Hi everyone, I just joined this group and wanted to say Hello.  I have a family of very picky eaters... my husband, and two boys ages 4 & 5.  I on the other hand enjoy a wide variety of foods, which I rarely get to eat at home as I really don't want to make more than one meal at a time.  Dinner planning can be very frustrating for me so I thought this group may help me out a little.  I just posted my first recipe (Oh So Cheesy Spaghetti Casserole) which is one of the few that my whole family enjoys!

Me too!  I love a wide variety of foods, and so far, only my oldest child (and to a certain extent youngest child) have as varied tastes. 

Tonight, I'm making an old standby, but it's very, very good and whole family likes it:  Rotisserie Chicken.  Will serve with with a wild rice pilaf and haricot verts.  Another couple of dishes the whole family enjoys is Teriyaki Chicken.

The more times a person is exposed to a new flavor, the more familiar it gets. So, maybe once or twice a week you make something just a LITTLE bit out of their comfort zone, and you require them just to sample it -- maybe a two-tablespoonfull serving. Enough to actually taste the flavors. Tell them they don't have to like it, but you don't want them to make a yucky face either.

If they can get used to eating new flavors, you can be confident they'll behave like a gracious guest when they visit friends.

My kids ask me every night "what's for dinner?" Almost every night I reply either, "something horrible and terrible you'll hate,"  or more recently "poison, on a stick."  The latter seems to make them laugh a little bit since I tried to play off of Jeff Dunham's Jose Jalapeno on a stick.  (If you haven't seen it, its very funny.)  They haven't always been good eaters, but they are getting much better. 

I usually don't make more than one meal at a time, but I do have what I call "planned overs."  My family hates leftovers and up until recently, refused to eat them.  Sandra Lee, from the food network, calls them "round two recipes."  Its where you make a little more than you think you will need and use the "leftovers" to make a completely different meal the next day.  One of my favorites is pork loin and rice, the next day it becomes pork fried rice.   If you are making a rotisserie chicken, the next day could be chicken enchiladas, white chili or chicken pot pies.  Its almost like making more than one recipe at a time, with less fuss. 

One of my favorite tools to get the kids to eat, is getting the kids involved in the whole process of cooking dinner.  I ask them, "what do you want for dinner?"  If they are getting things they as for, they are more likely to eat it. At first, their requests were very simple, taco's.  As time went on, they were able to think of more dishes, and even use Big Oven to look up more options.  It helped motivate them when I said, "If you don't give me an idea, I'll have to think of some on my own."  As they have have gotten older, I've had them help me cook also.