Dinner bell...

Meal times lately have been, well...

Spanish: dolor en el trasero

Arabic: ألم في بعقب

French: douleur dans le cul

Dutch: pijn in de kont

English: pain in the butt

Matt, Dina and I are easy to please, generally.

The other two are not.

 I took the girls to Hickory Hills yesterday. The trees were beautiful. It was scenic, peaceful and rejuvenating.

Matt and I typically lay down the law at meal time.

Eat what's on the table or don't eat at all.

But lately I've been thinking about becoming a big softy and giving in.

Not because I feel sympathy for them but rather because my ears can't take the screaming.

Dina and I are convinced these two monkeys were trying to throw themselves into the water.

Thankfully they didn't fall in.

Do you have any recipes that please your brood?

A dish that everyone will eat?

Something that is delicious, crowd pleasing and doesn't come from a box of macaroni and cheese?

Please share if you do! I'm dying to know!

And while their taste buds are ever changing, I do have one recipe that each and every person will eat.

Here you go...give it a try...

Corn & Bean Fritters with Tomatoes

(although I leave out the tomatoes to avoid the crying)

2 cups frozen whole kernel corn, thawed (I use sweet corn, yum!)

1 lb grape or cherry tomatoes

1 Tbsp vinegar

1 - 15.5 oz can butter beans, rinsed and drained

1 - 6 oz pkg corn bread mix

1 egg

1 tsp chili powder (don't tell your family this is in there or again, more crying)

Olive oil

parsley or cilantro (optional)

1. Coarsely chop, halve and/or slice tomatoes. In small saucepan combine tomatoes, vinegar, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/ 4 cup water. Cook, covered, over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally. For fritter batter, in a large bowl mash beans with a fork. Add corn, corn bread mix, egg, ground chilli, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 cup water; stir to combine.

2. Heat a large griddle or 12 inch skillet over medium heat. Add 1 tsp oil. Drop four 1/2 cup scoops of batter on griddle at a time. Cook 4 minutes per side. Serve fritters with warm tomatoes and parsley and/or cilantro.

Makes 4 servings.