When I cook, I rarely follow a recipe. I mean… why should I? I find I have way too much fun being creative and doing my own thing!
This past Sunday, I decided to make a dish specifically with my daughter in mind.
She’s not vegan, although for the first six years of her life, she was. And yes, I prepare non-vegan food in our house. As she became older she was interested in trying other things. I let her. She still mainly eats vegetarian/vegan but she likes to mix it up with other things too…
Preparing non-veggie meals shows her that even if she isn’t veggie she can make healthy choices. You just need to make smart food choices. That rule applies to vegetarians/vegan too! Don’t get me started about the number of unhealthy veggies I’ve met.

I started with boneless chicken breasts, and cut it into small pieces. This was set aside in the refrigerator to marinate with a variety of herbs/spices. Hours later I brought it out so I could prepare the meal.
But what to prepare? Hmm…
Initially, I was only going add vegetables directly to the chicken dish, but I realized that I hadn’t made noodles in a while (my daughter loves noodles) and so I decided to prepare penne.

I was going to simple add lightly buttered garlic penne w/herbs to the chicken dish, but I thought it would be much tastier (and richer) if I made a white sauce to compliment the chicken. So… I grabbed some flour, milk, herbal tea, tomatoes, herbs and spices. I combined everything together and let it cook until it had thickened into a rich and thick sauce. My did it smell good!

I served the meal; the chicken was set atop the penne pasta (sorry I forgot to take a picture of that.) The results? My daughter loved it so much that she got a second helping immediately after consuming the first.
Food for dad
Since my mother was working, I made enough to share with my father. Although a man of few words (when it comes to giving compliments about food) he said it was really good!
Just because I don’t eat meat, doesn’t mean I don’t know how to prepare it. I do… 🙂 Although I didn’t eat the chicken, I did have some of the noodles and I must say it was delicious. The next time I prepare penne this way, I believe I’ll add mushrooms, grated carrots, and thinly sliced broccoli.
I was planning on posting pictures of the red bean burgers I’d made. But, I believe I’ll save those for another post. 😉
Oooo….that looks good! I had pasta too – last Saturday night when my daughter was home and we went out for dinner after the sunset service church. It was good too – will blog about it soon.
suituapui recently posted..The best…
@suituapui, It turned out really nice, judging by the comments my daughter and father made the chicken was really good too. I thought about you, when I added the noodles. I see so many noodle dishes on your site and figured it was time I make some more since my daughter loves them so much. 🙂
I look forward to seeing that post!
Aynaria recently posted..Red Kidney beans with brown rice and vegetables; vegan
I prepare SOME non-vegan food as well but I don’t ‘fiddle’ with it. My husband is a strict ‘freezer’ foods type person when it comes to that stuff. Not the healthiest but he is who he is! LOL It usually goes from the package to the oven.
Jennifer recently posted..Tangy Limas with Squash and Tomatoes, Buffalo Black Bean Dip, Wild Week, Pups, and Cousins
@Jennifer, Tastes can change, I imagine if your husband was introduced to healthier options he might end up favoring those. Think of the folks you know that went from eating unhealthy to healthy? I’m guessing some continue to eat that way because they feel better, right?
I can think of a few of my friends, who cleaned up their diet simply by being around me. While they aren’t vegetarian/vegan they cleaned up their act health wise and have made better choices. They say they feel better and some were surprised at how great the food tasted. If a person makes healthier food choices, they most likely will have less health issues later on in life.
Aynaria recently posted..Adventures in Cleansing: Update