'What's for dinner?' is driving me crazy

Maine lobsters were $4.49 a pound on Sunday at H Mart in Little Ferry.

Green-lipped mussels from New Zealand.

When I was single, I was a dedicated food shopper and I cooked up a storm, ordering takeout or dining out only two days a week.

Now that I'm married, we still cook most of our meals at home, and my wife and teenage son pester me almost every day with "What's for dinner?"

Even though my wife and mother-in-law are away, my son gives me no quarter and continues to expect "dinner" five nights a week.

Canned fish salad with lump crab meat.

This past Monday, I stopped at the Rochelle Park ShopRite and found antibiotic-free Readington Farms boneless and skinless chicken thighs at half price ($1.49 a pound), and Coleman Organic chicken drumsticks ($1.99 a pound).

At home, I rolled the drumsticks in a mixture of bread crumbs and spices I keep in the refrigerator, and prepared his favorite side dish, white rice, in an electric cooker.

Coleman Organic Chicken Drumsticks.

Calamari Stuffed with Crab Meat from Jerry's in Englewood.

He ate leftover drumsticks Tuesday night, and tonight, I picked up a restaurant-quality Italian pork chop dinner from Jerry's Gourmet & More in Englewood for only $5.99 or $7.99 before 4 p.m.

We're having Trader Joe's whole wheat pasta with sardines on Thursday, and ordering Chinese takeout on Friday. 

On Saturday, we'll have our one weekly meal out, possibly Korean soft-tofu stew in Palisades Park.

On Sunday, I'll look for more inexpensive Maine lobsters at a Korean supermarket. We've had Maine lobsters with either clams or mussels two Sundays in a row.

One of the choices at Jerry's was Lemon Garlic Grouper.

My son no longer eats at dinner time. He might get hungry at 9 or later after many hours playing video games or a visit to the YMCA gym.

Just after 5 this afternoon, I plated my calamari, crab and vegetable dinner from Jerry's, heated it up in the microwave and poured myself a glass of wine.

He ate chicken drumsticks two nights in a row, but he hates leftovers and won't touch mushrooms, even if they are in one of his favorite dishes, such as the Korean vermicelli noodles called japchae.

I made bibimbap at home and after he tried it once, I couldn't get him to have it again.

I made a salad of canned salmon, tuna, sardines and lump crab meat -- with Dijon mustard, lime juice and ground cumin -- but he won't lift a hand to make himself a sandwich.

If he gets hungry during the day, he's more likely to open a package of his favorite instant noodle soup, Nongshim's Shin Ramyun Gourmet Spicy, leaving the bowl and spoon in the sink for me to wash.

I had the last of the bibimbap for breakfast this morning, topped with eggs.