Kayla and Brayden are some pretty special, talented kids that I have been blessed to meet. Through meeting their wonderful Mother Kate first, who I can't say enough about of how sweet and kind she is. Kate explained to me of how she wants to be able to solve meal times with their families busy schedule and not struggle with trying to get more vegetables and whole foods into her children's diet. I am so thankful to God for putting this family into my life where I can share my passion and experience to hopefully make life a little bit easier and healthier for this wonderful family. Kayla is a lovely young lady who is very gifted in so many ways and has taken on the challenge of cooking with me in the kitchen to discover that she is very gifted in cooking as well! Kate explained to me that the children had to go to swimming in an hour away from when we started cooking. So that was not a problem at all! Thankfully I actually like challenges when it comes to getting healthy food to be made in a short time. Healthy food really can be fast food if you are organized! That really is the key to getting things done on time and efficiently. I really like to stress cleaning as you go when preparing food. No one wants to have a big mess to clean up at the end of dinner time. If you wash the the big dishes, like pots and pans right after you use them so they can be put away, it really helps. Also it's important to wipe and clean your working space so you are able to stay focused at each task at a time when preparing meals. I'm sorry I tend to ramble when it comes to cleaning as you go lol, it is actually a passion of mine to have a clean and organized kitchen before and after meal times. Anyway, back to the cooking with Kayla. I asked Kayla to start some chopping for our Salsa Chicken. I gave her some peppers, some onions and got her to chop them up so we could add them to our heated pan with a little olive oil. Kate was in charge of sauteing the vegetables just until they became soft and the onions started to caramelize.
The next step was searing some chicken breasts in a pan with a little salt and pepper on top. Once the chicken was golden on each side we added it to the pan with the vegetables as well as 2 cups of salsa and 2 cups of chicken stock. We placed the lid on and simmered everything together for 30 minutes. The chicken didn't have to be completely cooked in the pan before it went into the pot with the rest of ingredients because it becomes cooked in the simmering part with the salsa and stock. The salsa chicken dish turned out wonderfully and was cooked just in the right time. Kate had set the table and prepared some rice just before I got there for the cooking so that made things even easier for this family to come home after work and swimming to be able to sit down to together and enjoy a wholesome, healthy dinner as a family. I suggested how to enjoy this dish with serving the rice on the bottom and a scoop of salsa chicken over top. Then for toppings they had some grated cheese and sour as well as some home made guacamole that Kayla made so perfectly. Some tortilla chips where served on the side for a nice Mexican treat to tie the whole dish together. For more recipes on making dinner in a fast and healthy way check out my cook book The KinderGarden Chef.
Thank you to the Harvey family for letting my share my heart and passion with you! It is always a pleasure coming to your home. I love how we have connected in the way we have that we can also talk about our faith, life and cooking at the same time. I love to cook but talking and sharing, I would have to say is my favorite! Food for the soul is life giving just as food is for the body in my eyes. I believe God gives us gifts to use to share with those around us to teach and offer ourselves as a blessing in return being able to make new friends at the same time to bless and be blessed by. So thank you God for the gift of cooking because it has given me a chance to be able to share my heart with those around me to connect with some pretty beautiful souls.
If you are interested in cooking with me and having me come to your home and share some of my recipes and heart with you and your family I would be so honored. My contact andreahoblak@gmail.com 604-852-1576
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