What the heck should I cook for my in-laws?

Question

So, I'm a white girl married to a very American Mexican man. His family tends to cook traditional Mexican meals & once in while meatball sandwiches or hamburgers.

I love to cook & want to make them a the Cajun dish of red beans & rice (sorta like gumbo) with a salad & bread. After I told him, he made a comment that his family is Mexican. I know his family well & think they'd like it. I think it is just him wanting his mom to cook. I don't want to put them to work when they come down. What should I cook? I thought about carnitas tacos, sticking with what I want to cook or giving up & ordering out. Open to ANY suggestions...

Answer 1

Best Answer - Chosen by Voters

Go with the red beans and rice, only throw in a little more tomatoes and peppers, and call it Spanish Rice. You could serve it in a green pepper, kinda like a stuffed pepper.
Along with you could serve crab cakes or fish tacos, for something a little unusual.
For a good appetizer, a friend of mine rolled the following mixture in tortillas and then cut them into bite sized pieces: cream cheese, salsa, shredded cheese, and black olives.
You never know, you could introduce them to something that they end up really loving.

Answer 2

Jambalaya is a classic favorite heres the recipe:

* 6 slices bacon, cut into 1 inch pieces
* 1 cup chopped celery
* 1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
* 1 onion, chopped
* 1/2 pound cubed cooked ham
* 1/2 pound cubed cooked chicken
* 1/2 pound cubed smoked sausage
* 2 (14.5 ounce) cans crushed tomatoes, with liquid
* 2 cups beef broth
* 2 cups chicken broth
* 1 teaspoon dried thyme
* 2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning
* 2 cups uncooked white rice
* 1/2 pound salad shrimp


1. Heat a large pot over medium-high heat. Add bacon, and cook until crisp. Remove bacon pieces with a slotted spoon, and set aside. Add celery, bell pepper, and onion to the bacon drippings, and cook until tender.
2. Add the ham, chicken and sausage to the pot, and pour in the tomatoes, beef broth and chicken broth. Season with thyme and Cajun seasoning. Bring to a boil, and add the rice. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat to low, cover, and simmer for about 20 minutes, until the rice is tender.
3. Stir in the shrimp and bacon just before serving, and heat through. If you use uncooked shrimp, let it cook for about 5 minutes before serving.

Answer 3

Get some tacos from taco bell. Yummy...

Answer 4

Boil some shrimp using a cajun boil mix. Mexicans make and enjoy seafood. Make some red beans but make the rice a separate dish. Serve some salsa and some of the gumbo mix on the side. Let them decide how they want to mix it. Make some cornbread and steam some tortillas. Wow...invite me over when you do this.

Answer 5

Well i think, you should cook with your in law. That way you can make your relationships getting better...also you can learn new menu, know what they like and dislike also what you like or dislike....satisfied?

Answer 6

I love red beans yum yum !!!! Well depending on how long there staying you could cook a few different things.Definitely go for the red beans get some thin boneless pork chops and fry them up and instead of plain bread make some corn bread it goes great with red beans.You can still do the salad too.You can still do some mexican food another day and maybe his mom will pitch in and give you some great family recipes.Good luck and happy eating !!!!

Answer 7

try this
Make Fruit Salad
1. Fruit salads are often creative -- you decide which fruits to use and how much. Some tasty fruits are berries (strawberries, raspberries,blueberries, blackberries,) apples, bananas, cantaloupe, grapes, honeydew melons, grapefruits, kiwis, mangoes, nectarines, oranges, and peaches.

2. Wash all your fruits.
3. Put all grapes and berries (except strawberries) in a large mixing bowl.
4. Chop all other fruits into bite-size pieces. For reference, each piece should be a little bigger than your thumbnail.
5. Once all your fruits are chopped, you can arrange them on a platter, put into individual bowls or Tupperware, or serve out of the bowl (coat the bowl with lemon juice to naturally sweeten the fruit-this will retard any browning [oxidizing] as well due to the citric acid and ascorbic acid - FruitFresh or crushed Vitamin C tablets will do the same thing).
6. Serve at room temperature or slightly chilled. Enjoy!

--------
Cajun Red Beans And Rice
Ingredient

*2 Cups kidney beans -- soaked, red
*2 bay leaf
*1 1/2 Cups onion -- chopped
*1/2 Tsp thyme
*3 garlic clove -- minced
*3/4 Cup parsley -- fresh minced
*1 Cup green bell pepper -- diced
*1 Tsp salt
*2 tbsp red miso
*4 cups brown rice -- freshly cooked
scallions -- chopped for garnish

Method
Rinse beans & drain well. Cook in 5 cups of water for 50 minutes or until
tender, with the bay leaves.
Add onion, thyme, garlic, parsley, green pepper & salt to pot, simmer over
medium low heat for 15 to 20 minutes. Add miso & simmer for another 5
minutes. Remove bay leaves.
Serve over hot rice, garnished with scallions.

good luck

Source(s):

my inlaw love what i cook for them, so u will be fine

Answer 8

Go with your gut and cook for them. I'm sure they'll appreciate it, and a home cooked meal nearly always tastes better than takeout - it's more homey, somehow. And why make Mexican food for them - they can make that themselves, and I'm sure they have their own way of making it that they like. Let them try something new.

What about you call up your mother in law and ask her for some suggestions? She can always help you decide.

Answer 9

Please cook whatever you want to. I'm sure they will enjoy it, Just the way we enjoy different ethnic foods. I love Mexican, Itallian, Cajun, Chinese, Japanese, and all others. Whatever you choose to make I'm sure they will like it. Stop worring, and prepare whatever you want to.

Answer 10

Wow, you got lots of answers. I would put myself in their shoes. If I visited Mexico, I certainly don't want American Food while I was there, I have that all the time. I would want something authenic for a change. The Cajun dish you mentioned sounds mouth-watering, plus they would probably appreciate something a bit spicy rather than bland.

Maybe you could mention to his family that you'd love to prepare a meal for them. Ask them what they'd prefer & mention your Cajun dish. I Know I'd take up your offer in a minute!

I've got a feeling your hubby may just want some of mom's home cooking, I'm sure they'll appreciate your offer & I'm sure there's more than 1 meal to go around so everyone can enjoy each other's cooking ;)

Hope this helps, and best wishes to you!