Good white sauce is needed for so many different kinds of vegetable, fish and meat dishes, that a child should be taught it at the beginning of her work. Have her melt one tablespoon of butter and stir in one tablespoon of flour. When smooth, add slowly one cup of milk, stirring all the time to keep from getting lumpy. If lumps do form, however, before the child has learned the secret of mixing, she can strain after it has cooked five minutes. Season with quarter-teaspoon of salt and a dash of pepper. For brown sauce, simply brown the flour and butter before adding the milk.
CREAMED CHICKEN
A small quantity of chicken is often left from dinner, yet not enough to serve cold. Let the mother show the child how to cut off every bit of meat from the bones—and she will get more than she expects from wings and necks. But all pieces of fat and skin must be discarded. Then for a hot dish, making a white sauce first, she can stir in the minced chicken, let it cook a few moments, and serve on rounds of buttered toast.
CHICKEN CROQUETTES
Still another way, if the quantity is small, is to add to one cupful of chopped chicken one-half cupful of rolled bread-crumbs, a half cupful of hot milk, two well-beaten eggs, a teaspoonful of chopped parsley, and salt and pepper to taste. This is to be shaped into croquettes, dipped in rolled bread-crumbs, beaten egg, crumbs again, and browned in hot fat.
White sauce served on the side will make it doubly attractive; and if the quantity is still small for the number to be served, it will go farther and be made more savory if garnished with curls of crisp bacon.
CHICKEN SALAD
If a cold dish is desired, let her add an equal amount of finely cut celery, season with salt and pepper, moisten with cooked salad dressing, and she will have a delicious chicken salad. To be particularly nice, however, she should use only the white meat.
Our little cook should be taught the first thing how to make a good salad dressing, for into a salad it is almost always possible to turn the left-overs that otherwise might be thrown out. Only one other thing (soup) will use up as many scraps in making nourishing as well as appetizing dishes.
BOILED SALAD DRESSING