If you’re a long time reader of my blog, it’s not going to be new news to you that eating like a bachelor is one of my biggest weaknesses. If I remember to eat at all, it’s usually something cheap and quick like granola bars or crackers. I was doing good with the fresh smoothies for a while there, but when all of my ingredients ran out at the same time… well… yeah. I fell off that bandwagon too.
So, in an effort to be a better dad, I decided to set aside one night every couple weeks (it’s a start, right?) in which Noah and I go shopping together, choose something to invent for dinner (using real food), and then make it. My plan is to post some of those excursions here in a new segment that I’ll call “Bachelor Bites.” Just for fun.
The shopping trip was a tons o’ fun. Our local grocery store has these little kid-sized carts that Noah loves pushing around. (click on any image to enlarge.)
First we headed over to produce where Noah chose broccoli, tomatoes, kiwi, and avocados. He insisted on bagging and sealing everything himself.
Next, Noah wanted to head over to the deli counter where he chose roasted turkey and Muenster cheese.
After that it was chicken tenderloins…
Fresh cut salsa…
And some refried black beans…
That was right about the time we got busted by the manager who told us no more pictures. So, the rest were all hip shots while we made our getaway.
Once Noah had picked all of his ingredients, it was off to Nana’s house to see what we could invent from it all. The cooking part was much more fun than I’d like to admit. I had forgotten how much I enjoy cooking. It made it ten times better doing it with Noah. It was a great daddy-son date.
They were interesting ingredients, but Noah chose well because in the end, it was awesomely delish. We ended up with a dish we decided to call Turkey a la Chicken with Fresh Salsa. Our recipe is below for anyone so daring.
Dan & Noah’s Turkey a la Chicken with Salsa
Prep time (with a four year old): 25-30 minutes
Yummy Level: 4 out of 5.
Ingredients:
Sliced Roasted Turkey Breast
Poultry Seasoning of your preference
Chicken Tenderloins
Fresh Salsa
Sliced Muenster Cheese
Avocados
Directions:
Pan fry the chicken tenderloins until done. Do not overcook (as tempted as you may be). Add a slice of Muenster cheese before chicken is finished and let melt onto the tenderloins. In a separate frying pan, and while the chicken is cooking, cook one piece of sliced roasted turkey (season it with your poultry seasoning) for every chicken tenderloin that is cooking. Once turkey slices are browned, quickly fold and place one piece on top of the melted Muenster cheese layer of each tenderloin (make it decorative!). Place the tenderloins onto each plate and top with a layer of fresh salsa (make sure it’s the fresh cut salsa from the produce section, not bottled or canned salsa). Slice avocados and fan across one end of the chicken. Salt and pepper the avocados and salsa. Serve hot.
Enjoy!
Dan Pearce, Single Dad Laughing Cooking
PS, do you ever cook with your kids? What are the best parts and most challenging parts? I find cooking nice meals to be real pricy. Of course, we got enough ingredients to cook for ten.
This looks yummy!
That sounds really good actually, my son would probably eat everything except the salsa and the broccoli though. Hmmm..maybe if I got him to help cook it, like you did.
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You know, as I was reading through this post, I was thinking, "WOW! The grocers in his neighborhood are friendlier and nicer than those in mine!" I never would've gotten away with taking so many pictures! (Also, my pictures wouldn't have looked nearly so fantastic.) Then the story unfolded and I learned otherwise. Great pictures, though!
Chicken a la turkey sounds delish!
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I meant turkey a la chicken. Of course.
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Noah is the cutest lil shopper I've ever seen!
And the joy on his face at a meal well made! Wow! :)
I'm sure you'd have relished dinner even if it was just a 1 on the yummy level ;)
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My boys are a bit older, but we play "Iron Chef" once in a while...one kid and I prepare a meal (appetizer, entree and dessert) for the other kid. That kid then "judges" us and determines if we'll ever eat that stuff again. It's great fun.
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First, the bag issue:
I am disappointed that Vt. Country store is not offering these. Bad on them. However, while you can get a great assortment of different string bags, colors and sizes, from Ecobags.com, at http://www.ecobags.com/Our_Products/ECOBAGS-Brand... you will find a great bargain for a starter reusable grocery bags package. Their products are primarily made in India, under Fair Trade conventions.
EvertFresh.com offers reusable plastic bags for those things like salad greens that really do better (IME, YMMV) in airtight bags: http://www.evertfresh.com/?q=catalog/1 They are all made in the US.
I collect well-made canvas (along the lines of Lands End/LL Bean sturdy--strap must go all the way under the bottom, bag should sit up for the checker's ease) sacks like nobody's business--I'm a sucker for them. I have over two dozen, many used to contain projects, but most for shopping, grocery and otherwise, which go back out to the car after unpacking. Since there is no Trader Joe's near you, let me send you to Whole Foods for one of their freezer bags, which guard your frozen/refrigerated foods on longer trips home. If there are no WFM nearby, try eBay, where I have found them.
I adore farmers' markets, and you and Noah might as well. Since the Bay Area seldom gets snow in the flatlands, most markets are year round. Food is fresher there, ALL the money goes to the farmers, you can ask detailed questions about the food, and it's fun. There are often musicians busking, and prepared foods like sausages or ethnic foods, bread, pasta and pastries available as well. I love getting to know the farmers, the seasonality of foods and variety of foods (apples--different varieties ripen at different times, from August into December) available. You get to taste before you buy, when there are several varieties.
When I buy berries or other easily crushed or bruised foods, I bring containers, and immediately put them in the containers at the booth, and hand the containers the farmer has used, back to them. Berries stay fresher longer, without the bruising. At first they thought I was nuts, but now they suggest it to other customers.
We happen to reuse a lot of our plastic produce sacks, for various needs, including small trash can liners and poop patrol.
My family used to go to a grocery store with those itty bitty shopping carts!!! =D
Love this idea! It reminds me of the Food Network show called Chopped where the chefs must create an appetizer, entree, and dessert with random ingredients. Then they are judged and one chef gets "chopped" after each round. At least in your case, you don't have to worry about being chopped as Noah quite clearly adores you (and your cooking skills) :) Look forward to the next "Bachelor Bites" creation!
That is awesome! If I had a stomach, I'd make it for my husband and me. What a great way to spend time with Noah and let him be totally involved. As always, kudos, Dan.
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Now to comment on the post itself.
My 17 yr old still can't abide the taste of broccoli--too bitter, which means he has a particular gene that does that. How he got it is a mystery, as the rest of the family adores it--and brussels sprouts.
We didn't think to get my son food prepping or cooking at that age. He sure has a talent for cooking, but soy sauce and garlic are about the only seasonings he uses! We have found that if he helps fix a dish as sous-chef, he is more likely to try it and like it. It does seem that at last, at 17, many of his food prejudices and dislikes have disappeared, and he is more likely to try something unknown.
The picture with Noah poking the kiwi and the one where he's concentrating with the cart are priceless. Alas, none of the groceries we shopped at ever offered kids' carts. A would sit in the seat and attempt to get the things he knew we'd get, especially his chow, off the shelves for us--I never had a kid who hated grocery shopping.
One of your cooking together times a month, you might like to make a dinner in quantity that can be eaten that night, and the rest put in containers for later eating. That too will help you eat healthier meals more often. I have a few recipes for that, if you'd like.
i love it! i think my favorite thing about this whole post, though has to be that you specified that your prep time is when working with a 4 year old :D
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I have 10 nieces and nephews and Noah is still the cutest thing I've ever seen. Don't tell.
When I was young my dad used to bake cupcakes, but he's add flavoring and coloring to match. So green cupcakes would be mint flavored, yellow were lemon, orange were orange, red were cherry... you get the idea. I was telling my son not too long ago about it so I went out earlier today and got the extracts to add to the mix- It will be cool to make them tomorrow night!
You know, your photography skills are feakin' awesome!
If you plan our your meals in advance, it's not expensive to have nice meals :) I spent less than $30 this week on grocery for a week's worth of meals. Of course, we *did* have some ingredients already on hand (like frozen chicken breast, spices, staples like flour and sugar, etc) but still. 5 days worth of dinners, plus leftovers for lunches, under $30.
Seeing these photos of you and Noah breaks my heart that my son doesn't have this loving relationship with his dad.
The photos look so fun and natural. Be proud of the father you are. x
Reading this has made me feel like such an anal parent...seriously. I get so bent out of shape having my son help me in the kitchen (things are dirty or germy, knives are sharp, stove are hot, etc.etc.) That I don't know what to offer my son as something to help me with. Ugh. I love your idea of taking him out to the store, finding random ingredients & just mixing anything up. I think I need to get past this crazy overprotective mom state I'm in and just let him do more. I think I'll try to do this same thing one night & see how it goes...And that recipe you two made doesn't look half bad!!
This is such a fantastic idea! My son loves to help me cook, and will tell me what he wants for dinner (usually chicken alfredo or meatloaf - his two favorites), but we've never gone through the store to pick random ingredients like this. Definitely going to try it!
My dad wasn't a single dad but my mom worked nights and so he was left in charge of feeding us when we were younger. The man knew how to make about 4 things and the rest of the time we ate out. Lucky for us (my brother & I) my dad involved us in making egg salad, what we call Butler Stew (weird form of meat loaf) and a cpl other things that let us spend time with our day. My brother was the one who helped me learn how to cook. My mom often says she doesn't know were my brother and I picked up on cooking because it didn't come from her.... In reality it was learn or starve lol
I didn't know people actually used those twist tie thingies. You are a really great photographer, btw. I'd love to know where you learned your skillz.
My daughter and I have been cooking together for years now! I love every minute of it!! She also helps me sew. I will have to run this recipe by my daughter and see if she wants to help me make it!
I love it! I love cooking with my daughter, this is a great way to get kids to try new things...if they make it they have to try it! Good work Dan! Did Noah enjoy his creation?
I've got 4 little ones and we do "Kids Cook Night" once a week. They do the whole thing themselves! I only help them with anything dangerous. They are starting to build up a list of recipes that they love to make and eat! They also like to set the table up very "fancy" for their nights. It's one of my favorite things to see how proud of themselves they get and of course it's nice to get a break from the dreaded eat your dinner fight because they'll always eat what they made!
(Love your photos...stupid manager!)
My 4 yr old and i cook all the time together....but i never thought to let HER pick the ingredients! Thanks Dan and Noah for giving me yet another fabulous idea to put on my "Parenting -to-Do-List" :)
Lena aka shrnk
You are a brave man! To let Noah pick ALL of the ingredients and just go with the flow when it came making dinner. Props to you!!! Until now Brayden has been too young to do much, but occasionally we'll give him a butter knife and some vegetables to cut for the salad or occasionally stir the pot. However, he loves making cookies and helping put them on the cookie sheet. Now that he's older, I am hoping that he and I can do more of that together, it's such a great bonding experience and an awesome way to spend time together and just talk with your kids. It was a nightly ritual with my step kids while they were growing up (now 16 and 14) as part of their "chores" every night one had to help cook dinner and set the table and the other one had to help clean dinner up and do dishes. I was always there to help with both tasks so it gave me an opportunity every night (outside of the chaos of homework and every day life) to spend one on one time with each of them catching up on their day and everything that was going on in their life and they could talk to me about anything that came to mind. It's a great way for families to stay connected.
I cook for a living, which after a while sucks every ounce of joy out of cooking. But, I do remember LOVING to cook, once upon a time. I'm glad you and Noah had fun cooking:). He's adorable.
You guys are so stinking cute! I miss Smith's Marketplace!!! If it wasn't in the middle of nowhere I would go to it. I also love the Macey's apron. I used to have to wear one everyday.
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My daughter has the joy of cooking and thinks she's a pro now. Last time she insisted on cooking while wearing her skate shoe thingys cause "it makes it faster and more better". Tonight we're having a dinner party and she's so excited to help me finish preparing the meal when she gets out of school!
My daughter, now 11yo, has been cooking with me (more of a bachelorette-style, since I'm not a huge fan of cooking), her Papa (my husband, not a grandpa), and my mother since she was 3. Yes, in the early days, she was more of a hinderance than a help, but now, she can fully cook meals & desserts all by herself. As far as the bags at the store go, we reuse our produce bags as doggy poop bags or recycle them at our local grocery store, but have 6 reusables (definitely wash your reusables, as well as wiping down your cart handles & baskets)! Anyway, keep it up, Dan... Noah will appreciate knowing how to cook (even if it's bachelor food) when he's older!
My 3 year old little girl LOVES to help with anything that involves being allowed in the kitchen. Even if it is just standing next to me and drying the dishes I wash.
Monday afternoon, I decided to let her help me bake a red velvet cake. I have since decided that cakes we bake together will be either white or yellow only. Why only light colored cakes from now on you ask???
Let's put it this way: One bowl of red velvet cake batter + one electric mixer + one very independent 3 year old "sous chef" = disaster! She decided she did NOT need Mom's help mixing the batter, and grabbed the mixer from my hand while it was on. Red velvet cake batter was EVERYWHERE!!!! My kitchen looked like a total crime scene! I couldn't help but laugh, because as I was cleaning cake batter off my cabinets, my counters, myself, and my child, I knew this was a moment with her I would never forget.
My 15 year old boy loves to cook, hates to clean. But he is getting quite good at it so I don't mind as much the clean up. At least I know when he moves out on his own he won't starve.
My son HATES cooking. I try to entertain him by letting him choose the ingredients or help mix or prepare, even pop little samples into his mouth during the course of the preparation, but nope! You're a lucky man!
My 2-year-old loves to "help" cook and bake, which can be a lot of fun, but I'm finding it also gives her ample time to tell me before the food's even made that "I no like that, Mommy" - regardless of whether or not she picked out ingredients. So agreed - fresh is pricey. And also frustrating when you're the only one who eats it! But, gotta keep trying. What a great thing to be teaching your son!
So cool and love his healthy choices. My 12 yr old loves to help me cook. Great for bonding and just generally fun.
Guessing management didn't want you advertising prices for them, huh?
what a great way to teach Noah about food !so glad that it turned out well , and I'm looking forward to new installments
I was reading along wondering, how in the world did he get all those shots in the grocery store without being treated like a criminal?? You got very lucky sir, and/or you hide a big ol' camera well! You've got to share the secret to hiding it if that's the case. :) I have so many shopping trip shots I want to get with my little dude, but apparently photography is a crime these days! :(
And more on topic, that food looks pretty awesome!
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Both of my kids (ages 2 and 4) are incredibly picky eaters. My husband is the cook in the family, but he travels for work so when he's gone, I'm usually at a loss at what to make them because I'm not good at actually cooking :-) This gives me the idea that maybe if I let them help they'll want to eat and it'll force me to be better at attempting to make a real dinner :-)
Seriously, crazy cute young man and what a fun shopping adventure. Thanks for the smile this morning.
Cannot wait until my kiddo is old enough to help me shop for groceries... It will be a new challenge - like being a guest star on Dinner Impossible or something. The show where you have to cook a meal out of items chosen by a toddler! LOL.
I might just try that! It looks yummmy (except the avocados, I'm not a fan).
I do agree that the manager asking you not to take pictures is just weird. What is that store trying to hide?!
When my stepson was 13 or 14 I showed him how to make lasagna. I made a pan and he made a pan at the same time. I wasn't sure he had been interested until he came for his stay one weekend and proudly told us he made a lasagna dinner for his mama and stepdad. I thought that was awesome. A couple of years ago, he and I made cookie and candy trays for Christmas. It was a tradition in my family, so I shared it with him. As we made the cookies, I showed him all the little tips on how to properly measure flour, crack eggs, etc. Now, I wish I had a little one to share my passion of cooking with...keep it up! Noah will thank you for it and so will his future...way, way, in the future wife! LOL Have a great day!
My little one cooks with us as often as she can. She doesn't more often because we have a tiny kitchen and shes short. No real room for a stool in there. So she helps with the baking since she can take that to the table. She loves it, but then again, this kid would rather watch the food channels then cartoons.
Its awesome that you do things like this with him. And it looks like he is having soo much fun.
That child is so cute its crazy! Lucky YOU!
If you don't want to waste those bags they have at the store, bring your own gallon zip lock bags. You can use them over and over.
That is a superb way to get a child eating vegetables. I love it.
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Glad you are letting him help you cook. Kids need that. I try to let mine help me cook as much as possible.
A word about refried beans, though. Often they contain lard. I used to love them until I found that out and got totally grossed out. Haven't touched them since.
You should learn to make a basic white sauce and toss in some cheese. My kids will eat just about any vegetable if it's covered in cheese sauce. (Nobody in my house has high cholesterol, fortunately.)
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Lard is actually a very healthy fat...much better than the hydroginated veg oils a lot of food have...
luckily now there are more choices, look for vegetarian or fat free on the label... back to healthy and lard free
I love his expression when he's picking up the kiwi! I love to cook and bake with my 5 kids, they love to help and they're more likely to eat what they've helped to make. (there are studies that back that up!) My husband is a much better cook than I am, so most instructional cooking is done by him, and I'm more of the baking teacher! In any case, it's a great way to bond, and he'll always remember it years from now & pass on the tradition with his own kids!