Crumbed Chicken Schnitzel, Cheese & Bacon Potato Bake, with Steamed Vegetables

With the spinach success of last night still clear in my happy and victorious mind, I eagerly set about preparing tonight's dish. Crumbed chicken schnitzels - easy enough. Bought fresh from the deli and all that I had to do was fry them.

Cheese & Bacon Potato Bake - also easy. I can peel and slice potatoes and pour a mix over them. (Incidentally, I do a very excellent scallopped potato from scratch, but I confess, tonight I used a pre-made flavour sachet.)

Steamed Vegetables. Hmmm. Now I must admit, I love steamed vegetables. Steamed at just the right temperature for just the right amount of time gives them a crisp texture and a delicious flavour. However, I do have a tendency to, well, overcook them. I never set out to overcook them. I just don't like them to be too firm. Also, sometimes I just forget. This happened tonight. You can blame the ABC for this. I'm flicking the channels waiting for the news headlines when all of a sudden I see a documentary and historical re-enacment of the American Civil War. I know next to nothing about the American Civil War but I'm a pushover for a historical re-enactment.

By the time the Civil War had been fought and won, the vegetables were beyond salvation. Not surprisingly, they weren't well-received. Daughter two, disappointed by the non-appearance of rice on her plate, ate a few mouthfuls of chicken, a small piece of potato bake and a bite each of pumpkin and zucchini. Daughter one - she of the spinach extravaganza the previous night - ate her chicken and potatoes, but cried "Don't even think about making me eat pumpkin!"

Instead, I encouraged her to try a piece of carrot and a piece of zucchini. First the zucchini. I braced myself. "I don't like it" she said, her face contorted into a display of agony.

"Okay" I said. "Try the carrot."

She did.

"It tastes the same as the zucchini."

Okay. I know carrots are not supposed to taste the same as zucchini. If they do, then you've obviously done something very wrong.

Apart from this, not a bad effort. Just remind me to keep the television turned off next time!