tad too literally. Of course I provided them with a balanced diet when they were babies, but even then they could spit out what they didn't like. Picky eaters pretty much from the start, I'm afraid.

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    2. My mind does tend towards the literal too often.

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  7. I grew up in an Italian household. We ate everything. Or I should say almost everything. No way in hell was I ever going to eat tripe. Or liver.

    The smell of liver cooking still makes me gag!

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    Replies
    1. We had to at least try everything. I'm happy to say we were never offered tripe. Phew, dodged that one.

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  8. Karen, I have a 25 y/o like this!!!! So glad we can commiserate! She has the same gag reflex...but she will eat pasta and hot dogs. It is such a a pain when we travel as a family....grrrr. But we go with the flow. Not sure she'd try this this type of pizza (she's a cheese only girl!), but it looks great to me!

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    1. So glad someone knows what it's like to deal with this. And although your daughter's a little older than my son, PurDude is living hope that you never know when they might just take a step in the right direction.

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  9. It is so hard to cook when you have picky eaters. My kids were always picky eaters when they were little, thank goodness they are less picky now that they are adults.

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    Replies
    1. I had started to lose hope but it looks like mine are finally getting there. Yay.

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