Stuffed chicken breasts a hit

Which child doesn't like a tasty meal? Truth is, most picky eaters don't really care what's in front of them. If they want to be fussy, they will be. A trick I've learned in the last year is including my little one in the preparation of the meal. If they help prepare it, they are more inclined to eat it. It also gives you a bargaining tool -- "you're not going to eat this? But you helped cook it."

Another of my secrets is buying food that is already somewhat prepared. It saves on prepping time, especially as time is a luxury when you're a working single Father, and quite often what's on offer at the grocery is reasonably priced and healthy.

Most nights, I get dinner done in half-hour. The most important tool in my kitchen is the oven. I do not have the time nor patience to watch over boiling pots, so I try to choose dinners that I can easily stick in the oven on a timer, which gives me time to do other stuff, like clean up after a six year-old.

In this blog, as I promised, I try to get the best value for money when buying food. Most of us are on a limited budget, and take-out every day is not a real option. We do take-out maybe once or twice a week, and that consists of the usual suspects -- pizza and KFC and/or Popeye's. I designated Friday nights as pizza night, which allows me some "me" time at the start of a weekend when I can relax with a few beers and some music. Tuesday nights are usually chicken nights. Why Tuesday? Because on Mondays, I might likely have left-overs from Sunday dinner, and on Wednesdays I work late and he eats by his aunt, who babysits him on those days. Thursdays I normally have the time to prepare a nice homemade dinner.

One of my favourite meals consists of stuffed chicken breasts with a side, usually either Sidekicks pasta or scalloped potatoes. I get the boxed chicken breasts, already stuffed (he likes the ones stuffed with garlic butter) -- 2 in a box for around $2 on sale. When they do go on sale, I buy a few boxes and keep them in the freezer. The normal price is under $5. The Sidekicks I buy on sale for 99 cents, and the boxed scalloped potatoes come in at around the same price. So for under $5 and a little time, I have dinner for two, and it's a dinner he enjoys. The chicken goes into the oven at 400 F for around 20 - 30 minutes, and if I am using the potatoes as a side, that goes into the oven, too. It takes about 5 minutes prep time for the potatoes, and you need milk and butter, which, if you have a young child, you should have in the fridge anyway. The pasta is done on the stove top, and requires a little watching. It's usually done in 10 minutes and I get him to help.

When I serve this, I have no problem getting him to eat. He loves the creamy Alfredo pasta, and he really enjoys the chicken breasts, as the garlic gives it a nice tangy flavour. Even better, when the breasts are cut on the plate, the butter on the inside flows onto the pasta, adding to the flavour.

You might be wondering -- where are the veggies? Well, I usually don't make a fuss about that, since we snack on raw veggies when he gets home from school. So he is getting his required servings, just not on the dinner plate. The reason? It is hard enough getting him to eat without crowding his plate with stuff he might balk at. The chicken and pasta servings look small, and he eats it with confidence, knowing he could clean his plate and please me. If I add veggies there, it leads to fussing and he might not eat all of the chicken and pasta.

That's my technique. Hey, you might not agree with it but it works for me. That's why I started this blog, to give ideas to other Dads who are not quite at home in the kitchen. You don't always have to follow the rules. You can make them up as you go along, once the end result is a well-fed child.

Stay tuned to this blog for more cost-effective ways to feed your child in a simple and healthy way. As I cook and experiment with new stuff, I will share them with you.