Cooking Lessons

I hate to cook, and anyone that knows me knows that fact. I cannot stand to be in the kitchen, standing over the hot stove working on dinner. Planning meals is one of my least favorite tasks, so we tend to eat the same things over & over again. Meal planning is a drudgery for me, and my family knows it. So, when we do sit down to the occasional family meal, the last thing I want to hear is whining and complaining. It makes 'already irritated that I've had to cook dinner' mommy into 'really mean and don't say one more word to me' mommy within seconds. Complaining is typical at the table, no matter what the meal. What 1 child likes, the other 2 don't. It's enough to send me over the edge, and it does quite often, I have to admit!

I've started prefacing our meals, prior to prayers, with 'I don't want to hear one word out of anyone's mouth, unless it's to say "Thank you for fixing us a yummy dinner, mommy", ok?' More often than not, my directive is followed up with "So, if we eat all our dinner without gagging, can we have dessert?" And, sadly, most of the time I say "Yes! But only if your plate is clean and you don't say one ugly thing about it!" This tactic seems to work pretty well for me, and it's one that I'll stick with for at least while longer. I never specify what dessert will be, so when plates are cleaned, sometimes they get to choose between an apple, orange or banana, other times, it's full-blown dessert like ice cream or (lately) frozen yogurt.

Another confession I have is that rather than plan, then cook, dinner, I tend to wait until the last few hours of the day to even start thinking about what I'll be feeding my family. My lack of planning usually results in our racing out the door when daddy gets home to 'grab something'. It's so much easier to hit a nearby eatery and allow everyone to get what they want. Doing so eliminates the complaining from my little three-some, and keeps me out of the kitchen :) It's a win-win for everyone. Well, except for our budget! Do you know how much we've spent eating out over the last 2 months? Well, I'm not gonna tell you, but suffice it to say, it could pay a utility bill or two! Michael informed me just the other night that our eating out was going to stop, effective immediately, which meant that I'd have to suck-it-up and start to plan, then cook meals much more often than has been the case as of late. Uugghh!

Then I remembered something. Several months ago, my MOPS group put together and published a cookbook, MOPS Favorites, Everything But the Kitchen Sink*. As soon as they were available, I purchased several, one for myself and a few extras for family or friends. I glanced at the sections and picked out a few recipes that sounded yummy, and more importantly easy, ear-marked them, then put it into my cabinet with the rest of the cookbooks I've purchased over the years. My intention was to add a new recipe here & there to our very ordinary but stable dinner menu. Unfortunately, once it was tucked away, those new ideas were quickly forgotten. Until last week. In my desperation to 'be more creative' I pulled out the un-used cookbook and began looking at the marked meal ideas. I found 2 dinners that sounded yummy and decided to put the necessary ingredients on my shopping list.

Last Friday night, after spending a mere 2 hours at the grocery store, I decided to try one of the new recipes for dinner. I was actually sort of excited about it! The chosen recipe was called "Goldfish Cracker Chicken". I figured that giving my kiddos Goldfish crackers for dinner would surely excite them a little bit. And then I had another moment of brilliance...I'll let the kiddos help me 'cook' it too. So, I called them into the kitchen and explained that if they would wash their hands, I'd allow them to help me put the dinner together.

Once the squealing subsided, they rushed into the bathroom and scrubbed their hand clean. I quickly trimmed and prepared the chicken breasts and placed them into the baking dish, then told Alex that his turn was first. I gave him his instructions, then watched him work, giving him a little bit of help as needed. He deftly spread the dallops of sour cream across each chicken breast, being sure to cover each one completely. While he worked on his 'part', I filled a zip-lock sandwich baggie with whole-grain cheddar cheese goldfish, then instructed Morgann to crush them up. She asked if she could sit on them, and when I said, "Sure!", she raced over to the kitchen table and began standing up, then sitting down, and standing up and sitting down over and over again. She was a bit perplexed as to why her biscuits weren't crushing them like she thought they would, so once he finished spreading the sour cream, Alex raced to the rescue and showed her how to karate chop them. They were laughing and having a great time, while I secretly prayed they wouldn't karate chop a hole into the bottom of the bag, sending goldfish crumbs across the breakfast room table and floor. Once the karate chops had sufficiently crumbled the crackers, Morgann brought them over to me for spreading. She could hardly contain her enthusiasm as I handed her a small measuring cup and instructed her to scoop up the crumbs, then sprinkle them across the sour-cream covered chicken. Once she emptied the bag, it was Ian's turn. Using the same small measuring cup, I allowed him to 'help' me pour the melted butter across the tops of each chicken breast. The smile on his face was priceless. He just kept saying "Me, Hep!" and laughing with each scoop.

The kiddos watched with eager anticipation as their dinner, created with lots of team work, was carefully placed into the oven for baking. Every few minutes, one of my little monkies would round the corner and ask for a peek into the oven so they could see if the cooking was working. It was, and before long the timer bell sounded that dinner was ready. They all hurried to the table and awaited their first taste of the meal they'd cooked. After prayers, each child made sure to tell daddy about their part of the meal prep, then proceeded to take their first bite. With eyes wide, each child began to rant & rave about how wonderful it tasted, pointing out their favorite part - the goldfish crackers, of course.

Dinner was, for the first time in quite a while, pleasant and relatively enjoyable. We all laughed and enjoyed our Goldfish Cracker Chicken, served with a side salad. Plates and bowls were quickly emptied and second servings were requested. I could hardly wipe the smile from my face!

I have since made a mental note that though planning and cooking dinner still isn't my favorite thing to do, if I am sure to include the kids in the meal prep phase, the actual eating is much more enjoyable!!!

*If you think that you might be interested in obtaining one of our MOPS cookbooks, filled with yummy, delicious meals created by mommies, drop me an email or comment and I'll get one to you! They are $12 each or 3 or more for $10 each! It's a bargain and well worth the money if your results are as good as mine were :)

**We've already tried recipe number 2 with just as much success as the 1st! I allowed the kids to help in the prep, and they thoroughly enjoyed the fruits of their labor.