Something a friend said the other day reminded me of Little Miss 5’s current food dilemma. Where does this meat come from? You see, Miss 5 is the family carnivore with Miss 3 following closely behind. She will always ask for seconds of whatever chicken/meat is on her plate. There’s no mince or rissoles for this girl. I’m sure she was tucking into a steak at our BBQ’s long before her older brothers and sisters were. It’s just that now she’s a little bit older she’s starting to think about things. And while I know that she knows chicken is chicken, because we have already had that conversation, she just doesn’t want to think about it in terms of it once had feathers and laid eggs like the chickens our friends Benjamin and Oliver keep in their backyard and lovingly play with every day. And every time we sit at the dinner table we’ll hear something like “Is this chicken? Where did the chicken come from. No! Wait! Don’t tell me or I can’t eat it!” Too late, there’s no way her siblings are going to let that question go unanswered.
So, what to do? Well, we have told her the same “Big One” we have told all of our children, starting with our 16 year old (affectionately known around here as “The Teenager”) when he was about 4 years old. We were transferred a lot when he was younger and had to make some very long car trips to visit family. This involved driving past fields of cattle and sheep and seeing many a road train loaded up with cattle. And, of course, he was horrified to think that we would eat those peaceful animals in those fields. So we came up with Special Sheep, Special Cows, Special Pigs and Special Chickens. They’re the animals that God gave us to eat, unlike normal sheep, cows, pigs and chickens that we visit at petting zoos and farms. Are we wrong to lead them up the garden path on this one? Well, we have avoided mass hysteria and I’m just not ready to start cooking for 6 vegetarians, so in this case I think they will forgive us in the years to come. I think Miss 5 really knows the truth, and The Teenager figured it all out without any long-term implications, so we’re sticking with our story. And to top it off, today I’m going to share one of Miss 5’s favourite Chicken meals, Easy Garlic Chicken.
So, I’m interested to know, how do you explain this to your children, and have you told them any “Big Ones” lately?
Easy Garlic Chicken
Ingredients:
4 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
4 Garlic Cloves, minced
4 Tbl Brown Sugar
1 Tbl Olive Oil
Additional Herbs and Spices as desired
Directions:
Preheat oven to 450°F Line a baking dish or cookie sheet with aluminum foil and lightly coat with cooking spray or lightly brush with oil.
In small sauté pan, sauté garlic with the oil until tender.
Remove from heat and stir in brown sugar. Add additional herbs and spices as desired.
Place chicken breasts in a prepared baking dish and cover with the garlic and brown sugar mixture.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
Bake uncovered for 15-30 minutes, or until juices run clear. Cooking time will depend on the size and thickness of your chicken.
Read more at: http://www.food.com/recipe/easy-garlic-chicken-5478?oc=linkback
P.S. I’m totally supportive of anyone who chooses to raise their children as vegetarians, I have friends who are doing just that. And if you have any recipes you would like to share I’d love to hear from you on my Facebook page.