Mimi's Kitchen

This week's $2 Dinners column is about home-cooked meals that have kid-appeal, and that won't break your budget. I know a little bit about kid-pleasing meals because I raised two picky eaters of my own back in the day. These days, I cook for two little men who are not only picky, they have a deep-rooted love of burgers and fries, pizza, etc. that makes it a challenge to get them to eat home-cooking!


These two cuties are my grandsons and they are the light of my life. Once a week, they come to my house for supper, and I absolutely love to see those sweet little faces at my dining room table! Sometimes though, I have a hard time convincing them to try what I've prepared, because just like most other kids, they would much rather eat junk food and fast food instead of home-cooking. The youngest one, Tyler, would eat nothing but french fries and candy if he was allowed (and as many bananas as his tummy will hold); and the oldest one, Brandon, eats really well sometimes and other times he won't eat anything but pizza and hot dogs.

I must confess that sometimes I give in and serve pizza, or we go get kids' meals from the McDrive-thru. After all, it's a Mimi's prerogative to spoil her grandchildren right? But, the fast food is just an occasional treat, and I would rather feed a home-cooked meal where I control the ingredients and I know what's going in those precious little bodies of theirs. Besides, not only is fast-food not a good choice nutritionally, it gets expensive too!

So how do I get them to eat? I give them the fast-food flavors they crave in a home-cooked, budget-friendly casserole! Check it out...these recipes are kid-tested and approved, taste great, and the best part? They're inexpensive to make at only $1.27 per serving and 90 cents per serving respectively.