Here are a few highlights of the kids in the kitchen on Tuesday!

Elias and Justus made scrambled eggs completely by themselves. They made a great team!

You should have heard Justus (the professional egg scrambler) explaining to Elias the way to scramble eggs… It was SO cute!

For lunch, the boys made Shepherd’s Pie. Justus and Asa peeled the potatoes…

And Justus started browning the meat.

Elias and Malachi helped mix the soup and veggies into the pot of meat.

And Elias whipped the potatoes.

Then, each boy made a “personal” Shepherd’s Pie. (Sorry for the smudge on the bottom left of the picture…I SO needed to wipe off my lense! Also, can you tell that I had different aged guys putting on their potatoes? Who do you think did the one on the top right?!)

For dinner, the boys helped me make Chicken Tortilla Soup. Justus used the food processor to chop up the tomatoes and chili peppers.

Asa poured in the chicken broth.

Malachi added the chicken and the corn.

Everyone got to help tear up tortillas…

And, YUM…you have to try this soup that they made!!!! It is so good!!

Allright…the dishes are done and the boys are off duty for the night! See ya tomorrow!

This week…my kids are going to be doing most of the work in the kitchen (while I lie out back in a hammock sipping lemonade…). 

(Oh, that is so funny…)

They are so excited to be put in charge this week! And they are learning so much! Each day this week I’ll be sharing the things I’m teaching them… It is SO important to start ’em young!!

Here’s a look at what my kids did in the kitchen on Monday!

Elias was the first one awake…so he got to mix up the pancakes…he loves getting egg slime all over his hands… ;)

Asa did great cooking his pancakes…he added blueberries just before turning them over…YUM!

Justus got a little frustrated that his pancakes didn’t turn out pretty…but I assured him that they would taste great on his plate as a Great Pancake Pile Plop… He agreed.

After breakfast while the big boys were upstairs working on their journals, Malachi helped me make Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Brownies. (Because I knew I would need some chocolate after lunch…)

He did great counting the cups of rapadura (dehydrated cane sugar juice) and flour. (I’m not sure why I gave him a spoon that is as tall as he is…)

Ah, the best part of helping Mommy… 

Lunch wasn’t too difficult, as we had burritos that I had made and frozen a week or so ago. Justus just put them in the oven to warm up…and then got to go work on math while they heated. 

After lunch everyone helped with the dishes! Asa rinsed…

Elias loaded the dishwasher…

And Justus scrubbed the burrito dish.

Asa wiped off the table. (Hey, check out my two week old flowers!! They look as beautiful as the day Matt brought them to me!! I LOVE them!)

For dinner…the boys helped make Beef Stroganoff. Asa sliced mushrooms…
…and sauteed them in butter with onion. Then we added the meat.

Elias and Malachi got the noodles ready to boil.

Then Elias washed the asparagus.

Justus set the table…

And we sat down to a scrumptious dinner!

These boys were so excited to tell Daddy all that they had made today…and they even said, “And we get to cook everything all week too!!”

Check back in tomorrow to see how they do! I love to see how much they’re learning!!

Take a peek over at Tammy’s Recipes to learn more kitchen tips!

Please join me for today for Gratituesday!

Here’s a great way to get your kids excited about being in the kitchen! 

Pick a person or two to surprise with a special treat…bake up something yummy…download this free card…and deliver your goodies…along with a little springtime cheer!!

My boys and I are going to bake some Orange Muffins and take them to two elderly couples we like to visit. 

One of the biggest reasons for teaching my kids to cook…is so that they will learn to serve and minister to others. I want them to learn to love blessing others with food.

And this is a great way for them to bless somebunny…don’t you think?!

That’s my kitchen tip for today!

Hey, wanna share with us some special ways God has been working in your life? Come join in on Gratituesday at HeavenlyHomemakers!!

Also, be sure to sign up for my new Healthy Treats Recipe E-book Giveaway!!

A couple of days ago, I received this great question from Maureen:

My question is regarding young twins. My boys are almost 3 and the idea of cooking together the 3 of us sounds really overwhelming. Suggestions for twins (and active ones at that) would be great! Thanks.

First I’ll say this:

I know a lot about boys…I know a lot about three year old boys…I know a lot about active three year old boys…and I know a lot about cooking in the kitchen with active three year old boys…

But twin three year old boys?! 

Wow.

Even those of us who don’t have twins know that cooking with even one little one “helping us” can be sometimes overwhelming and exhausting.

So, before I go any further with this series…let’s just pause to recognize what most of us feel most of the time:

*It’s easier to cook without the kids in the kitchen. You can get it done faster…and it also doesn’t take nearly as long…and you don’t go so slowly.

*It’s not as messy. Not NEARLY as messy. 

*You can think more clearly when they’re not helping you. 

*Using only your two hands seems so much easier than having all of their extra hands trying to reach over and dump in extra flour…especially when the recipe doesn’t call for flour.

*It just takes more work to include the kids in the kitchen. It does.

Yesterday…all four of mine were helping me make monkey bread (more on that tomorrow!)…

Do you know how many hands that is?! Do the math. Four boys, one mom…I think it comes out to something like two hundred and forty seven hands. All needing the butter bowl at the same time.

I found myself at one point…as the noise level rose in the room and as the excitement level over monkey bread rose…and as more and more hands were covered with butter and cinnamon… and they kept licking their hands and then sticking them back onto the dough…and almost touching my nice shirt with their grimy hands…and the phone rang…and we needed more butter melted…and the first pan was full and we needed a second one…

AND I WAS TRYING TO TAKE A COUPLE OF NICE PICTURES FOR THE BLOG SO I COULD SHOW YOU HOW WONDERUL HAVING YOUR KIDS IN THE KITCHEN CAN BE!!!!

I was like, “WHOA GUYS!! Can you just relax and have fun with this? Instead of making it such a crazy event where we’re all getting messy and touching things we shouldn’t? Just relax and have fun, okay?!”

And they all looked at me for a second…and then got back to rolling dough in butter and cinnamon…

‘Cause I’m pretty sure they were relaxed and having fun and didn’t know what my problem was.

So, yeah. 

Just because I’m writing this series on Kids in the Kitchen doesn’t mean I wouldn’t sometimes rather write a series called, “How to cope with all the quiet time you have as a mother alone in your kitchen while your kids are happily playing in the next room…”

Or…”How to get your kids to watch more TV so that they will hurry up and get out of the kitchen…”

Okay, so having said all of that…and establishing that it’s not always easy to have our kids in the kitchen helping us…I do have some tips for making it easier to have 247 small and grimy hands in the kitchen at once:

1. If possible, have ingredients and kitchen tools out and ready before you call in the troops to help.

For instance, if we’re making individual homemade pizzas…it is SO much easier to have all the pizza fixin’s out and ready to go first.

2. Instead of having all of your kids in the kitchen at once to help…let them take turns.

If we’re rolling out cookie dough and cutting it with cookie cutters….only one guy at a time gets to come in and roll and cut. This gives me special time with each one, and makes for a lot less chaos.

3. Keep it short for the short people.

If they’re little, they don’t need to be there for the whole process of watching you knead the dough for ten minutes, and then watching the dough rise…. Spend five minutes pouring and mixing…or tearing up lettuce for a salad…and call it quits. Short time segments and short jobs for the little guys.

4. Accept that it will be more difficult.

When you have your kids in there helping you, just realize that it’s going to be messier, take longer and in general be more difficult than it would be if you alone were throwing the meal together. If you plan on it being perfect and blissful every time, you are setting yourself up for disappointment.

5. Laugh.

Sometimes, the beaters go a little crazy in the hands of the little people…flinging batter all the way to your neighbor’s house. Sometimes flour gets flung all over…giving mom a  mustache and white hair (in more ways than one). Work to teach your kids how to cook without making big messes…but learn to laugh with them when silly things happen. 

6.  Keep trying.

Even though it is a little hectic (a lot hectic) at times…keep pulling your kids in there. The more you cook with them…the easier it will be…and the more they’ll be learning. 

7. Remember your purpose.

What is it all about anyway? We want our kids in the kitchen with us. They need to learn the art of cooking. You are making sweet memories with them. Focus on why you’re spending this time with them in the kitchen…and know that you are doing a great thing!

Now, go get those kids and bake something delicious. And then, go soak in the tub so that you can relax… (And so that you can get the honey out of your hair…how did THAT happen?!)

[tags]kids, kitchen[/tags]

My friend Anne has a husband, two daughters and a cow.

(The cow is relevant information…stay tuned.)

Anne is doing an excellent job teaching her kids in the kitchen. I am constantly amazed at what they are already capapble of.

One day, they were preparing dinner for company…and Anne realized that it was time to go milk the cow. (see?)

They had everything out and ready to put a lasagna together (including ingredients for homemade lasagna noodles)…

So she looked at her then eight year old and said, “Hannah…you’ll have to finish making this lasagna. Just put it into the oven when you’re done…and then turn on the oven so that you don’t burn yourself.”

And then Anne went out to milk the cow.

And when she came back into the house…she smelled lasagna baking.

Hannah knew how to put a lasagna together (using homemade noodles), all by herself… when she was eight!

So here is my point and my tip for today:

Don’t underestimate what your kids are capable of in the kitchen! 

They can learn anything you teach them to do!

Get them in there and love your time together teaching and training!

For the next several days, I’ll continue to write about what to do with the kids in your kitchen! 

I’ll cover topics like:

Little guys in the kitchen
Simple things for your kids to make
Teaching your kids about healthy eating
Kids cleaning up the kitchen
Kids helping with menu planning
More!

I’d love to hear your questions and ideas about your kids in the kitchen!

Kids in the Kitchen, Pt. 1

More Kitchen Tip Tuesday…