Bengal Tiger Chicken

I'm a firm believer in the "try one bite" rule of eating. Some child-rearing professionals proclaim that approach to food can scar children and create power struggles. Whatever! If the child doesn't like the food, then stop forcing it. If you don't, that truly could cause psychological damage. If no one tried a new food, we'd all still be drinking mother's milk and call it done with that. Personally, not something I'm even remotely interested in doing.

Our daughter is 21 months old and eats chicken enchiladas, Tikka Masala, curry chicken, and whatever else we put in front of her. Does she reject some things? Sure. But she typically tries everything that we give her.... the degree of success varies moment by moment. For example, we gave her teriyaki chicken a few months ago and it came out as soon as it went it. OK, she doesn't like it... or didn't like it then, but we'll give it a go again in a few months to see if she changes her mind.

Last night, she tried Bengal Tiger Chicken and coconut rice and seemed to like both quite a bit. She REALLY liked the naan, however. My husband and I were perpetually asked for "toast!" (All bread is "toast" right now.) I got this chicken recipe I from my sister, who is a nurse and mother of four and one of the busiest people I know. If she has time to whip up a recipe, I know I do, too.

Bengal Tiger Chicken
8 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I use 4 because we simply don't need 8, but the original recipe calls for 8)
1 c. mayonnaise
1 tsp. curry powder
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 c. bread crumbs (my sister's recipe calls for seasoned, but I used plain last night and it was great, too)
1 c. parmesan cheese
2 T butter (melted)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Spray a 9x13 baking dish with non-stick spray and place chicken in the pan, overlapping the pieces as needed.
3. In a medium bowl (I use a cereal bowl), stir the mayonnaise, curry powder, and cream of mushroom soup until well mixed. Pour the soup mixture over the chicken.
4. Bake (uncovered) for 40 minutes.
5. In another medium bowl (a bit bigger than our cereal bowls was needed this time), combine bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, and melted butter. Stir until well combined.
6. Spread bread crumb mixture over the chicken. Return to oven for another 20 minutes.

This chicken goes very well with naan and coconut rice. (Stay tuned for the coconut rice recipe.)