Cereal...It's What's for Dinner

Image@lol-rolf.com

It's a little bit ridiculous how frequently meal planning and execution is a source of stress in our household. I confess that I am often to blame for the bulk of said stress. My intentions start out well enough. I plan a menu and try very hard not to repeat the same ol' same ol', mixing it up as frequently as possible. I have also been doing something I call "Try Something New Tuesday" where I choose a recipe that I've been wanting to try or pick one out of a cookbook that looks good and that's what our Tuesday meal will be...well, sometimes. The thing is, when Tuesday (or whatever day I've planned a meal on) rolls around, at least half the time I'm not in the mood for whatever it is I'd put on the menu for the week. *sigh* Worse, sometimes I have absolutely NO idea what I'm in the mood for and this usually creates tension. The conversation often goes a bit like this:

Me:We're supposed to have spaghetti tonight but I'm not hungry for spaghetti.
Husband: What are you in the mood for?
Me: I don't know. What do you feel like?
Husband: Really, anything is fine with me.
Me: Well, that's not helpful. Why do I always pick what we're having for dinner?
Husband gives me the "Seriously" look. I refuse to speak until he answers my question.
*insert long pause here*
Husband: We've got a lot of great leftovers in the fridge. Let's do clean out the fridge night.
*insert long pause*
Me: I am not a fan of leftovers. Really there's nothing in there I want.
Husband is now wearing a pained expression and I can see him counting to himself for patience.

What happens next depends on about 95 variables, some of which include the weather and wind speed out on the deck. Sometimes, he suggests something that actually sounds good. Other times he ignores me and fixes leftovers for himself. He will on rare occasions offer to just take me out to dinner. And sometimes it's all just too much for me and I fix myself a bowl of cereal. I don't know why I'm such a crazy person when it comes to figuring out how the evening meals will go. Maybe it's because there are just way too many choices. I've got breakfast down to a science...whatever I'm eating during the week will involve eggs and bread made in a wide variety of ways that I wait to choose when I come downstairs to eat. Simple. Very few ingredients and a hundred ideas to mix it up and keep it interesting. Dinner? I got nothin'...well, unless it's cereal, then we're golden!