Teens, Create Some Kitchen Magic!

You’ve gone back to school. You have a day off coming up, but everyone else in the household will be at work–or somewhere. And by the time they show up, you’ll all be VERY HUNGRY. With simple ingredients and even simpler steps, you can present a meal made in a slow cooker/crock pot that (to them) magically appears when they walk through the door!

This recipe is from the family of Barbara Szyszkiewicz–writer, blogger, mom, and cook. “Chicken Adobo” was the go-to recipe of her older son, now in college. But his younger brother has picked up the spoon to carry on the tradition.

  Think of all the other chores you can trade off for cooking dinner! I’m sure Wendy will want to prepare this scrumptious-sounding dish someday, so let’s see how it’s done!

 

Chicken Adobo (5 servings)

½ lb. baby carrots

2 medium onions, diced (1 ½ cups onion)

8 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed

2 ½ lb. skinless chicken pieces

3 bay leaves

1 cup chicken broth

1/2 cup white vinegar

1/2 cups soy sauce

3 TBL brown sugar

1/8 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

2 tsp black pepper

1 tsp dried cilantro (optional)

1. (Optional) Put a special heat-resistant slow-cooker liner in the slow cooker to make it easier to clean up.
2. Put the carrots, onions, and garlic in the bottom of the slow cooker.
3. Put the chicken pieces on top of the vegetables. Put the bay leaves on top of the chicken.
4. Mix the rest of the ingredients and pour over the top. Put the lid on the slow cooker, plug it in and cook on Low for 6 hours.

  When the 6 hours are up, turn the slow cooker to Warm and start the rice. If you don’t have a rice cooker, ask for adult assistance and follow the directions on a package of regular or instant rice.

 

Rice-Cooker Rice (5 servings)

Put 1 ½ cups rice in the rice cooker bowl. Add water until it reaches halfway between the “1” and “2” marks in the rice cooker. Plug in the cooker and turn it on.

When the rice is done, serve the chicken and vegetables (remove the bay leaves) over rice in a bowl or on a plate.

Are you a teen who sometimes cooks for the rest of your family? What do you like to prepare? If you’re already grown up, what was the first meal you learned to cook for someone else?

Cynthia

 

How to reach Barbara Szyszkiewicz:

 Writer/editor at IGotCode.Net

Blogging at FranciscanMom

Writing about food at Mom’s Fridge and Cook and Count (cooking for diabetics)

CatholicMom.com contributor