Tuesday, March 23, 2010

TITUS 2-SDAY - KIDS IN THE KITCHEN

Okay, I've got one more post about kids and food, and then we'll take a break from this topic for a while. Today's idea actually comes from a sweet friend who stepped in with a suggestion once that helped save my sanity. Katherine's advice? "Every one of your kids should have a signature meal."

What an awesome idea! Kids love to cook, and they are much more capable in the kitchen than you might imagine. What a blessing for them to be able to serve their family, and what a blessing for Mom to have some pinch hitters come dinner time!

Tonight, our ten-year-old is cooking spaghetti for dinner. That's a great dinner for younger kids to prepare - not a lot of ingredients or complicated instructions. Our fourteen-year-old daughter, on the other hand, will fearlessly tackle new recipes and complicated menus. She gives me a list of ingredients before our weekly shopping trip, then cooks a fabulous meal for the family on Saturday nights. One of the boys specializes in venison chili, and another has mastered potato soup and focaccia bread.

If your kids are too young to prepare an entire meal themselves, maybe they can help with a particular side dish. I remember as a little girl progressing from making the iced tea to making a tossed salad and then to baking biscuits. Plan a kid-friendly dish or meal, and let your kids start cooking today!

2 comments:

Niki said...

This is a great idea! I'll have to remember it when Alexis gets bigger.

Ginny B said...

It is a good idea, and my kids LOVE to help me cook..Savannah has helped from frying the french fries in the deep fryer, to cooking hamburgers, homemade pizza etc. They help alot in the kitchen. Dalton now has a interest in cooking, and cooks a great fried egg (when he wants fried egg sandwich for lunch).