kids cook once a month!

Winged_one

DD, aged 4, helps a lot in the kitchen already. She helps measure and add ingredients when baking, and mixing things, and pouring into tins. But she's started wanting to do more everyday cooking too in the past few months.

So now, she'll chop mushrooms, find ingredients in cupboards, stir, pour, whisk, mash spuds etc. She gets up on her step (or ask to be lifted up if we're feeling energetic) to see what's happening on the cooker, but we don't let her AT the cooker yet.

It won't be long before she is preparing a meal entirely for us - but I do like the budgeting aspect too.

Agapanthus

When our youngest was ten, I went back to work full time and we asked each of our three children to cook the family meal one night a week. They could choose the menu, but the rule was that they had to provide something that everybody would eat and at a time that would suit all the various social arrangements. We supervised and advised, but they did the actual cooking.

They started off with simple stuff: ready made pizza, oven chips and frozen peas was where the youngest one started, but even getting that all on the table at the same time is a bit of a challenge when you're starting off and you're only ten.

Within a very few weeks, however, they had all decided that they were going to cook properly and were competing with each other to produce the best meal. Their siblings were their harshest critics. They each developed a specialism - my son made wonderful curries, I remember. They're all grown up now - and they're all really good cooks.

tiff

I read the Tesco mag too and thought its something my 12 year old son would enjoy. I think spag bol is a great first meal. Not too much could go wrong apart from burning the lot lol

Buddingblonde

The first meal I ever learnt to make was scone based pizzas - everyone in the family had an individual one made on an oven tray and everyone could choose there own topping. I think I would have been about 11/12.

helenhugs

All my children help me cook & my 12 year old can cook a few things on his own now. When I got with my hubby mummy did everything for him, theres no way I want that for my children. Teach them early & get them involved. it's the best thing for them. Next step will be teaching the 12 year old to use the washing machine.
Hugs
Helen

Curious_George_2

like i said she has always helped me cook, she chops, stirs, and does most of it when it comes to baking
but has never cooked the whole meal... she has never picked whats for dinner and had to buy ingredients, never actually put a plate of food of her own food the table

im just glad shes looking forward to it so much

Alison_Funnell

When I was little apart from 'helping' with mixing cakes and things (very little then) I used to have the jobs of mixing the gravy powder and custard powder, don't think the instant stuff existed in the 70's - well apart from Instant Whip!

Then as I got older I was allowed to cook the gravy and custard as well and progressed from there.

Love the idea of getting children involved in cooking earlier in life. Essential life skill.

Crisp_£_note

Fab idea and one my own parents used for me although I must admit I didnt keep it up when I left home

Shepherds pie or cottage pie are always easy options especialy to include some of the 5 a day what with sweetcorn, peas, carrotts, onions, courgette, swede, etc (not forgetting that the potato topping isnt classed as one) the spuds can be done in a variety of ways such as traditional mash, sliced, chipped thinly with a peeler then latticed on the top alternatively you could have root veg mash (carrot and swede or Parsnip and carrot) or a different topping like sliced courgette or parsnips. Then theres the mash alternatives like mash with cabbage or cheese mixed in or garlic mash. A quick lunch shepherds pie is mince with peas carrots onions and sweetcorn veg in a jacket spud (either normal potato or sweet potato) The list is endless once the imagination in ~ and thats just mince n spuds veggie or non veggie as quorn mince is now available!

Theres so many easy ideas that are adaptable with inspiration. Rice is another easy alternative. Stir fry introduced me to more exotic veg n fruit, curry to a lot of spices, and I was often given a challenge with adding fruit somehow.

My favourite though was the storecupboard challenge some successful some not :rotfl:

Today its a bit simpler I think what with the vegie alternatives to meat (Quorn etc) in my younger days it was meat or no meat

Best of luck and keep us updated with the culinary delights we could all do with some fresh ideas im sure.

:T

weezl74

hiya CG

how about scone based pizza? The customising with HM tomato sauce and everyone's fave toppings was the bit I loved at DDs age.

weezl x

midnightraven3

my daughter recently saw an advert (she tells me!)
for some sort of pastry type pizza "thing"

she got puff pastry, rolled it out
scored a frame, and inside the frame placed some cheese, sprinkled a few herbs
and then placed on various chopped vegetables, peppers mushrooms corn & courgettes & onion, all tiny & sauted 1st, placed on the cheese, in the oven, voila

they were delicious, hot & cold
that may be a good idea for your daughter, lots of prep, creative, different, and technically easy, and she can be as creative as she wants with toppings, and its easy to cater for individual needs, one daughter hates mushrooms, so she just ommitted and put on baby plum tomatoes, halved on hers
its a good way to use up "bits" of veg left over from a previous meal too