Getting started...

Crush the crackers for crumbs...

Bathe the chicken in the sauce...

Look Mom! I made dinner!

Looking pretty good...

One day your son will cook a meal and someone else is going to pay a LOT of $$$$ to eat it...watch out Jamie Oliver

Those chicken strips look awesome! Good job, Little Dude! (Dang! He is cute!)

Linda

Chicken Fingers with Dipping Sauce

1 TBSP vegetable oil (used parchment paper instead)
40 soda crackers (didn't have them so used saltine crackers)
1/3 cup mayo
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

Dipper sauce:
3 TBSP ketchup
3 TBSP plum sauce (we used mayo)
1 tsp soy sauce (just two drops of Tabaso sauce)

1) Preheat oven to 400F; oil baking sheet with the oil; set aside

2) Place crackers in plastic bag; roll over firmly with a rolling pin until crackers are in fine crumbs. Should be about 1-1/2 Cup. Pour into pie plate.

3) Scrape mayo into medium bowl.

4) Cut chicken crosswise into 4 or 5 strips; pat dry with paper towels; Add to bowl of mayo; using tongs, turn to coat strips evenly all over.

5) Transfer chicken strips, one at a time, to cracker crumbs, turning and patting crumbs all over chicken. Arrange strips so they don't touch on baking sheet.

6) Bake for 15 min. Flip chicken pieces over then bake for another 15 - 20 min. or until coating is golden and crisp and chicken is no longer pink inside.

7) Dipping sauce: Measure ketchup, plum sauce and soy sauce into small bow. Stir with spoon. Place in center of serving platter. Arrange chicken strips around bowl.

SharonCb

When we were all at home, everyone (daughter, son, hubby) each got to plan and execute a supper once a week, which is why they can all cook now. Wish we would have had a GT Xpress 101 back then (LOL). "Gadgets" increase the fun level - especially for me, the gadget lover.

Maybe you can glean some more recipes for your handsome man at the link below - Kids a Cookin'.

I made a recipe of Perfect Pumpkin Pancakes found at Kids a Cookin' for Halloween breakfast last week (used spelt flour and a little less milk than the recipe called for and froze the extra pancakes - I also froze the extra pumpkin from the can for future use). Little guy might like making the recipe for Hooked on Salmon Sticks, which are similar to the chicken strips and might adapt to being cooked in the GT Xpress 101.

-Grainlady

Keep him going! (he'll probably someday have to take the equivalent of Home ec he'll be ready!)

Grainlady, Thanks for the website.

Ann

Lee

Learning to cook is a very good thing, too.

But I just have to ask, what is the difference between soda crackers and saltines?

I always thought they were one and the same.

Rusty

Sharon

PS: Very different looking counter in the "getting started" pic vs "Look I made dinner" pic! LOL

Congrats to him and you!

I wish our schedules would settle down so we could take the time for the boys to cook a night...

I want to take advantage of his new found interest and run with it. We have decided that he would continue to make breakfast for his dad when he feels like it then dinner once a week, mostly Sunday. If he's up to it, maybe one easy dessert during the week.

I got hubby hooked on bread making and now little man cooking, think I am ready to retire! LOL

Pat, I guess the Xpress is sort of like a grill with much less capacity. We like it because it's small and very portable, just about the right size for a 7-year-old to handle.

Karen, thanks for the link again. We have it bookmarked and have been checking it from time to time. We haven't tried out any of their recipes yet but I am sure we soon will.

Rusty, I believe you're right about soda crackers = saltine crackers. Here in Canada (at least the part where we live) soda cracker is an ethnic food that has a different look and taste. They are bigger, fluffier and have no salt on the surface. The recipe definitely calls for saltine crackers because when little man finished crushing the crumbs, it turned out just the right amount. If we had used the "soda crackers" found in the Asian store, we would end up having way too much crumbs.

Chase, I noticed the difference too! LOL

Thanks again everyone. Your comments definitely reassure his positive experience at first attempt. I greatly appreciate it.

Annie

I do think he has now joined the CF by making dinner.

Peppi

Sally