It's 6:00 p.m. The white van pulls into the garage. The motor stops. The RACE IS ON!
Mother and two children leap from car. Jockeying to lead, the three race to the door. Who will be first to get it unlocked? Who ever's first will have the future advantage.
Oh NO! 5-year-old Dave unlocked the door letting 9-year-old Lauren slip pass into the kitchen! One-handed, she swings open the cupboard door and begins searching for snack food.
Frantic mom overtakes her and races to crock pot! She cries," Look dinner's here! It's ready! It's ready NOW!"
Lauren is pulling out packaged granola bars. Dave's grabbing Ritz crackers.
Mom cries, "Put those back! Dinner will be on the table as soon as your hands are washed!"
Disbelieving children scrutinize their mother's sincerity. "Can she really serve dinner before I can open this flavorful, pre-packaged snack?" They consider their options. Ingest pre-packaged snacks and get full belly, happy tongue, and Mother's wrath. Or put down snack food and wash hands to prepare for unknown meal from crock pot. Heavy decisions for ones so young.
Spectators might wager that the pre-packaged, pretty snack foods have the advantage in this race to feed hungry children. Children already know how delicious the snacks are; they've eaten them before. These snacks are packed with chemical ingredients scientifically-shown to tantalize the tongue. And they are encased in pretty packaging designed by Ph. D. psychologists to induce selection. In a beauty contest, the snacks are hands-down winners. The children also know that anything could be in that crock pot.
But the crock pot has a secret weapon: flavorful aroma. Mother knows that smell triggers salivation faster than sight. As soon as that kitchen door bursts open, the aroma from the crock pot invades the nostrils like marines storming beaches.
But the next move is Mom's. Can she do it? Can she dish up dinner as fast as the children can wash their hands? They're washing speed is increasing as they age. Mom will have to go for the burn.
YES! SHE DOES IT! Crock-pot BBQ chicken is served before a snack is consumed. Healthy eating wins!!!!
This family's contest is similar to the World Series, but worse. It's not best out of 5; it's best out of 18 years.
Click on "Continue reading..." for an easy crock pot recipe for barbecue chicken that will help you win the race.
The morning of our contest, I washed and skinned four chicken quarters (legs and thighs) and put them in the crock pot. Then I mixed up Maple Acres Barbecue Sauce. (I got the recipe off the Wisconsinmade.com recipe page.) I didn't cook the sauce but just poured it over the chicken. I turned the crock pot on low and left it alone. Super easy!
I took the time to make my own barbecue sauce rather than pour in a sauce from a jar because the kids and I haven't agreed on a packaged sauce that we all like. But we all like this one. It's full of flavor for me and slightly sweet for them. I don't mind making it. It only takes 5 minutes. The reward is that everyone eats the chicken when its covered in this sauce.
Sometimes the morning is too rushed to put dinner in a crock pot. In that case, stock the cupboards with healthy snacks that are nearly as nutritious as dinner and you won't mind the kids eating.
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