Kid Cook Night

Somehow right after the twins were born Kid Cook Night began at our house. I know the timing is a little odd but I guess we didn't think we had enough to deal with and thought "hey what's one more thing, how much crazier could it possibly get around here?"

Kid Cook Night is supposed to be every Sunday and alternates between Rehm and Charlotte. For their night they get to pick the menu. It must include an entree, side dish, vegetable and fruit. You can not pick the same entree or side dish for an entire month. You must help with the grocery list and shopping and of course with the cooking. Rehm somehow always suckers Michael into agreeing to dessert and then they together convince me. Charlotte seems to get the short end of the stick and doesn't insist on making dessert and isn't as good about reminding us it is Kid Cook Night so sometimes we end up taking a week or two off until we remember again and she has her turn. Of course Rehm tries to use this to his advantage and just skip her but I think we haven't allowed that to happen yet. But I'm not 100% sure. Poor Charlotte I'm afraid she is becoming the typical middle child that is just lost in the shuffle. OK, if you know Charlotte, you know she is never going to let you forget she is around or what she expects from like. Oops, I think this might me a whole different entry for a different day. So where was I? Yes, Kid Cook Night...

Tonight's menu consisted of Pepperoni Crescents, Fettuccine Alfredo (out of a package), baby carrots (raw), canned oranges and chocolate muffins. Yes you guessed it, it was Rehm's turn. I have to say he came down stairs yesterday with the recipe he had printed online and asked to make them. I was proud of his resourcefulness, but knew where it would lead us. As expected it led to an extra trip to the grocery store to get some of the ingredients and lots of extra dirty dishes. I do have to say Michael helped the kids make the muffins so the dirty dishes may or may not be the kids fault...

It seems that Kid Cook Night always leads to a big mess, eating late and lots of dishes to clean up after the kids go to bed. At least when I cook I usually end up with leftovers for another night's dinner. The only thing leftover from tonight is a bunch of muffins that aren't going to help me lose the rest of my baby weight!

But the upside of Kid Cook night is the kids are learning lots of important things in the kitchen from meal planning, to cooking safely, to measuring ingredients. And every once in a while it leads to someone trying something new. The kids really look forward to it and feel a great sense of pride for cooking dinner for the family. So I guess in the end it is worth all of the dishes and spills they leave behind. Now if I could just do something about these chocolate muffins with chocolate chips, icing and sprinkles that are staring me down... I think I'll send them to work with Michael tomorrow.

Off to get ready for tomorrow,
Jenn