Meal time is no small task in this house. Finding something that everyone of the notices will agree on is sometimes tough, sure I could stick to the same old go to meals that most humans enjoy, pizza, spaghetti, grilled cheese, burgers and fries.. But where is the adventure in that?

The mouths in this house range in age from 2 to 48 and some are so picky you want to strangle them. Or at very least shove that slaved over meal down their throat and tell them to like it or else.. But in the spirit of avoiding a psychotic episode and ending up on Jerry Springer, or worse.. I do what I can to please them all. So far, so good.

A little background on my life is in order here. I grew up an only child until my only brother came along when I was 10. We lived in the country so there were no neighbor kids to hang out with.. There was just me.. I went on to have 4 kids, on a quest to make sure my children were never lonely. In addition to that, you know there are places where people have a tendency to drop off stray cats, or dogs, or maybe they aren't dropped off and god just leads them to a safe haven.. Well my house has been that for a many of stray kids. Some remember me, some were young enough they don't but I have hand a hand in raising at least to some extent plenty of the neighborhood kids. and feeding them.

The ones who are still around, who may show up on my door step unannounced and always welcome are numerous, and I love them all. But that's another blog post for another time. This is about the mouths I am feeding today, and so lets get back to that.

everyday of the week I am responsible for feeding a 48 year old, a 17 year old, a 16 year old, and a 12 year old.. on more days than not I add to that mix another 17 year old, a 14 year old, another 12 year old, a 4 year old, a 2 year old, and a little more rarely but still often a 22 year old, a 39 year old and a 51 year old, and too that if I'm feeling froggy which usually I'm not, but on occasion I also add to that my parents. maybe twice or 3 times a month i feed them as well. So as you see I have a whole slew of mouths in want of something to eat. To which I say...

Challenge accepted...

We do alot of soups, and stews, and rice dishes because they can stretch for days..

anything with potatoes is cheap.. Potatoes and rice are a cheap filler for crowds..

But then there are other things too..

One of my favorite go to recipes is chili.. Not just chili but chili and dogs..

I just cook up my favorite chili recipe and throw in some franks to simmer.. those who like chili have chili and those who don't can have a chili flavored hot dog.. This is always a big hit. Something for everyone, and then if there is chili leftover a nice Sheppard's pie, or add baked beans and corn and top with cornbread for a nice new flavor.

Tortilla shells are also a go to around here as I have mentioned several times recently.. You can put anything on a tortilla and its awesome..
*cheese
*cheese and pepperoni
*bbq
*pb&j
*ham sammich fixins
*tuna salad
*chicken salad
*ham salad
*rice and beans
The possibilities for a roll up are limitless and that's not all

you can season them with herbs and spices and make crackers that you can serve with or without dips

you can buy just about anything powdered.. I recently bought powdered sour cream and powdered cheddar and you can cut tortillas in to triangles and add the sour cream and cheddar and a touch of salt for a great sour cream and cheddar cracker, ad garlic powder and salt, popcorn seasonings work on this too.. buffalo wing, ranch, and caramel are the popcorn seasonings I have tried and all have been fantastic.. use your imagination the combinations are limitless thanks to the fact that the soft tortilla shells are pretty much tasteless you can make them sweet or savory or spicy entirely up to you. you just dip in oil or butter, or ever spray liberally with cooking spray and they sprinkle your flavorings onto them and bake for about 15 minutes or until crisp at 375 degrees... My latest were churro flavored just simple cinnamon and sugar...  Kids and adults loved them..

The grand baby loves anything pasta.. So i can cook up a mac n cheese, a chili mac n cheese, a pasta salad, chicken noodles, as long as it has elbow mac, or spaghetti noodles she is on board for trying it, and that is another simple relatively tasteless base ingredient for a multitude of recipes that nearly everyone will love... Pasta.. whats not to love...

 Here are some ideas...

elbow mac and cheese and hotdogs
elbow mac and chicken and hotwing sauce
elbow mac and cheese and chili mixed
elbow mac n cheese and rotel (with or without ground beef)
elbow mac n cheese and bacon
elbow mac n cheese and little smokies
elbow mac ranch dressing and chicken
spaghetti alfredo
spaghetti alfredo with bacon
spaghetti alfredo with little smokies
spaghetti alfredo with peas and carrots

another staple that has limitless possibilities and most everyone loves....

there are more but Ive rambled on enough for one pictureless post so Ill continue this at another time, but would love to read your ideas of go to meals that will satisfy the masses.... tell me something good....