Feeding a Teen-Age Horde

by Susan Liepert
(Edmonton, Alberta)

I have three teenagers at home, and they're constantly inviting more. Some have lip-rings, some have designer purses, but they're all hungry.

Here are some tips for stretching meals without skimping on nutrition:

Starch Is King: It's a quick energy source, and growing teens crave it--so let them have lots.

Brown rice goes well under chili or stew, and helps to stretch the portions, too.

For a filling side dish, fry the dry rice with oil, onions, and garlic, then add chicken stock or canned tomatoes in place of water.

Thin-slice potatoes (skins on!), toss them with oil and garlic salt, and lay them out on a baking sheet to oven-fry. This is a recipe teens can easily make themselves, as a healthier alternative to chips.

Use Those Weird Cuts of Meat: Hamburger seems like the obvious option for feeding a hungry crowd, but lean grinds are expensive, and even quality hamburger is bland.

Familiarize yourself with the cheaper cuts: chuck, cross-rib, flank, and stewing meat. They're tough, but with toughness comes FLAVOR.

Cook it up with onions and garlic until it's brown, throw in some tasty liquid (anything from beer to canned tomatoes), and simmer until tender.

Use a crockpot if you like--these cuts of meat can take it.

Foil Up Your Veggies: Steaming vegetables always seems like a lot of fuss, and it makes me nervous to have boiling pots stacked up on the stove while shrieking teens are chasing each other through the kitchen.

Lay down a big sheet of foil, and pile up all your veggies in the middle--cut the soft ones (like tomatoes) bigger, and the hard ones (like carrots) smaller, and they'll all be done at the same time.

Sprinkle on salt, pepper, and whatever your teens like the taste of: oregano, chili powder, garlic salt, dill.

Fold it up into a tight foil package, poke a few holes in the top to let the steam out, and throw it in the oven or on the barbeque.

Even unpopular veggies, like cabbage or zucchini, are good like this, and the leftovers make a good addition to soup, stirfry, or stew.