Mini Pizzas

I love getting the kids involved in dinnertime prep, and one evening we had mini pizzas on the menu. I made the pizza dough and cooked up sausage and bacon, and we also had pepperoni, olives and mushrooms. We noticed that Finley is definitely a meat lover.

 Selecting the toppings and arranging them just right on their pizzas is a very serious job.

 Their pizzas, all ready to go in the oven.

The kids had a lot of fun with this and can't wait to do it again!

Strawberry Shortcake

After IJ made strawberry shortcake in class at the mother's day party, we got the supplies so he could make it at home. Sareny and Isaac took turns cutting the angel food cake.

 I am pretty sure Finley girl was sleeping while this activity was occuring.

Then Isaac made a dessert for Daddy and Sareny made a dessert for me, and of course they made one for themselves too.

They made a pretty yummy dessert, and they are always so proud when they get to help make things!

If you want your kids to eat dinner...

 have them help make it!

I needed to make a tinfoil dinner for a young women's activity I was going to, so obviously that's what everybody in our house was going to eat that night. The only problem--none of the kids like potatoes or cooked carrots so I could imagine how big this dinner was going to go over. I came up with the solution of involving them in the preparation and letting them assemble and fold their own meals. They thought it was great fun.

 Even writing their name on their meal involved some fancy artwork.

Look how thrilled they are!

I still wasn't convinced they were going to actually eat the food, but Keith said that night they were all exclaiming how good it was, and they have since asked me when we are having tinfoil dinners again. I call that a success!

Chef Isaac

 When it was Isaac's turn to cook, he of course selected Orange Chicken. He used the big knife to cut some of the chicken before turning the task over to me.

 Again though, I am surprised at their willingness to touch raw chicken.

Me and my boy had fun together in the kitchen! I told Isaac he needed to wear an apron, and he put this football jersey on over his clothes. Backwards.

 Isaac showing us a crucial ingredient--garlic.

I love this picture! Isaac showing us how to press out the garlic. You can tell that he is trying really hard! His orange chicken turned out really good. Isaac loves helping in the kitchen. Every day when it's time to make dinner, he asks me who's turn it is to help. So he has ended up helping me make several dinners, just because he was around when it was time to prep it, and it has seriously amazed me how much more he likes the dinner when he helped prepare it.

Cooking with Finley

Mrs. Santa brought Sareny a Rachel Ray kid's cookbook for New Years this year, and the kids have been having a lot of fun helping make dinner. Sareny was the first kid cook, and she chose Mexican Rice Bowls, which were delicious. I didn't get any pictures of that, so next time she helps, I'll have to take some. The cookbook had a section for 4-7 year olds, and Finley chose Chicken Toes. They were kind of like chicken nuggets.

Finley had a lot of fun mixing up the crumbs and cutting the chicken. I was really surprised by how willing she was to get her hands dirty and touch the raw chicken. She did great, and it was a fun experience. I have learned a lot by getting my kids involved in dinner making--they are proud of their new skills and are much more likely to eat the dinner than if I had made it by myself. It takes some patience because, lets face it, it would certainly be easier, quicker, and less messy for me to take over and do it by myself. But I think the resulting skills they are learning and the sense of ownership they feel over the meal is worth it!