Summer Chefs

 Its been literally years since I've posted here, but I thought, it is 2020 and everything is a little wonky so why not.

Most Tuesdays this summer I had one of the kids plan and prepare supper.  They each did it three times.  It didn't have to be a new recipe, but just something to get them more comfortable in the kitchen.  They are making a cookbook of their successes and so they'll have it as a reference later on in life.  Here are some of their creations:

Jake made Orange Chicken like Panda Express.  He used this recipe as a guide.  It was really good and we all voted that he can keep it in the rotation.

Trey's first meal was very involved.  It was tasty, but trying three new recipes was a bit adventuresome.

He made sweet potato fries with fry sauce, Chow Mein noodles, and sesame chicken salad, all Pioneer Woman recipes.

Jake made pigs in the blanket and then a baked beans recipe that is loaded with yummy-ness.  It could seriously be a meal in itself.  He also made caramel brownies, but they didn't stay around long enough to get a picture of them.

Kyle wanted to make a fancy salad.  We had to grill the corn and peppers and he had to do lots of chopping.  This is also a Pioneer Woman recipe.

He also made pesto sauce with fresh basil from our garden to add to some pasta.  He also used our raspberries to make a fancy raspberry lemonade.

Jake learned how to grill hamburgers.

Trey made breakfast burritos.

Kyle made copycat Chick-fil-A nuggets with a honey mustard dip, zucchini fries, and mango, peach, and banana smoothie.

At another meal, he made us his favorite, meatloaf.

Then he tried a peanut butter pretzel no-bake bar that I thought was fabulous.  They were so rich.

I can't remember what Trey made to go with these chocolate chip scones, but it doesn't really matter because these stole the show.  He didn't much care for them, but the rest of us thought they were great.  Again, a Pioneer Woman recipe.

I'd say it was a successful summer of cooking.  I did have to help with some meals more than others.  It got the kids involved in meal planning, grocery list making, and using the kitchen.  It also saved me from having to think of something to make at least one day a week.  Next summer we are going to add the actual grocery shopping to the repertoire of activity so they are more comfortable with where things are and how to shop.