My kid watches me in the kitchen and has been doing so since she was little. She’s 9, almost 10 going on 14. She’s a true Leo as she was so stubborn during her birth, that after 64 hours of labour, she ended up being escorted out of my belly via emergency C-section. She brings this stubbornness into the kitchen when she bakes. Always wanting to race ahead, and do things her way without reading instructions properly or sitting back to listen & learn. I do love this about her, but it can be challenging.
A couple weeks ago I gave my kids a chicken challenge. Cook any kind of (simple) chicken dish you wanted for supper. Think about it, go through recipe books, or make up a recipe. Hailey’s first idea was to make up a watermelon marinade for the chicken. Since we don’t care for grilled watermelon, and watermelon logged chicken didn’t seem to appeal, I talked her out of it (maybe a mistake?). I could have googled ideas, but I wanted this to be hers. So I suggested she think up something different. She decided on this citrus chicken. Created it entirely on her own. I directed her to the fresh herbs, she smelled & tasted and decided which she wanted to add to the marinade. She loves grilled halloom cheese (from Superstore) and knew she wanted grilled this cheese as part of her meal (she calls it the squeaky cheese), with the grilled chicken placed on top. And her favourite Tabbouleh Salad. I helped with suggesting grilled lemon or lime on top. Her dad did all the grilling.
For the first time we worked together in the kitchen (I helped with the chopping) without any battles. It was flawless and so much fun to watch her follow her vision. And she did an amazing job. While it may not happen again anytime soon, this mom is super proud.
To assemble plate place a little salad on bottom of plate in a circle. Add a slice of grilled halloom cheese. Top with a piece of grilled chicken and if using, grilled lemons or limes.
Ingredients
- 8-10 boneless/skinless chicken thighs
- 1 orange
- 1 lemon
- 1 lime
- 1 tbsp oil
- salt & pepper
- 2 tbsp fresh mint & fresh oregano chopped
- 1 pckge Halloom Cheese
- Additional lemons or limes for grilling
Instructions
- Zest the orange, lemon and lime until you get about 1 tsp of each.
- After zesting, juice each fruit pouring all juice and zest into Ziploc bag.
- Add oil, a pinch of both salt and pepper, mint, oregano and chicken.
- Marinate for 1-2 hours in refrigerator.
- Preheat BBQ to medium high. Slice halloom cheese lengthwise into 8 pieces.
- Grill for about 2-3 minutes or until golden. Carefully flip (some cheese may stick to grill) and grill other side for an additional 2-3 minutes. Remove & set aside.
- Grill chicken until cooked through, about 5 minutes per side.
- Assemble plates as suggested above
Notes
That’s incredible, good for her! My son is interested in cooking as well (he’s almost 9). Maybe I’ll give him a similar challenge — sounds fun!