Lately I have noticed that Thompson has started to get a little pickier about trying new foods. And not even new foods, but just new recipes. Even if it is something he normally loves (like chicken and broccoli), if it looks or smells a little different, he tells me he knows he won’t like it. There have been times in his life he has been a pretty adventurous eater, and other times where all he wants are his go-to foods. It has always been important to Trevor and me to avoid raising picky eaters and help our kids love a wide variety of foods.
We have a rule that everyone always has to take a “no thank you” bite at meals, a trick I saw my sister use when I would visit and have since implemented in our own home. I don’t want Thompson feeling forced into eating foods, but I do like him to try at least one bite so he can make a fair decision about whether he likes it or not.
I have purposefully been trying to make some recipes lately with either foods or flavors that Thompson has recently been hesitant to try. I knew this tandoori chicken would be one of those, but I also knew he would end up liking the tender and gently spiced meat. Not surprisingly, he balked when we set it on the table. Also not surprisingly, he literally gave us a big thumbs up after his no thank you bite and finished his whole plate.
This makes a lot of chicken, but we ate it for leftovers the rest of the week. It is great on its own, but we enjoyed it with some leftover tzatziki sauce we had in the fridge.
- 4 cloves garlic, peeled
- 1 fresh red chile, deseeded
- Sea salt
- 1 2-inch piece ginger, peeled, finely grated
- ½ lemon, juiced
- ⅓ cup greek yogurt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 6 large chicken breasts, boneless, skinless
- 1 head broccoli
- Olive oil
- 1 tablespoon garam masala
- Finely chop garlic and chile together, or smash together with a pestle and mortar if you have one. Add a good pinch of salt, and transfer to a large bowl. Add ginger, lemon juice, yogurt, cinnamon, cumin, coriander, paprika, black pepper. Mix well.
- Add chicken, stirring to evenly coat the chicken. Cover tightly with plastic wrap, then marinate 8 hours or overnight.
- Remove chicken from fridge. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a large baking dish with foil, and add chicken. Place in oven and bake for 25-40 minutes (depending on thickness of breasts) until completely cooked through.
- After placing chicken in oven, cut the broccoli into small florets. Spread out on large roasting tray in a single layer. Drizzle with olive oil, then sprinkle with garam masala. Place in oven along with chicken and cook for about 20 minutes, or until tender and browning.
For the freezer: prepare chicken up until the step of marinading overnight. Place chicken and marinade in a gallon freezer bag and freeze until ready for use. Let defrost in fridge, then cook as indicated in the recipe.
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