Inspired by Food For Tots' chicken and apple balls, I attempted to make a chicken-based meal for my girls. I really don’t enjoy cooking meat but I try to make sure that I make at least 2 chicken meals a week, and of course, other forms of fleshy protein such as fish appear more regularly on the menu.
I’m not a
big fan of meat and have never been a big fan of meat. Most of my family call me vegetarian but I
probably wouldn’t call myself one. I’ll
quite happily eat any life form that swims or comes from the sea but as soon as
it starts to walk on land, I just can’t bring myself to swallow it. I have tried very hard however to not impose
this meat-free diet on my children.
I really
struggle with the preparation stage. I just don't like that cold soft ‘namby’ (sorry,
no other words to describe it) feel that raw meat has. I know, raw meat feels pretty much the same
as raw fish…but I just don’t have that ‘internal gag factor’ when it comes to
fish – who knows why?Anyway, I saw Food For Tots' chicken and apple balls and loved how they looked. I didn’t have any apples in the house and I was a bit lazy when it came to making the balls (haha!), so I just made squashed chicken patties. Didn’t have all the proper ingredients so this is what I ended up using.
Ingredients:
450g (roughly) chicken thigh fillets
½ tsp turmeric
1 tsp cumin
1 tbsp coriander
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp breadcrumbs
2 tbsp wholemeal flour
No salt (I avoid adding salt to our meals)
Method:
1. Roughly cut your chicken fillets
into cubes and pop into food processor (if you’re like me and really lazy, I
challenged my Magimix and put the fillets straight in. The mince came out fine). Push the button and
mince mince mince.
2. Add all other ingredients in and
push that button again.
3. Put contents of food processor into
a big bowl and give it another quick mix with a fork.
4. Shape to your liking. Little patties for me.
5. Lightly pan fry (or perhaps bake for
a healthier option – I pan fried). This
is probably the most time-consuming part.
6. Eat!
Well, I didn’t but my girls did.
I served
this with plain pasta with a dab of butter and sliced cucumber (my ‘I can’t be
bothered’ vegetable).
Well, here in Argentina we are crazy about meat, its the country of meat!
ReplyDeleteNobody can say no to grilled meat!
But now a days, i dont eat much meat eather, just twice a week or so, and mostly mixes with stuff like for tacos, or empanadas etc ...
You should try making burgers with minced meat and a lot of oats, they give it a good texture :D
Argentina is the country of meat! Lots of cows? Good idea with the oats!
DeleteI am also not a big fan of meat and definitely prefer seafood to meat! But I need to cook meat for the other one at home. I just try to use meat only for flavor nowadays then "populate" any dish with lots of veggies! ;p
ReplyDeleteThere's just something lighter about eating seafood. My other half has learnt to live without meat!
Deleteyum
ReplyDeleteDouble yum. Well the girls ate it.
DeleteI know what you mean. When I started preparing meat and fish for the first time, i use to wear gloves because I never liked the raw soft feeling! But these days .. i don't even realize :D
ReplyDeleteI still cringe at raw meat. I'm much better with raw fish! Thanks for popping by.
DeleteSince I introduced meatless meals at home, my girls have been asking for chicken often. Hahaha...I guess they miss their chicken. But, I cook more fish compared to chicken these days.
ReplyDeleteI get the opposite. I have to really 'encourage' daughter no. 1 to eat chicken! Fish isn't a problem. Oh well. Like mother like daughter.
Deletei used to not like prepping meat but what i do is wear gloves and i've cooked a lot of meat dishes since then :)
ReplyDeletechicken patties sounds good to me esp this saturday afternoon when hubs and i would like to have something light but hearty.
have a great weekend
malou
I definitely should try wearing gloves - I might make more chicken dishes. Hope you have a good weekend too!
DeleteThis is good for kids lunch box too... :D
ReplyDeleteI try to introduce and cook more seafood in our weekly diet, but boys in my household are 'built' differently... they are more of red meat Carnivore, compare to my daughter who is a pescatarian-ish :D
My 2 daughters don't seem to miss their meat. My husband suffers but he probably stuffs himself with meat at lunch when he's at work :-)
DeleteMaybe it's just a question of cooking with raw meat more often to get used to the texture? In any case, these look delish!
ReplyDeletePerhaps, but I don't think I'm going to start cooking more raw meat to get used to it :-)
Delete"Namby" is a great word to describe the feel of raw flesh (including fish). I like meat and sometimes it's the star of my meals; but more often it appears in a supporting role (a bit of meat in a stir fry, for example). Anyway, for not liking the stuff yourself, you did a great job with it! Good post - thanks.
ReplyDeleteThanks! Just need more practice with meat :-)
DeleteYou could make fish balls. Healthier and you can eat it too.
ReplyDeleteI've always been too nervous to make fish balls - looks complicated. Must definitely try it.
Deletehehehe, not just for small kids!! for adults too! I love making patties- so much we could do to it and an easy budget friendly meal!
ReplyDeleteI've been trying other patties - tofu and bean! Very yummy!
DeleteI love your story about anything walking on land you can't stomach to eat. Too bad we all don't feel that way. If we did our planet would be healthier, I believe.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure your kids loved this and how unusual to add cinnamon to it. Almost sounds like some sort of donut had you rolled them into balls. Very unique recipe. Glad your kids liked it.
I'm glad to have stopped by, it's my first time visiting.
Hi there. I won't be patting myself on the back yet - my carbon footprint is huge! Thanks for stopping by!
Deletegreat idea for kids food! i must try for baby m!
ReplyDeleteBoth of mine ate these when they were 6 months...hmm..must change the menu - they must be starting to get sick of it now...
DeleteActually - it's super-healthy chicken nugget - much improved in quality and flavor. I love "I can't be bothered to cook" vegetables. Especially in the summer - when they are so good - you really don't need to!
ReplyDeleteSometimes the less cooking I have to do, the better! We go through about 3 large cucumbers a week!
DeleteYour patties look so tempting!! From the photo, I can see that your daughter enjoyed the patties so much. ;)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the inspiration!
Delete