Cooking with Kids – Taco Night!
I remember being in the kitchen with my mom when I was a kid. My mom is an amazing cook/baker. She identifies with the Italian side the most and can make just about anything. I was not so hot in the cooking department growing up. I was burned on my knee pretty badly when I was little so I stayed away from the stove just because I was afraid of the heat. I literally set the toaster on fire making toast AND set the toaster oven on fire making pizza bagels. I was a disaster….until, I was on my own. I moved out at age 20 and then I didn’t really have a choice but to figure it out. Ten years later here we are and I must say I have come a long way. I love to cook and I’m pretty good at it now.
My daughter loves to help out in the kitchen which is a positive thing but of course I am like a contestant on the food channel when it comes to making dinner. I am always doing things fast and don’t really have time to have my daughter help with anything when I can get it done quickly. When she goes over to my mom’s house she is able to help my mom in the kitchen and loves sending me pictures of the recipes they make. I guess I started feeling badly so I have been introducing her more and more into the kitchen at home. I started out my letting her put the seasoning on the chicken breasts, and stirring potatoes or washing veggies in the sink. She’s adorable in the kitchen and really enjoys it. I decided to let her help me make dinner. She’s 8 now and has shown me that she can be responsible enough to take her time and follow directions.
A family favorite in our house is Taco Night! Super easy to make and I love how fresh tasting they are. I crave them almost every week.
First we got out the aprons and washed our hands. I was pretty impressed that my daughter remembered to wash her hands before cooking. Now, with tacos there really isn’t very many components to it so it was an effort to make sure she had enough to do. She started by putting the cheese in a bowl, and washing the lettuce for me after I chopped it.
I didn’t want her to touch the raw meat so after I put the meat in the pan and it started to brown, she added all the seasoning to it and stirred it around.
I chopped the tomatoes, and since sour cream is as easy as opening the container and putting a spoon in it, she pretty much just brought all that stuff to the table. She helped me put the taco shells in the oven and pretty soon we were done. She was so excited to see the finished product. Such a simple meal for a child to help make, I already have the wheels turning on the next mommy-daughter dinner night.
What are some of your favorite meals for your kids to help with in the kitchen??
Best,
The Hot Mess Mom
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17 Comments
Sahana
That is great to have kids at the kitchen. Her face shows how much she has enjoys helping you.Great job. Thank you for linking up with us at the Home matters party.We would love to have you again on next wednesday.
The Hot Mess Mom
Thanks so much! Glad to hear from you =)
The Mad Mommy
It’s so great to see kids in the kitchen!
The Hot Mess Mom
I totally agree! I was apprehensive at first she really loves it.
Bonnie @ Our Secondhand House
It is so hard for me to let my son help in the kitchen. I feel like I’m more patient with him if we are both learning a new recipe. If it’s an old recipe I know by heart, I tend to just tell him what to do instead of us working together to make something. Tacos is a great meal for kids to help with. Stopping by from the Home Matters Linky Party.
~Bonnie
The Hot Mess Mom
Thanks so much for reading! And I totally agree about the kitchen. That’s why I started out with tacos because it’s so easy for her to help without driving me crazy lol =) She really is great in the kitchen so I’ll be taking advantage of that as a mommy daughter thing for us.
ace1028
Perfect timing, last night I told my daughter she could make dinner tonight. Actually, I said she could help, but she wants to make it. I love this post and your kiddo looks really happy!
The Hot Mess Mom
That’s great!! How did it go? I love that she wants to help so much but I need to embrace it more. Things like seasoning chicken, putting pasta in the water, washing anything, and stirring are great things that the kids can do while your doing the chopping and oven stuff. Glad to hear from you =)
aimee fauci
I love cooking with my kids and helping them learn the basics of cooking. It really prepares them for their future.
The Hot Mess Mom
That’s what my mom did with me constantly. I am learning to do that with my kids now. The more time they spend in the kitchen the more independent they will be in cooking when they get older =) Thanks for reading!
Vashti@veepeejay.com
It’s so great that she’s learning to cook. I used to love cooking with my Mom
The Hot Mess Mom
Me too!! I don’t have as much patience as my mom did which is why I didn’t have my daughter in the kitchen earlier but she’s 8 now and she’s more careful now which is good.
Louida (@MissLouMae)
My kids are in the kitchen helping to cook when we bake cookies.
The Hot Mess Mom
Cookies are a great thing to have kids help with….easy and so much fun for them. Thanks for sharing!!
Paris
I enjoy having my daughter help in the kitchen sometimes it takes longer, or we have bigger messes but I love the experience and what she is learning.
The Hot Mess Mom
I feel the same way. At first I was feeling frustrated because I couldn’t cook the meal as fast as I usually do but I would rather cater the meal around having her cook with me as opposed to not having her in the kitchen at all. Thanks so much for sharing!! =)
The Hot Mess Mom
I completely agree! Thanks for reading =)