Hi Trish!

I have an idea! How do you and your kids feel about Mexican food? What my family always used to do was have a "build your own burrito/taco" night. This was one of my favorite childhood meals!

What we would do is brown 1-2 lbs hamburger with 1-2 packet of taco seasoning (per instructions). Then we would have an assembly line. We had warm flour tortillas, taco shells, or tostadas (whatever you like) with toppings such as refried beans, grated cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, black olives, green peppers, onions, guacamole, sour cream, and assorted salsas.

This was served buffet style, so everyone could assemble their own and choose whatever ingredients they like...no more picking stuff out. There is a bit of prep work involved in getting everything ready, but this would be a prime opportunity to get you kids helping in the kitchen and educated about different foods. I know, I used to be like your kids...I would pick out onions too!!! But the exposure my parents gave me to cooking and foods as a child sparked my interest and made me willing to try new things. Now there isn't much I won't try!

I have also seen this done with chili. You make a basic, scaled-down tomato and meat chili, and have an assembly line with all of the different ingredients used to jazz it up. Beans, onions, peppers, hot sauces, etc...People can add what they want!

Good luck! I hope this gives you some ideas!

Jean