Meet Parker

So far you've seen a few things I've made here at Making it with Meleyna. The best thing that's come out of making it with me?

Awwww. That's Parker. You'll hear about him a lot.

So he eats a lot. He'll eat a bowl of oatmeal, a whole banana, and a sippy of whole milk and be whining at the fridge 20 minutes later for Goldfish. Which I have to keep on top of the fridge because he will help himself if they're in the pantry. Look, photographic evidence.


Because he likes to eat, I really do try to give him the best food that I can. Though I admit to making grilled cheese or nuking frozen turkey meatballs, I do my best to make something other than typical "kid food." He eats a lot of that at day care, and I personally feel its a small effort to throw something decent together when we're at home. I get home from work anywhere from 5:30 to 6:30 depending on the day, so I'm proof its not impossible to get decent food on the table/high chair tray at a decent hour. And unless I've made a big pot of curry or soup or something, he generally gets something made especially for him. So stop being lazy and get your ass in the kitchen.

Due to him having a fever, I didn't go to work Friday. Despite this fact, dinnertime was still a rush, as we were down the street at the little park area until about six. (What, don't you go to the park when you're sick?) I opened up the pantry for inspiration, and see a bottle of Marsala staring back at me. Poor little baby had been used once probably about eight months ago, and got lost in the shuffle of assorted vinegars and oils. Chicken marsala, anyone? Ha, guess what little man? You don't really have a choice. As my mother always said, "You eat it, and you like it."

So I started by slicing up some adorable little cremini mushrooms I had picked up earlier that day. See?


Not exactly even slices, but despite my appearance, I'm actually not flawless. Crazy. So I added these to a hot pan I lubed up with about a tablespoon total of both olive oil and butter. I tossed it around to coat all those beautiful little fungi with the fat and left it alone for a bit to pick up some color. Meanwhile, I diced up some thigh meat from a leftover roast chicken, and minced a garlic clove. After the mushrooms were nice and toasty brown, I added the chicken along with a stripped sprig of thyme. Salt and pepper, and then a good glug of both marsala and chicken broth. And by chicken broth I mean I sprinkled a bit of bouillon over everything and added a bit of hot tap water. I didn't add the garlic in the beginning so as to avoid burning over the high heat, but I meant to add it before I deglazed. But I forgot. So I added after the liquid. Life goes on. I let the liquid cook down a bit, tasted, added a touch more salt, and went to the fridge to get the leftover cooked pasta from the night before. Except then I remembered I had left it sitting the colander and it got all dry and nasty and I had tossed it. A quick scan of the fridge produced leftover canned diced new potatoes from breakfast. (These things are seriously perfect. Diced teeny-tiny and already cooked.) I added them to the pan off the heat and let the residual heat warm them up while also cooling the rest to a palatable temperature of lukewarm.

I think the blue plastic spoon adds a nice splash of color.

So what was the kiddie verdict? He ate the first couple of bites I fed to him, but once left to his own devices, he wanted nothing to do with it. Wait, that's a lie, it was apparently really exciting to dump it on his tray and then rub his hands in his hair. It was obviously delicious, and he ate a couple of bites, so my reasoning is that he still wasn't feeling great and still wasn't up for eating. Obviously it wasn't my cooking. So I packed it up and put it in the fridge for a later day. I emphatically did not stand over his high chair tray and pick out all the mushrooms and give the rest to the dog. Who would do that?

This huge effort I made took all of 22 minutes. With a toddler literally trying to push you out of the kitchen to go back to the park. And even though he didn't eat it, I got a lovely little mushroom appetizer. And really, if your kid didn't finish this, would you really be picking at his leftovers?