If the dinner problem — defined, broadly, as “what should I make for dinner?” — is difficult to solve, picture solving it every night for the choosiest audience imaginable. This audience is not composed of food critics, or exacting chefs. It’s children. Nothing in the kitchen is more reliably frustrating than trying to feed a picky one. (I say all of this with love.)

That’s why my NYT Cooking colleague Margaux Laskey has created a collection of kid-friendly recipes to please whole families — children and adults, eating the same meal in harmony.

Four recipes from that list are below — I was just going to feature one, but they looked so good I picked a whole bunch — along with a personal pick that my own children scarf down routinely.

1. Broccoli Rice With Eggs

Broccoli rice with eggs. Hetty Lui McKinnon’s new recipe is a bowl of ease. Food styled by Spencer Richards. (Christopher Testani/The New York Times)

This simple one-pot broccoli rice is a cozy weeknight option that will delight both adults and children alike. When cooking a simple bowl of rice, adding oil and salt to the cooking water is an easy way to bring indulgence, and, in Cantonese home kitchens, this is often a way to repurpose oil previously used for deep-frying. Oil imparts a silky mouthfeel to the rice while preventing the rice from sticking, resulting in slick, pearly, separated grains. Finely chopped, crisp-tender broccoli adds a fresh, subtle sweetness and hearty texture to the rice. Complete the dish with a hearty fried egg, drizzled with an easy soy sauce and oil seasoning to add savoriness that is not overly salty. If you’re lucky enough to have any leftover broccoli rice, it can easily be repurposed into fried rice.

By Hetty Lui McKinnon

Yield: 4 servings

Total time: 40 minutes

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 cups white rice, preferably short-grain (other types of rice can be used but cook times will vary)

4 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided

Salt

2 small heads broccoli (1 pound)

4 eggs

1 tablespoon soy sauce

PREPARATION:

1. Place the rice in a medium Dutch oven or similar heavy pot. Wash the rice, swirling it around with your fingers, and then carefully pour out the starchy water. Repeat this two more times, until the water runs clear. Add 2 1/4 cups of water, 2 tablespoons of oil and 2 teaspoons of salt and stir to combine. Place on medium-high heat and when it comes to a rolling boil, cover, reduce heat to low and cook for 14 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, separate the broccoli head from the stem and then slice or peel off the woody exterior from the stem. Finely chop the florets and the stem. (You can use a food processor to do this, pulsing a few times until the broccoli is finely chopped. Remove any larger pieces and chop by hand to prevent overprocessing.)

3. After 14 minutes, add the broccoli to the top of the rice, sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon of salt and then cover again with a lid. Cook until the rice is tender and the broccoli has softened and is bright green, 8 to 10 minutes. (The prescribed cooking time yields broccoli that is crisp tender but if you prefer a softer bite, add it to the rice 2 or 3 minutes earlier.)

4. While the rice finishes cooking, heat a wok or large well-seasoned cast-iron or nonstick skillet over medium-high. When hot, add a drizzle of oil and crack in the eggs, adding however many will comfortably fit in your pan; you may need to work in batches.

5. Reduce the heat to medium and fry until the edges are frizzled, the whites are set and the yolk is cooked to your liking. Season with a pinch of salt. Remove and repeat with the remaining eggs. Set aside.

6. In a small bowl, combine the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil and the soy sauce. (It won’t emulsify, and that is OK.)

7. When the rice and broccoli are ready, turn off the heat and stir to combine. Taste and season with more salt, if needed.

8. Divide among bowls and top each with a fried egg. Give the oil and soy sauce a quick stir and drizzle a little over each egg. Serve immediately.

2. Sesame Salmon Noodle Bowls With Ponzu

Sesame salmon noodle bowls with ponzu. Buy a bottle of ponzu sauce and you’re already half-done making this easy recipe from Ali Slagle. Food styled by Spencer Richards. (Rachel Vanni/The New York Times)

Silky salmon, chewy noodles, crisp vegetables: These cold noodle bowls are refreshing and satisfying, and don’t require much effort. Inspired by zaru soba and udon — cold noodles served with dipping sauce — this recipe uses supermarket stars to deliver flavor fast. Coating the salmon with toasted sesame oil and seeds accentuates the fish’s richness, while ponzu, a sauce of citrus juices, soy sauce and dashi, brightens straight from the bottle. If you like, add a kick with wasabi, grated ginger, shichimi togarashi, yuzu kosho or thinly sliced serrano pepper.

By Ali Slagle

Yield: 4 servings

Total time: 30 minutes

INGREDIENTS:

Salt

4 (6- to 8-ounce) skinless or skin-on salmon fillets

2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil

2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds (any color)

10 to 12 ounces dried udon or soba

Any combination of salad greens and sliced cucumbers, radishes, snap peas, and scallions, for serving

1/2 cup ponzu

PREPARATION:

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. On a parchment-lined sheet pan, rub the salmon all over with salt and sesame oil. Arrange skin side down, if there is skin, then press sesame seeds into the top and sides of the fish. Bake until the salmon is cooked through and flakes easily, 14 to 17 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, cook the noodles according to package instructions. Drain, rinse with cold water until cool to the touch, then shake dry.

3. Divide the noodles, vegetables and salmon among 4 bowls. Drizzle with the ponzu.

3. Cheesy Gnocchi With Corn and Pesto

Cheesy gnocchi with corn and pesto. A “whoa!” idea from Carolina Gelen: Combine crisp gnocchi with chewy sweet corn kernels, pesto and gooey melted cheese for a dinner that is both familiar but not quite like anything else. Food styled by Spencer Richards. (Rachel Vanni/The New York Times)

Tasty and effortless, store-bought gnocchi offers a much-needed shortcut for busy weeknight dinners. You can bypass boiling a pot of water for the gnocchi, and instead simply give them a quick sear over high heat, which creates perfectly crispy edges. Toss the crispy gnocchi with lots of sweet, fresh corn kernels, prepared pesto and a hefty sprinkle of grated cheese, and broil until the cheese gets bubbly, gooey and slightly charred in spots. The molten cheese brings all the ingredients together, but a high ratio of corn to dumpling and the bright basil in the pesto keep this dish light enough for summer.

By Carolina Gelen

Yield: 4 servings

Total time: 25 minutes

INGREDIENTS:

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 pound shelf-stable gnocchi

About 3 cups canned or fresh corn kernels (from two 15-ounce cans or about 4 fresh cobs)

1/2 cup store-bought or homemade pesto, plus more for topping

Salt and pepper

8 ounces grated whole-milk, low-moisture mozzarella

PREPARATION:

1. In a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat, heat the oil until sizzling hot, about 2 minutes. Add the gnocchi and sear, undisturbed, for 4 minutes, until crispy underneath.

2. Add the corn and cook, stirring occasionally, for 2 minutes, until softened. Remove from the heat.

3. Stir in the pesto. Season with salt as needed, and add a few cracks of black pepper.

4. Place an oven rack underneath the broiler. Set the broiler to high.

5. Top the gnocchi and corn with the cheese. Place the skillet underneath the broiler and broil for about 4 minutes, until the cheese is completely melted and slightly charred on top.

6. Top with more pesto and divide among bowls.

4. Crispy Baked Tomato-Oregano Chicken

Crispy baked tomato-oregano chicken. Breaded chicken cutlets have an appeal that cuts across age groups and cuisines, with their seasoned crumb coating and juicy meat. Food styled by Spencer Richards. (Christopher Testani/The New York Times)

Baked in the oven and sealed with a layer of tomato paste and yogurt, this chicken — your choice: breasts or thighs — stays juicy as it cooks on top of a bed of tomatoes. The tomatoes deflate and collapse, becoming a little saucy, as the panko and Parmesan layer on top of the chicken crisps and melts. To maximize this dish’s appeal to kids and crowds alike, it doesn’t have any heat, but red-pepper flakes would be a welcome addition, as would grated garlic or chopped basil. You can serve the chicken with rice or bread, to soak up the pan juices, or bring it as is to picnics and potlucks.

By Yasmin Fahr

Yield: 4 servings

Total time: 40 minutes

INGREDIENTS:

2 tablespoons full-fat yogurt

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon dried oregano, divided

2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 2-inch pieces, or breasts cut horizontally to form cutlets

Salt

2 pints cherry or grape tomatoes, halved

2 tablespoons olive oil

3/4 cup grated Parmesan

3/4 cup panko breadcrumbs

PREPARATION:

1. Heat the oven to 425 degrees. In a large bowl, combine the yogurt, tomato paste, soy sauce and 1 tablespoon oregano. Add the chicken; season lightly with salt and toss to coat.

2. Add the halved tomatoes to a 9-by-13-inch glass baking dish, season with salt and the olive oil, and spread out into an even layer. Nestle the chicken on top of the tomatoes. Sprinkle the Parmesan and remaining 1 teaspoon oregano over everything. Cover with a layer of panko.

3. Bake in the oven until the top crisps and the tomatoes collapse and get saucy, 20 to 25 minutes for breasts and 22 to 25 for thighs, depending on the thickness.

5. Everyday Dal

Everyday dal. There are about a hundred ways you could easily add flavor or texture that enriches or pops. Food styled by Simon Andrews. (David Malosh/The New York Times)

The warming, soothing and downright healing effects of dal are well known throughout South Asia and its diaspora. This is an everyday dish for a good reason: It’s simple to make but tastes complex, and the flavor only deepens over time. There are countless ways to make dal; this version requires just 10 minutes and five ingredients (not including salt), all serving important purposes: The lentils cook quickly, the turmeric lends an earthy wholesomeness and the rich chhonk, or tempering, made by sizzling spices with ghee, brings instant depth. To gussy it up, try adding a packet of frozen spinach, or stirring minced garlic into the chhonk. If you’re tempted to use ground cumin instead of cumin seeds, resist! The seeds have a distinctly smokier flavor and add a pleasant texture to the dal.

By Priya Krishna

Yield: 4 servings

Total time: 15 minutes

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup red lentils (also known as red split lentils or masoor dal)

1 teaspoon ground turmeric

Salt

3 tablespoons ghee

2 teaspoons cumin seeds

1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon ground red chile

1/8 teaspoon asafetida (optional but extremely good, see tip below)

Rice or roti, for serving

PREPARATION:

1. Combine the lentils (no need to rinse them) with the turmeric, 1 teaspoon salt and 3 cups of water in a medium saucepan. If you like your dal a little soupier, add an extra cup of water here. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to a simmer, cover and cook for 5 to 8 minutes, until the lentils resemble a loose porridge. If the lentils are too thick, add a little hot water.

2. In a small pan or pot, melt the ghee over medium heat and add the cumin seeds. Let them cook until they are aromatic and a darker shade of brown, about 1 minute. Stir in the red chile powder and asafetida, let them toast for a few seconds until fragrant (the asafetida will give off a garlic-esque scent), then remove from the heat.

3. Taste the lentils and add more salt if desired. Pour the hot ghee over the lentils — you can either stir to combine or leave it be, for a dramatic presentation — and serve with rice or roti.

TIP: Asafetida is a tree resin used commonly as a seasoning in South Asian cuisines. It has a wonderfully potent, sort of allium-esque flavor that adds depth to many dishes. It can be ordered online or found in South Asian grocery stores, and it is worth going out of your way to purchase — it really makes this dish sing. An imperfect but somewhat suitable substitute is garlic powder.

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The rising unemployment rate among U.S. workers aged 16 to 24 — it hit 10.5% in August, its highest level in a decade not counting the pandemic years — has added to the worry about the crisis of “disconnected youth,” also known as the NEETs: individuals Not Employed, Enrolled or in Training.

In 2024, 12% of 16- to 24-year-olds were NEET, and they’ve quickly become fodder in the economic culture wars. Some claim NEETs are a male problem. Others say the increase in NEETs is related to the rise in AI adoption (with the companion claim that AI is taking jobs from young workers). Still others say NEETs are the result of a failing system of higher education. And there are those who want to reclaim and destigmatize the term itself.

These speculative diagnoses are a distraction. Economic research long ago established where NEETs come from. The question is why America fails to help them.

There are three primary reasons why a working-age adult — young or old — would be out of the labor force and not in some kind of educational or training program: They are discouraged by the labor market, have some kind of disability, or are a caregiver. These reasons would suggest that the highest rates of NEET youth would be among those with fewer job opportunities, the less educated, and women.

And that is exactly what the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis found last year in a comprehensive look at disconnected youth, which it defined as NEETs aged 16 to 24.

— Women (51.5%) make up a larger share than men (48.5%).

— 70% have a high school degree or less.

— A quarter come from families with less than $25,000 in income.

— More live in rural areas (20.2%) compared to metro areas (15.6%) or cities (17.1%).

— The lowest rate (13.9%) was among white youth, while the highest (21.3%) was among Black youth.

To be clear, there are trends and shifts within each major reason. Labor market discouragement can come from weakness in the overall job market, shifts in industrial composition, or barriers or constraints that affect specific workers. Disability trends depend on a lot of factors, such as addiction epidemics. Caregiving can reflect trends in fertility, aging and disability, as well as the price of child care.

Economists have spent considerable time studying these trends, research that took on a renewed sense of urgency when the first Baby Boomers started to retire 25 years ago and pulled down overall labor force participation. The literature, while vast, has a simple finding: There are a lot of Americans who cannot find or cannot take a job.

In comparison, there has been very little time or energy spent on ways to address this problem.

Consider young workers who can’t find a job even after months of searching. To keep them in the labor market, the U.S. could create a “job seeker benefit” similar to unemployment insurance. The UK and Australia have such programs; the U.S. version could require job-search counseling sessions, for example, to help inexperienced workers learn about the market or suggest training programs. If policymakers were feeling bold (or maybe just practical?), they could add regulations to protect all job seekers, such as requiring firms to notify candidates about their application status in a timely fashion — which is also a way to ensure that beneficiaries are in fact searching.

Many workers with a disability or care requirements, on the other hand, have a preference for part-time or remote work. Again, there are models to be found in America’s peer countries, many of which protect the right to work part time or from home. That’s one reason that labor force participation is much higher in Europe than in the U.S.

Of course there are broader, bolder policies that could help these workers, such as paid family and medical leave and universal child care, both of which would help caregivers who want to work. Criminal justice reform would help produce fewer people with a felony history who face discrimination in the labor market.

When young people fail to meet cultural, social or economic expectations, it is tempting to attribute their problems to some generational defect — they’re too slow, they’re always late, they don’t want to grow up — or to some larger technological force never before encountered.

In truth, however, the explanation is almost always more mundane. In the case of NEETs, their growing numbers reveal more about the failure of employment policy than about any failure of character.

Kathryn Anne Edwards is a labor economist, independent policy consultant and co-host of the Optimist Economy podcast. She wrote this column for Bloomberg Opinion.

Former Gophers defensive coordinator Joe Rossi is having a rough season with Michigan State.

Coming into Saturday’s game against the Gophers, Rossi’s Spartans’ defense is last in scoring in the 18-team Big Ten Conference (32.5 points per game) and 15th in total defense (380 yards per game).

Last week, Rossi moved from his regular perch in the coaches’ booth down to the sideline for Michigan State’s 31-20 loss to then-No. 25 Michigan. That’s where the former Minnesota defensive coordinator will be on Saturday at Huntington Bank Stadium.

Michigan State head coach Jonathan Smith, who is 3-5 this year and 8-12 overall in East Lansing, liked Rossi’s presence on the field.  “We needed to obviously fix some things defensively,” he said. “I did think the effort defensively —  those guys played with passion throughout the night.”

Michigan State still allowed 276 rushing yards and four touchdowns on the ground while losing its fifth straight conference game. At 0-5, they sit in the conference basement with Purdue and Wisconsin.

Rossi left Minnesota after the 2023 season, but Gophers head coach P.J. Fleck said they stay in touch via text messages and bump-ins while on the recruiting trail.

“They play exceptionally hard,” Fleck said of Rossi’s group. “Coach Rossi did a tremendous amount for this program at University of Minnesota, and (I) have a lot of respect for him and what he’s done. He’s got an unbelievable family. He’s a great husband, great father, just an awesome man.”

Not planned

Against Iowa last weekend, Fleck said the game plan was to punt the ball out of bounds and not allow Hawkeyes returner Kaden Wetjen get his hands on the ball.

But punter Tom Weston kicked only two of his seven punts out of bounds, and Wetjen was allowed four returns for 80 total yards, including a 50-yard return for a touchdown. One of Weston’s punts was a touchback, and another was shanked for a net of 13 yards.

“It wasn’t just offense, it wasn’t (just) defense, it wasn’t just special teams — it was all three,” Fleck said about the 41-3 loss to the Hawkeyes. “That is not a good formula to win, especially when you are playing a team like Iowa, who is so good in all three, and forces you to play really precise.”

Minnesota fell to 5-3 overall and 3-2 in Big Ten play.

Taylor’s prognosis

Fleck offered no update Monday on the heath status of running back Darius Taylor, who left the blowout loss to Iowa after one carry and three total snaps.

If Taylor can’t play against Michigan State, and with backup A.J. Turner out for the season, the U will likely stick with redshirt freshman Fame Ijeboi and graduate transfer Cam Davis in the backfield.

Minnesota has averaged 1.8 yards per carry in games against Iowa, Ohio State, Purdue and Rutgers. The Big Ten outlier is 5.3 yards per carry in a tape-to-tape victory over Nebraska. Taylor put up 148 yards on 24 carries with one touchdown against the Cornhuskers.

The Spartans are 14th in the Big Ten in rushing defense (149 yards per game), so Minnesota should still muster a ground game this weekend.

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SUGAR LAND, Texas — Former Vikings running back Adrian Peterson remained jailed on Monday after being arrested a day earlier in a Houston suburb on charges of driving while intoxicated and unlawfully carrying a weapon, according to authorities.

Peterson was taken into custody Sunday morning by the Sugar Land Police Department, said agency spokeswoman Alicia Alaniz. It’s the second DWI arrest in seven months for the 2012 NFL MVP and three-time league rushing champion.

Alaniz declined to provide additional information about the circumstances surrounding Peterson’s arrest in Sugar Land, which is located just southwest of Houston.

Peterson, 40, remained in the Fort Bend County Jail on Monday, according to the county’s sheriff’s office. Jail records did not list an attorney for Peterson who could speak on his behalf. He was a high school football star in East Texas and has lived in the Houston area.

Peterson spent the first 10 years of his NFL career with the Vikings, which drafted him No. 7 overall in 2007. He was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving in Minneapolis in April after appearing at an NFL draft party for Vikings fans.

Peterson was pulled over for speeding before his arrest in Minnesota, where he rushed for a franchise-best 11,747 yards and 97 touchdowns. He is one of nine running backs to rush for 2,000 yards in a season. He had 2,097 yards for the Vikings in his MVP season of 2012 and finished his NFL career with 14,918 yards and 120 touchdowns over 15 seasons.

He played for six teams during his final five seasons.