What To Make For Dinner When Your Kid Wants McDonald’s
There may come a point in time during your child’s ‘threenager’ moment when dinner becomes complicated. Your child will want, say, a PB&J sandwich, and may have asked for one the previous night(s) as well; you will not want to make him/her one. Your child may ask for ____ [insert unhealthy and likely meal-inappropriate snack here]; you will also not want to give him/her one. Not surprisingly, your child’s excitement for your actual dinner plans may be, shall we say, modest.
For those nights, or for any other night where you just need to get something on the table fast, there is this strange-but-kinda-yummy bird, which is essentially what amounts to a stroganoff in Brazil. The sauce is basically/mostly condiments; almost any protein can go in it. And it tastes…well, it tastes pretty much like a McDonald’s hamburger, which is to say kinda sweet and vaguely beefy, both kinda heavy and kinda weightless. Can’t promise you anyone will give you kudos for technique or presentation on this one, but bowls/plates will empty; you may also surprise yourself with how much you like it yourself, especially when sitting in an empty kitchen at 9PM. That kind of dish, this.
- 1 lb chicken breast (if you want to use beef, tender cuts are best: top sirloin, filet mignon, tenderloin)
- Minced Garlic
- 1/2 can Tomato Paste (can substitute with one cup of tomato/pasta sauce)
- 1 tbsp Ketchup
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
- 3/4 cup Heavy Cream
Cut your meat or chicken into small strips or cubes (if your child can handle a thicker, chewier pieces). Season all over with salt and pepper.
- Set your stove to Medium and place a big knob of butter into a large pan or pot–dutch ovens work particularly well here–once hot.
- Drop your meat pieces and a large spoonful of minced garlic into pot/pan and sear for 30 seconds a side.
- Add tomato paste, ketchup, and worcestershire sauce to the pot and cook for 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Add in about 1/8th cup of water–and stir and scrap to remove bits stuck on the bottom of the pan. Bring the contents of the pot/pan to a light simmer.
- Reduce stove temperature to Low, add in heavy cream, and cook for an additional 3-4 more minutes.
The results are similar to a curry or stew in terms of thickness, so you can pair with either rice or noodles; the Brazilians also include french fries on the plate, which may not be a bad idea to emulate if your child hasn’t yet embraced saucy-meat-on-top-of-carbs kinds of meals. We tend to place the stroganoff and the rice or pasta on separate sides of the bowls–not only does it allow our child to decide what bites he wants, it makes for good spoon/fork practice, too.
Pro tip: totally fine, even really smart, to use leftover and/or precooked chicken or beef here–just make the sauce, cut the meat into pieces, and drop it into the pot to warm up. The Eastern European version of stroganoff is basically the same as above, just with mustard instead of the tomato condiments and sour cream instead of heavy cream; sub accordingly if your child prefers the yellow to the red. If you want to add mushrooms to this dish, as is common to stroganoffs in both Brazil and Mitteleuropa, remove your meat after the initial sear, then cook the mushrooms in the pot for 4-5 minutes before returning the meat and adding the ketchup/tomato paste to the pot.
Brad (the Dad) is the founder and Chief Recipe Officer of New Dad's Kitchen. His own cooking/feeding journey started humbly during his son's infancy, preparing and managing his son's bottle intake in order to support his wife; it has since blossomed into a full-on passion to feed his child and family delicious and healthy meals that can satisfy both a toddler and his very tired parents.
