Cailin has been asking to cook dinner one night a week for a few months, and I promised her in the summer I would gladly let her. I assumed by the time school was out she would have forgotten, but picked up a Family Fun cookbook at the library just in case. Sure enough, she was eager to get started in the kitchen, and chose stir fried steak and veggies with brownies for dessert. Wednesday we went to the grocery store, recipe in hand, and selected red pepper, fresh ginger, snow peas, flank steak, and even oyster sauce (not a staple in my pantry!). As soon as we got home, she proudly started cooking... and cutting. Trust me, I prayed a lot while she was in the kitchen! Please ignore the counter tops; I pretend they are granite and my husband doesn't want anyone to burst my imaginary bubble, lest he have to actually replace them.
Voila! Here she is with the delicious fruit of her labor. Daddy is thrilled to have dinner at home instead of a restaurant, and I was thrilled that the girls both devoured the meal- oyster sauce and all. Maybe there is hope that we will expand our horizons beyond chicken nuggets for every meal!
A close up - she was so proud I truly thought she was going to dance to the table. Yes, she has streaks of color in her hair, and no, I don't typically allow the girls to dye their hair. However, they have several packets of washable hair color from Justice and I figure summer is the perfect time to use it up. Can you tell I am feeling defensive? The children's pastor at church greeted me today by saying, "Does your daughter have blue and pink streaks in her hair? I knew you were her mother!" To which I
wanted to reply, "How? Do the
blonde streaks in mine give me away?" He is actually a sweet gentleman and was only trying to make a connection, so I just laughed and listened as he repeated a story she had shared at VBS. I love that girl and her independent style... she is my world changer!
Never to be outdone, little sister Cassidy decided she wanted to make dinner on Thursday nights. Daddy embraced the idea of two home cooked meals in one week, so once again, off we went to pick up the ingredients needed. Cassidy spent the morning prior looking through several of my cookbooks and insisted on making something we hadn't made before. Mexican lasagna was the winner, followed with funfetti cupcakes for dessert. I am loving her tie dye shirt from VBS... we are just a colorful family, aren't we?
Here is her yummy creation, which will be a tough act to follow. I'm hoping this new passion sticks around until next week so we can get a few more hot meals at home!
Now, if I could only get them this excited about doing the dishes, too.
Voila! Here she is with the delicious fruit of her labor. Daddy is thrilled to have dinner at home instead of a restaurant, and I was thrilled that the girls both devoured the meal- oyster sauce and all. Maybe there is hope that we will expand our horizons beyond chicken nuggets for every meal!
A close up - she was so proud I truly thought she was going to dance to the table. Yes, she has streaks of color in her hair, and no, I don't typically allow the girls to dye their hair. However, they have several packets of washable hair color from Justice and I figure summer is the perfect time to use it up. Can you tell I am feeling defensive? The children's pastor at church greeted me today by saying, "Does your daughter have blue and pink streaks in her hair? I knew you were her mother!" To which I wanted to reply, "How? Do the blonde streaks in mine give me away?" He is actually a sweet gentleman and was only trying to make a connection, so I just laughed and listened as he repeated a story she had shared at VBS. I love that girl and her independent style... she is my world changer!
Never to be outdone, little sister Cassidy decided she wanted to make dinner on Thursday nights. Daddy embraced the idea of two home cooked meals in one week, so once again, off we went to pick up the ingredients needed. Cassidy spent the morning prior looking through several of my cookbooks and insisted on making something we hadn't made before. Mexican lasagna was the winner, followed with funfetti cupcakes for dessert. I am loving her tie dye shirt from VBS... we are just a colorful family, aren't we? 
Here is her yummy creation, which will be a tough act to follow. I'm hoping this new passion sticks around until next week so we can get a few more hot meals at home!
Now, if I could only get them this excited about doing the dishes, too.
6 comments:
Now how old are your girls? I just go through telling my 8 year old that she needs to learn some more recipes b/c by the time she's 12 I want to be able to get sick and have her take care of the kitchen start to finish.
How nice to eat in--I wouldn't complain about dishes if someone else was cooking. I promise I wouldn't!!! (maybe)
This was so cute. I have a son that is 14 and he just has NO desire to get into the kitchen. My daughter,on the other hand, is 7and is just itching to get her hands in there...
I wonder if it is instinctive.. I remember loving it
Loved this.. such a cute family..Kayce
My niece made dinner for us the first night she stayed here. It was so nice! Looking forward to my girls doing that someday. For now, it's just plastic knives for my little monkeys. =)
My girl (9 1/2) is actually taking a cooking class at the Y this week, and doing a 2 day "Top Chef" course at the local community college later this summer. She loves to cook. Last week, I came home to a dinner she'd made all by herself (tacos). I could get used to this!
And, BTW, I LUV the color! I'd totally let my girl to that, and I'm usually pretty conservative. Summer is about breaking out of the normal routine.
Awesome! My dtr is 10 and she wants to cook, too. It's so hard for me to let go of my controlling attitude in the kitchen, but--thanks God--I was able to for a bit, and taught her how to make scrambled eggs for pigs in a blanket. She also then got creative and made a yogurt dip for fruit.
Now, about the clean up... ;)
Thanks for stopping by my blog, and I'm thrilled you're thinking of participating. :)
You might need to post the mexican lasagna recipe b/c it's making me hungry!
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