Cooking with Hayden

This week's addition of Cooking with Hayden turned out to be more complicated than I had originally thought. Hayden had asked for homemade burritos that night and I didn't think that they would be too complex for him to handle, so of course I said yes. The ingredients are pretty basic: ground beef, re-fried beans, cheese, and tortillas. What's so hard about that?

Things started off well. He seemed genuinely excited about what he was making. {But definitely not as excited as he was when we made brownies} I think he was most interested in browning the ground beef because it meant that he got to stand over the stove. Maybe it makes him feel more grown up? 

I mean, does this kid look like he's 5 years old?

I had Greg assist him seasoning the meat so that I could snap a few pictures. Last week was one of those rare Tuesday nights when he was not working, which made it easier for me to take pictures while Hayden was in action.

I don't know if it was because Rylan was watching Thomas the Train in the other room, or if he got bored all of the sudden, but after he finished his task of browning the meat, Hayden was done. He did NOT want to cook anymore and let everyone know it. After several failed attempts to persuade him to finish cooking with me, I gave up. The burritos turned out well and we all enjoyed them, but I think I will come up with something  that will maintain his interest throughout the cooking process next time. We shall see.   :)

Hope you join us next week!

Cooking with Hayden

God bless Ms. Carol- she endures "cooking Friday" each week with her preschool class, whom my eldest son Hayden, is apart. If you are a mother, I am sure you had a brief mental picture of ten to twelve 4-5 year olds cooking, and the inevitable mess that accompanies it. Like I said, God bless her!

Well, Hayden loves cooking Friday. Just as adults eagerly await Friday because that means the end of a long work week, Hayden anticipates Friday because he has the opportunity to cook. So.... I figured I would start "Cooking with Hayden" every Tuesday night and post it on the blog. Greg typically closes at the store {he's the store manager for our local LifeWay. I know... shameless plug for LifeWay. I had to do it :) } on Tuesdays and I thought that this would be something fun for Hayden and I to do together.  

Cooking will teach him a number of life skills such as following instructions, reading, taking responsibility, establishing independence, and working well with others; not to mention things like small motor skills and hand/eye coordination. Not that he really cares about those things- but I do. He just enjoys making a mess and eating his creation. Typical...

Last week we made brownies. 

Brownies are not technically apart of our half marathon diet, but a cheat day was in order and we felt like treating ourselves. Here are a few pictures of our first official "Cooking with Hayden" night!

I don't think he was the least bit excited to be making brownies.
What do you think? :)

Hayden did everything himself with only  minimal assistance from me.

Before

After

They were delicious!

Tune in next week for another addition of

"Cooking with Hayden"