Zane likes to help around the kitchen. Most of the time, I have to limit him to the smaller tasks, due to safety reasons. Butcher knives and six-year-olds do not work well together, for example, and they haven't covered fractions or measurement in detail in kindergarten. I still try to come up with things that Zane and I can do together. My mother wasn't the kind of mother who would spend the time teaching a child to cook, and as a result I continue to be all thumbs in the kitchen. Zane and I are learning together. The other day we made our version of crock pot queso. This was a test run for the Super Bowl, unless Velveeta runs out of cheese before then. Crock pot queso is a simple recipe. Ours is a variation of the same recipe on the box, with a couple of extras added.
The great thing about Velveeta is that it is so soft that it can be cut with a butter knife. That is perfect for a little boy who wants to help!
Zane pulled up a kitchen chair and got to work slicing and dicing, after I showed him what was needed. It took him a bit to figure out the best way to hold the knife, but he was careful and consistent, even if his cubes were not always square. Square-ish is fine in my book! Meanwhile, I took care of the other ingredients: a couple of handfuls of chopped onions, a pound of browned ground beef, and the ever-trusty can of Ro-Tel tomatoes. Whether you prefer to use the vegetarian version of ground beef offered by Morning Star Farms, or you would rather use chorizo or ground up sausage, it's all good. Queso is a very accommodating food, which is why it is so popular.After all of the ingredients found their way into the crock pot, we put the lid on and turned it on high. We cleaned up the kitchen and went to watch the latest episode of Teen Titans Go! As soon as the credits rolled, we checked out our handiwork.
With a bag of chips.
I'm looking for other kid-friendly recipes that Zane and I can cook together. If anyone has any good recipes or good ideas, please share!
