Food Snobs?

Have we all become food snobs? As I browsed through "Outstanding Standby Suppers" on the Betty Crocker website, I found myself scrunching up my nose at the recipes on the list. I read the description for Creamy Cajun Pasta, "Fresh bell peppers, thyme and onion meet a cheesy marinara sauce for super-easy Cajun flavor..." and made a face when I got to the "cheesy marinara sauce". Is that out of a jar or can, gag! I read further and found Pulled Chicken Sandwiches and saw it used a store cooked rotisserie chicken, the horror! 

My next thought was of Hamburger Helper and the like and it just sounded disgusting.  Then I started really thinking, I used to eat everything above.  In fact, sometimes I still buy a rotisserie chicken to use in a meal or a jar of spaghetti sauce (but not Ragu, never Ragu, only the good stuff, right?).  

This got me thinking about our kids. They have grown up getting to CHOOSE what we have for dinner.  That's right, they get to pick.  No, our house isn't like a restaurant, everyone doesn't get a separate meal.  What I sometimes do is let each kid pick a meal for the week, then I choose the others.  But, what they pick isn't Hamburger Helper, chicken nuggets or corndogs.  For example, this week, PM picked Salmon, Rice and Broccoli as his meal of the week (of course, DQ didn't eat that and had leftovers from a super yummy pork chop recipe). DQ picked Creamy Chicken Alfredo, which I am making tonight.

My kids have never even tried Ramen noodles.  I think they've had Hamburger Helper and Tuna Helper less than a handful of times.  DQ's favorite meal to order at a restaurant, or that she always tries to get us to make for dinner (which we don't), is Prime Rib.  PM always wants Salmon or steak.  They rarely eat chicken nuggets any longer. Forget corn dogs, that's a rarity too.

I think we've created children with expensive taste and food snobs!  A few weeks ago, when they were to stay a few days with my parents, they were asked what they'd like for dinners.  DQ immediately piped up with, "Prime Rib!"  They settled on my mom making Tommy's Ham Casserole, which I guess is pretty close to a "ham helper", so maybe they aren't totally ruined.  ;-)