What's For Dinner?

The thing I hate most about making dinner is deciding what to make. Out of all of the decisions that I have to make in my life, this one is the worst. I go through some desperate measures trying to deal with this decision.

My most frequent solution is to call around or stopping someone at work and asking what they are having for dinner. As long as there are no more than two ingredients and it will bake in the oven at 350, I'm making what they're making.

Sometimes I ask someone in my family. Too often I hear; "I don't know". All it takes is me to say; "liver and onions it is" and the ideas will fly.

I've gone on the South Beach diet a few times. What I love about it is it gives me a menu. I don't have to think. It's all laid out in black and white - breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, deserts. No decisions. Unfortunately, the ingredients require a second mortgage on the house and you need an extra eight hours a day to put all of those ingredients together. It never lasts more than a few days.

This brings me to my current challenge. I went shopping yesterday and only put healthy foods in my basket - lean meats, vegetables, fruits, and wheat bread. Now, what the heck am I supposed to do with them? I figured a few nights a week I can get ideas from my mother-in-law. She mostly eats rabbit food and drinks pond juice. She calls it live food. Rare prime rib is as close as I usually get to live food. From there, I have tapped out my resources.

I don't know how long I'm going to get away with baking chicken breasts at 350 and throwing lettuce in a bowl and calling it a salad, but I'll let you know how it goes.