I asked James what I should call the blog post about the meals he and Anna cooked and after thinking a moment, this is what he came up with. Clever!
Both kids really enjoyed coming up with a menu and making their meal. Although, at one point while making his pie, James said he wished he wouldn’t have chosen such an ambitious recipe. Now he knows why I don’t make elaborate meals every night!
I did take a shortcut in the grocery shopping. I’ve been buying groceries online for some time now and picking them up. This is a huge time saver for me and I absolutely love it. Originally, my plan was to take the kids to the store to shop for their ingredients, but with everything else happening, we skipped that. Instead, I had them go through their recipes with me and help add items to the grocery list.
Anna’s Menu:
Beverage – La Croix
Main Dish – Ziti – a pasta, bacon, & onion dish that is her absolute favorite
Side – Fruit Salad – pineapple, blueberries, cantaloupe, and strawberries
Dessert – Raspberry Cocoa Freeze – an ice cream shake
James’s Menu:
Beverage – Cherry Limeade
Main Dish – Authentic Pepperoni Pizza
Side – Caesar Salad
Dessert – French Silk Pie
When the kids were planning their menus, I talked with them about how I typically make a few menu items from scratch and often use shortcuts with other items. For special meals, of course, we’ll make everything from scratch. But sometimes, it’s just fine to take shortcuts to save your sanity. So, Anna decided her beverage would be a shortcut. James and I decided his salad, pizza crust and sauce would be a shortcut – we bought a caesar salad kit, a dry pizza mix, and a jar of sauce. In the end those were good decisions as the kids’ energy waned.
With both meals we made what we could ahead of time, early in the day – something I do regularly. When my energy is highest in the morning (if I’m home), I get started on dinner and prep as much as possible. Anna made her fruit salad in the morning and James made his pie during the morning.
Overall this was a great success! It exposed the kids to a bit more menu planning and cooking which was the goal. We’ll continue to have them help here and there like they’ve been doing, and down the road maybe try full meals again.
