Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Spring Break With The Grandkids

Last week was spring break for the schools at Ft. Knox, KY and we decided to have the three Walker grandkids come visit us for the week to give us a chance to visit and give their mom a little break (Dad is in Afghanistan). They are Madison (Alex), at 13, who lived with us for a year, Reese, at 11, and 8 year old Riley. I admit that I’m not a real kid person (wish I were), so most of the entertaining of them fell to Bev and Aunt Pat with me participating some and handling the kitchen duties.

At the age they are, they don’t have very sophisticated pallets, Riley can eat very little protein, and they rarely seem to like the same things or what we like, so preparing meals that we could all enjoy was a real challenge, so I'm glad I had several posts in the queue.

Their first activity was a trip to Pigeon Forge, Tn for a little shopping and go-cart riding.  Ready to go, then Madison and Riley living it up and Reese intently driving.

Then it was a day at the movies on a cold day and horseback riding lessons on Wed & Fri.





Some serious Sponge Bob Watching going on, even from Coco, and even from the guard dog perch.

Between them, the three kids like fish and shrimp and asparagus and lemon/butter/caper sauce, so I cooked it all as a one pan meal.  Pan fried the fish without coating, removed and set aside, deglazed with a little white wine and added the sauce ingredients.  When the butter melted, I added the asparagus and cooked a couple of minutes, added the shrimp and after flipping, returned the fish (cod from the freezer).

We sided it with two other things they like - Caesar salad and some sort of a boxed pasta dish.  It was a pretty good meal for a quick throw together.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by.

One year ago: An asparagus tutorial
Larry

12 comments:

  1. Aww they are adorable!

    This type of mixing and matching likes and dislikes reminds me of what happens whenever I have to cook for my parents! It's frustrating but you did it!

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  2. Those go carts look like a lot of fun and the meal literally a crowd pleaser. Thanks for sharing all the photos Larry.

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  3. Grandkids are so much fun but they can wear you out. You did good with the food. Actually I'm surprised they like such things as shrimp and asparagus. But then my granddaughter loves avocados and tomatoes. Go figure.

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  4. LOL, Hey Dude, Looks like a great time for everyone. Beautiful GKids you have there. I'm sure you're very proud. I know what you mean about trying to feed these people. If it's not melted cheese or deep fried, it's not food to them. But looks like you did okay.

    Thanks for the comments, I'm always very happy to hear from you and to come here to see what's up with you all ... take care, keep cookin. Keri

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  5. Your grandkids are adorable! And what a great meal they got too. The only fish I would have eaten as a kid was fried!! lol

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  6. Larry... You are a lucky guy. Nice looking healthy grandkids who will actually eat human food! Ours prefer burgers, mac & cheese, hot dogs, yogurt, fries and, thankfully, fresh fruit. Good luck serviing them fish, shrimp, salad and asparagus!! Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

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  7. Hi Larry, It's HARD to find the right foods and combinations for kids --especially girls I think. When our two granddaughters come and visit, I fret for days as to what to feed them. They are both very picky...

    Hope you had a great time with the grands... I'm sure they enjoyed their visit.
    Betsy

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  8. Some of my best memories are of time spent with my grandparents. You give these kids some wonderful memories, Larry, and great food to boot!

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  9. It's always fun to have the grandchildren visit without their parents. It looks like you entertained and fed them royally. Have any of them inherited your green thumb? You and Bev are super grandparents. I hope you have a great day. Blessings...Mary

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  10. Larry, Bev and Pat....thanks so much for entertaining the girls over Spring Break. Even though I had to work, it was a lovely "vacation" for me too. They have all come home with splendid stories and enjoy detailing their week to me. Thanks for all your do!
    Love you!

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  11. Your grandkids are adorable and it looks like you had fun with them! I loved the shots of the dog on the guard dog perch . . . we have one of those, too.

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  12. I hear you about trying to please a kid's tastes.

    Looks like a great visit. So wonder who enjoyed the spring "break" more, the kids or the parents? When Trev was gone for a week last summer, it was like a vacation at home for us, ha ha.

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