I’ve mentioned allowing children to help in the kitchen before, and I want you to know that I practice what I preach.
Earlier this week, Grace and I made chicken salad for lunch.
Chicken salad is the perfect meal for her to help with. There are no sharp tools. The measurements are totally unimportant. You can taste as you go along.
It’s basically a matter of tossing things into a big bowl, mixing it up, and serving. Here’s what we did:
If I had been thinking ahead, I would have asked Joe to cook some chicken breasts last night, but I wasn’t. In the interest of time and my hungry toddler, I opened a can of chicken, drained it in the sink, and dumped it into a 2 quart mixing bowl.
I gave Grace a large wooden spoon and asked her to help me shred the chicken. I used two forks to pull the chicken pieces apart while she whacked it with her spoon.
I’m shreddin’ Momma! I’m shreddin’ cheeken!
I turned my back to grab the Miracle Whip, and Grace deposited her wooden spoon in the garbage disposal. Yuck.
I got a metal serving spoon from the drawer, used it to add two hefty spoonfuls of Miracle Whip to the bowl, and then gave it to Grace and asked her to stir. She stirred.
Using a silicon spatula, I put one spoonful of sour cream into the bowl, then scraped the whole mess down into the bottom of the bowl.
While Grace continued to stir (which looked a lot like the whacking that was shredding), I squirted a dollop of mustard into the bowl. Then I added a small handful of bacon, a large handful of shredded cheddar, and my pre-chopped egg and olives.
Again, I scraped the mess down into the bowl, took over the stirring for a few minutes, and made sure everything was well mixed. I complimented Grace on her stirring prowess and grabbed a small serving bowl from the cupboard.
I cook cheeken salad! Eat cheeken salad?
I grabbed the two forks we’d used to shred the chicken earlier, a sleeve of Club crackers, and our dish of chicken salad. We took turns making little piles of chicken salad on our crackers and popping them into our mouths. Grace made a big mess and ended up with cheeken salad all down the front of her, but she loved every bite.
| Servings |
- 1 large can chicken drained, or a couple of chicken breasts, cooked and very coarsely chopped
- Miracle Whip or mayonnaise
- sour cream
- Spicy horseradish mustard
- Crumbled bacon*
- shredded cheddar cheese
- Any add-ins you likeyour salad - I like chopped hard boiled egg and sliced green olives but you might prefer diced onions and celery or dill pickle relish or even nothing at all.
Ingredients
| |
- Mix everything together and serve cold.
This first bit is the most important. Gather all of the ingredients below, and have them sitting out on the counter. If you need to grate the cheese, grate it and, have it in a prep bowl. If you need to cook and chop a couple of chicken breasts, do it ahead of time. Toddlers don't have patience to wait while you chop an onion. They're cooking, after all.
The second very important note is that you should talk to your toddler while you're cooking. Tell her everything you're doing, in whatever detail you think she's ready for.
*We keep a jar of crumbled bacon in the refrigerator because we use it in a lot of different recipes. Cook up a pound of turkey or regular bacon, pat it dry, and crumble or dice it. Put it in an airtight jar in the fridge. You'll have bacon "bits" ready to go when you need them.
This is a perfect recipe to make with a toddler. It’s quick, and she didn’t get bored. No cooking was required, so we made it and ate it. She saw immediate results. What are you and your kids making these days?
© 2009 – 2018, Tara Ziegmont. All rights reserved.
Wow, first time joining and I’m first! My youngest and middle sons cook with me all the time. My middle son is now showing his girlfriend how to cook. I think it’s a great life lesson every child should know.
Thanks for hosting!
~Liz
[email protected]’s last blog post..Fourth of July Desserts
Wow, first time joining and I’m first! My youngest and middle sons cook with me all the time. My middle son is now showing his girlfriend how to cook. I think it’s a great life lesson every child should know.
Thanks for hosting!
~Liz
[email protected]’s last blog post..Fourth of July Desserts
Cooking with kids is always fun. To me it’s a lot like arts & crafts with kids. When they are very young it is much more about the process than the end result but as they grow the end result becomes more important – of course the process always needs to remain fun. My son made his own version of easy chicken parmesan for me last week and next week he is planning on making bbq ribs I think. My chef in the making!
How long does your cooked bacon last in the fridge?
Robyn’s Online World’s last blog post..Staycations with Energizer & Giveaway!
Robyn – We’ve never had bacon go bad, but we use it pretty quickly. I’d say the longest it’s been in there is a couple of weeks. Two? We sprinkle it on practically everything – spaghetti, salad, omelets, and on and on. 🙂
Cooking with kids is always fun. To me it’s a lot like arts & crafts with kids. When they are very young it is much more about the process than the end result but as they grow the end result becomes more important – of course the process always needs to remain fun. My son made his own version of easy chicken parmesan for me last week and next week he is planning on making bbq ribs I think. My chef in the making!
How long does your cooked bacon last in the fridge?
Robyn’s Online World’s last blog post..Staycations with Energizer & Giveaway!
Robyn – We’ve never had bacon go bad, but we use it pretty quickly. I’d say the longest it’s been in there is a couple of weeks. Two? We sprinkle it on practically everything – spaghetti, salad, omelets, and on and on. 🙂
I love to have my kids help in the kitchen too. Now they are 11 and 14, they are really adept in the kitchen. They even make up their own recipes- sometimes they work and sometimes we rescue them into something else. I love it when mom’s encourage their babies in the kitchen!!! Way to go!!!!
I think I will take some of your Chicken Salad recipe and intertwine it into my CTBC (Chicken Tomato Bacon Cheese) Salad.
Thanks so much for sharing with us at Food on Fridays.
Sharinskishe’s last blog post..Make-Do Sandwich Pouch
I love to have my kids help in the kitchen too. Now they are 11 and 14, they are really adept in the kitchen. They even make up their own recipes- sometimes they work and sometimes we rescue them into something else. I love it when mom’s encourage their babies in the kitchen!!! Way to go!!!!
I think I will take some of your Chicken Salad recipe and intertwine it into my CTBC (Chicken Tomato Bacon Cheese) Salad.
Thanks so much for sharing with us at Food on Fridays.
Sharinskishe’s last blog post..Make-Do Sandwich Pouch