What the Hell Stew

[pegkerr]

In a spirit of perversity, I decided to make a dinner that I would like instead of worrying whether or not the other members of my family would eat it. Once I started, I just kept throwing other things in. I have mentally dubbed it "What the Hell Stew," and I am very sure it is extremely healthy and delicious.

I am 85% that no one in my family will eat more than a bite or two of it. I have given them a cop out by making corn bread for the side.

What the Hell Stew

[amounts are uncertain; I just threw stuff in without measuring]

Turkey kielbasa (Fiona no, Rob yes, Delia maybe)
onions (all three no)
chopped green peppers (girls no, Rob yes)

Browned that and then threw in:

canned tomatoes, chopped (Rob yes, girls no)
tomato paste (no strong opinions)
black beans (all three no)
butternut squash (all three no)
barley (Rob yes, girls maybe)
kale (all three no)
balsalmic vinegar (uncertain. Maybe they won't notice in the general revulsion)



I will report back later. Bwahahaha.

I am sure it will freeze well and I will be taking it for lunches.

Edited to add: The report:

Delia retired to her room in tears at the sight of the horror that filled her soup bowl. She eventually came back and ate some corn bread.

Rob, to my utter astonishment, ate a whole bowlful and went back for seconds. What was up with that? He must have been starving and desperate. He graded it only 4 out of 10, though. He, too, had extra corn bread.

Fiona carefully picked out one piece of kielbasa and ate that, along with her cornbread. The rest of the stew was left untouched.

I rated it 10 out of 10. But then, I would. I will be perfectly happy to eat the leftovers.

Comments

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

Dang, Peg, what DO they like?

Plain, white flour pasta. With nothing on it.

[qwyneth.livejournal.com]

My now-fiance loves that, except with a little parmesan cheese. The very first time I made him dinner, when we were dating, I made a thick, delicious tomato sauce with homemade meatballs. I even split the sauce into two batches--one with meat and one without, since he loves meat and I'm a vegetarian. He served himself, and when he got to the table I realized his plate was filled with plain white pasta, with just a little sauce covering some meatballs on the side. I nearly cried.

[dd-b.livejournal.com]

One of my comfort foods (though I never had it as a child) is plain pasta with butter and parmesan and black pepper. If I'm feeling energetic I might mince a few cloves of garlic and fry them crisp in olive oil along with some pepper flakes. No butter in that case, but still plenty of parmesan.

But I sympathize very much with your experience on that first dinner you cooked your now-fiance. All that work! And (um, maybe you should ignore this sentence, since you're engaged to him) you gotta wonder about a long-term relationship with somebody with such limited food tastes.

[qwyneth.livejournal.com]

Hey now, we're just talking about food here. My fiancé's food tastes may frustrate me at times, as I'm sure mine do his, but we do pretty well. I was merely trying to show solidarity with Peg by telling her this story, which now amuses me. :)

[dd-b.livejournal.com]

Well, that's not hard to make, or even that expensive. In that exact form, not so good nutritionally, though.

[aerden.livejournal.com]

I have to admire palates with such subtle sensitivity that they can get full enjoyment out of plain pasta without needing meat sauce, pesto, or Alfredo sauce to liven it up! (g)

Chantal