NEED TO KNOW
- Mindy Kaling opened her kitchen for fans to watch her cook chicken Milanese on Instagram
- The Office alum was able to sell the dish to her five-year-old by comparing it to a “breaded dino nugget”
- The star is known to be private when it comes to her kids, particularly about when she celebrates her children’s birthdays, keeping them “low key” until five years old
Mindy Kaling is getting creative in the kitchen with her kids.
In an Instagram reel shared on Wednesday, Oct. 15, the Running Point co-creator, 46, cooked her and her children dinner using a simple recipe created by homecook and author Maxine Sharf of Max’s Kitchen.
Mindy Kaling/Instagram
Kaling laid out the ingredients for the chicken Milanese meal, which consisted of breaded over-baked chicken and a salad topped with tomato and parmesan cheese, before she proudly showed off her favorite kitchen gadget: the meat mallet.
The proud mom of three then began to slice the raw chicken breasts in half before she began to pound away. “Some people do this with plastic on top — that’s giving like microplastics to me,” she said as she hit the meat repeatedly. The star then coated the chicken breasts with salt, pepper, flour and an egg wash before putting them on a baking tray and into the oven at 425 degrees for about 15 minutes.
“One thing I love about this recipe is that it’s not fried, and I think it tastes better not fried,” she said. “And even though this looks really complicated, it’s actually so quick and easy.”
In the background of the video, Kaling’s son Spencer, 5, could be heard declaring his hunger as she sliced the tomatoes to add to the salad along with olive oil and shreds of parmesan cheese – which Spencer is seen grabbing a few slices off.
Once the chicken was fully cooked, The Office alum topped the pieces with mozzarella cheese and added them back into the oven for a few minutes to get a cheesy layer. She even got Spencer to try the finished product, selling it to him as a “breaded dino nugget.”
Once she tasted the chicken herself, she stated, almost in shock, “This is the best thing I’ve ever made.”
Mindy Kaling/Instagram
Kaling is the private mom of daughters Anne, 18 months, and Katherine, 7 and son, Spencer, who recently celebrated his fifth birthday with a Back to the Future-themed party complete with a bounce house and a replica of the DeLorean time machine car.
“Happy 5th birthday to the snuggliest, funniest guy ever. Spencer loves monster trucks, hot dogs, Thomas the Tank Engine, donuts, someone scratching his hand, and probably most of all, Back to the Future,” she wrote in an Instagram caption for the birthday tribute. “I love this boy so much, such an original, with such a great sense of humor. “
The futuristic party was a major deal for Kaling and her kids since the star has a rule about extravagant birthday parties before the age of five and keeping them “very lowkey.” She shared the bespoke rule on Jimmy Kimmel Live back in February, where she confessed to feeling “a little guilty” because of it.
“I’m not proud of this, but for the first four years of birthday parties for my kids, I am so cheap,” she told host Jimmy Kimmel at the time. “I don’t invite the hundred people over. It’s just me and my kids and we do something at my dad and stepmom’s house.”
