A Fast and Delicious Weeknight Supper

I'm not going to be like all the food bloggers and make you scroll for five minutes before finding the recipe. I'll give you the recipe right away and then if you wish to read about how I've come to love food from all over the world, you can keep scrolling. 

INGREDIENTS:

chicken breasts, cut into strips and seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and paprika

one bell pepper 

one onion

rice, cooked according to directions

one jar tikka masala sauce (Aldi)

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Fry chicken strips in pan until fully cooked.

2. Toss cooked chicken strips in tikka masala sauce.

3. Saute peppers and onions.

4. Serve chicken, peppers, and onions over cooked rice.

5. Marvel at how fast you just made supper. 

Recently, Chad and I were talking about how I've come to love food. All food. Any food. Every food. Seriously, I can't even think of one food that I will refuse to eat. Yes, there are several I don't really love but if it was served to me I could eat it without blinking twice. Oh wait, I do refuse to eat what my husband calls "cocoa bread." If you know, you know. I'm not even explaining it because it should not even be considered food.

Back to the story. As Chad and I discussed food I realized that my love of different flavors started in one place, my grandparent's kitchen. My Grandpa worked in Washington D.C. and he and Grandma traveled all over the world during my childhood. Wherever they went, they brought home the most interesting foods. Ramen that was so spicy we couldn't even eat it. Tiny drinkable yogurts with labels in Spanish. Cheese from Switzerland that made the whole kitchen reek. (Also, chocolate from Switzerland that made you wonder if that was angels you heard singing.) When I graduated, he took me and my best friend to a Thai restaurant that served the whole fish right on your plate. When I was six, he bought me an egg roll from a hole-in-the-wall Chinese place. It was the best egg roll I've ever eaten. If you spent the day with Grandpa, you were much more likely to eat Chinese than a burger.

And that is why, when I saw tikka masala sauce at Aldi, I threw it in my cart with much enthusiasm (and a few prayers that my family would like it.) Tikka masala is an Indian dish and it has a little bit of heat to it. Shiloh didn't love the chicken but she ate enough peppers and onions to make up for it. The rest of us devoured it. I don't expect my girls to love everything the first time they try it. I simply hope to raise children who are excited to experience all the flavors the world has to offer. Tikka masala served in my very American kitchen is one way to do that.