Fried Curry Chicken Strip Meal

What a fabulous meal we had tonight! I enlisted the help of my youngest child, George Whitt and we prepared a delicious meal. Tommy and Lydia went to watch the Varsity basketball games so it was just me and my boys. Spencer was doing homework so George Whitt and I cooked. Spencer did contribute as he was the videographer for the event. If I had done the meal myself it probably would have taken about 45 minutes, however since I had a 7 year old assistant, it took about an hour and a half! But it was loads of fun. We made Fried Curry Chicken Strips with gravy, Roast Carrots, Pasta with Pesto and a Green Salad. Fried Curry Chicken Strips 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts 1 tbl curry 1 cup flour 1 cup vegetable oil salt and pepper 1 egg 1 cup milk Begin by cutting the chicken breasts into strips. Combine egg and milk in one bowl and mix well. Combine flour, curry powder, and salt/pepper to taste, mix well. Put the chicken strips in the egg mixture and coat well. Dredge the chicken in the flour mixture and put on a plate. Once the chicken is ready, heat some of the oil in a skillet and begin lightly frying the chicken strips. It won't take long if you cut them pretty thinly as I did. You may have to add some oil as you cook the chicken. Once the chicken was all done, I drained some of the grease and made some gravy because Spencer loves it so much and we are really trying to fatten him up! Stir about 3 tbl of flour into the remaing 2-3 tbl of grease and pan drippings. Quickly add about 2 to 2 1/2 cups milk and stir so it doesn't get lumpy. The heat should be on low and it should thicken in a few minutes. Roast Carrots 7-8 large carrots 3 tbl olive oil 1 tbl seasoning (I used Pampered Chef Citrus Basil Rub.) 1 tsp ground white pepper Peel the carrots and slice in chunks on the diagonal. Mix remaining ingredients and then pour over carrots. Stir until well coated then pour onto a baking pan. I used my Pampered Chef large bar pan. They roast up nicely on this piece of stoneware. Bake for 20-30 minutes in a 400 degree oven. You may want to stir them around on the pan about halfway through. Pasta 1 pkg farfalle pasta (bowtie) salt 1 tbl olive oil 2-3 tbl pesto Cougar Gold Cheese Boil the pasta according to package directions, with a little salt and olive oil in the water. Drain, then add the pesto (I had some leftover basil pesto from HEB.), 2-3 tbl butter, 1/2 cup crumbled Cougar Gold Cheese. (We get this cheese as a gift every year from some friends at Christmas and it is so great!) You could use feta or parmesan or other cheese you like. Stir together until cheese gets a little melted. Salad lettuce tomato Tonight our salad was very basic. It was green leafy lettuce and a few grape tomatoes cut in half. This was a fun evening meal to make and George Whitt and I had such a good time together. When you are cooking there is always something that your kids can do to help. Surprisingly enough, I let this little 7 year old cut the carrots using my very sharp Pampered Chef knife - not the big one! He did a great job and we got to talk about our day as we were cooking. Plus, we made enough for leftovers so no one has to cook tomorrow night! That is my goal with a lot my weeknight meals - leftovers. Good thing my family doesn't mind eating leftovers.

Ratings:
Spencer - **** (It would have been a 5 if there had been a dessert!)