The Dinner that Wrecked Our Night

Ever have one of those nights? (days? lives?)!

Starting the school year off with a bang, I thought I'd be adventurous and switch things up for a change (dangerous words for a rut-lover and her rut-loving family).

Dinner at PF Chang's sounded divine but since a 25-minute drive to Perimeter in a confined space with a family of six is sometimes just one-too-many decibel-levels to endure, I decided to deviate from the norm and try something new.

Taking a ride on the wild side for the evening's meal, I ventured to my recipes and went a little crazy (woo-hoo, people), deciding on turkey lettuce wraps (of course not-too-spicy, to accommodate my mostly-bland-loving brood). I even put white rice in the mixture to please my fussy 4-year old who is on a mostly carbohydrate-centric diet, consisting primarily of straight pretzels and twisted pretzels (sometimes we go sourdough to mix it up a bit - we're wild like that). Marveling at my ability to remember to buy bibb lettuce earlier in the week (for the wraps which would, of course, hold the meat) and the hoisin sauce, I was super excited about my semi-spontaneous idea to deviate from the routine meal rotation for a change.

As I put a careful scoop of turkey meat (not too spicy) in each bibb of lettuce, I couldn't wait for dinner.

The table was set (rather, silverware and paper towels were haphazardly thrown), prayers were said, and everyone was ready to dig in. "Change is GOOD," I whispered silently, reassuring myself of my menu deviation. I was certain my kids would be happy to see something other than our usual Nebraska casserole stand-bys on their plates. Certainly change would be good.

And then it happened.

As my beloved children, whose finger dexterity is fully functional (maybe even above average), attempted to pick up their neatly wrapped bibbed lettuce rolls filled with seasoned ground turkey and water chestnuts, not to mention hoisin sauce that took a skilled detective to find in the Publix ethnic food section, my children grew quickly frustrated.

"Mom, I can't pick this up," one said in an annoyed tone.

"Mom, this is falling apart ... like really badly," another chimed.

"Is it supposed to be this hard?" the next one demanded.

And the fourth: "I might as well starve! This is IMPOSSIBLE! The turkey and the rice are so small - it won't stay stuck to anything. Why did you make something new in the first place?"

All four kids sat there. Staring at their plates. Dumbfounded at the difficulty of bibbed lettuce, ground turkey, white rice, and figuring out how to eat it.

My husband and I sat starting at our plates and eachother. Dumbfounded, too. So much for a clever change in the dinner menu for a family that likes ruts.

Guess what's on the dinner menu tomorrow night, moms and dads?

Eggshells. I'm walking on them ... might as well eat them for dinner, too!

Here's to dinner ruts and routines and lettuce wraps at PF Chang's that don't fall apart.

Thanks for reading,

xoxoxoxo