Mondays are slow for us in terms of after school activities and homework so I try to plan our “family night meals” on Mondays. Yesterday I decided to make Grandma Jean’s Lasagna and both boys helped out in the kitchen. The 7 year old manned the ground beef on the stove while the 13 year old layered the lasagna in the pan for me. Once the lasagna was in the oven, the 13 year old worked on the bread sticks. We bought canned garlic bread sticks and all he had to do was roll the dough into bread sticks and place them on a baking pan.
Once supper was served, everyone was so proud to have taken part in cooking our meal. The 13 year old wanted to know if we could make the lasagna more often. I looked down at his plate and he had cleared it completely where it looked as if he hadn’t even eaten. So, supper was a success and we’ll be making it again next month. Do you make homemade lasagna very often? Do your kids help out with meal preparation? The next time you make homemade lasagna make sure to make a few extra noodles. Sometimes noodles will break and can be hard to layer so the extra noodles will come in handy. Also, the large noodles are very fun for the kids to eat. I can remember helping my mother with the lasagna and eating all the left over noodles while we cleaned up the mess.
Do you have cooking memories from your childhood? If so, make sure that you make some with your children. The holidays is a great time to start. My kids love to help out when we make our favorite holiday desserts. My boys’ favorite recipes to make are the cut out sugar cookies, small Texas sugar cookies and the peanut butter fudge. What is your favorite dessert to make for the holidays?
Oh my goodness, I love this post! You are right on the money, and this is a TREMENDOUS activity. You’re teaching a life skill, you’re spending quality one-on-one time, and you’re communicating about family traditions and foods. I wouldn’t be surprised if your boys remember that until their adulthood. Bravo!