lamb recipes (my own cook once eat twice...)

Lamb is a treat for us. I grab it when its on sale. Often the meat counter sells boneless leg of lamb roast. I ask them to cut off two "steaks" about 1 inch thick. They will fall apart a little when you cook them, and you need to remove the string if there is one, but its a more affordable way to get a couple lamb dishes. If you've never cooked lamb, it cooks up much like steak.  See the web-link for temps and how to cook. We like ours a little pink in the middle. 

Night one:

Marinated Lamb steaks on grill pan: 5 minutes marinade prep, 1-24 hours marinade, 15 min cooking

1)Put lamb in ziplock bag. Add 2 Tbspn dijon mustard, 1 tspn dried rosemary, 1/2 tspn salt, pepper to taste, 1 Tbspn olive oil, 1 Tbspn red wine vinegar (can skip this) Squish bag around and refrigerate for 1-24 hours.

2)heat grill pan over medium-high, coat with cooking spray. (use grill if available) When pan is hot, put meat on, cook about 6-8 minutes, flip cook another 6-8 minutes. If the drippings are burning, adjust heat and pour 1/4 cup of chicken broth or beer into the grill pan. Remove from heat, tent with foil. Cut after about 5 minutes. (We served this with cauliflower and a Knorr rice box, mushroom mix.) Save leftover meat...

Kid-report: M liked the cauliflower, rice and lamb (which she ate with ketchup...) This was our first cauliflower without sauce and she ate it...

Night 2: Greek Lamb pita sandwiches.

yogurt sauce: 1 container greek style yogurt. 1-2 Tbspns fresh lemon juice, 1-2 Tbspns finely chipped dill, one small garlic clove crushed, finely chopped (no seeds) 1/2 of a cucumber. Mix and let sit in fridge for about 2 hours.

1) cut the leftover lamb thinly. Warm in a pan with a splash of chicken broth. Add more rosemary if needed (a pinch or two)

2) warm pita pockets on 150 in oven or toaster oven for 5-10 minutes

3) serve with chopped tomatoes and lettuce

4) stuff any combo of ingredients above. Enjoy!

Kid-report: M passed on this dish almost completely. She ate some corn on the cob and that was pretty much it. Dad and I were happy, more for us! 

What to do when kids don't even want to try a food?  Experts advise not to push kids to try food. Not even the "no thank-you" bite. Any pressure to try foods tends to backfire and actually slows acceptance of new foods. Sit back and let the child eat the staple bread and butter, or enjoy the other sides, and yes the planned desert. Bribing with dessert counts as pressure too:)

She had had a big snack in the afternoon, and ate until she said she was full. We didn't push it. We figure next time she might give it a try, or maybe not! :)