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February 10, 2008
Dianne's Dishes February Contest: Kids In The Kitchen!
I've said it before, but I'm a firm believer that children should learn their way around the kitchen! I'm often amazed by how many people reach adulthood never having cooked a meal and having no clue around their own kitchen! The key is to get them involved early and make it fun!
Growing up my Mom let my sister and I help in the kitchen. When we grew older we even cooked lunch on Sunday after church sometimes. Granted our choice of macaroni and cheese out of the box, hot dogs and canned peas was far from gourmet and both of our tastes have changed drastically since then, but it was none the less a starting place and Katherine and I had a lot of fun preparing those meals!
A year ago or so a friend of mine was having a Pampered Chef party and I came across their "My Safe Cutter". I thought it was a neat idea, so I got one for Alexis and one for Nelson too. I was very impressed by this little tool! Alexis loves hers and uses it all the time to cut her own apples, strawberries, cheese, etc. Below is a shot of Alexis using her knife to help cut up some mozzarella right after it arrived last year.
Want to get your child (or grandchild or niece or nephew or friend's child or whoever) involved in the kitchen and want to have fun doing so? Why not enter Dianne's Dishes Kids In The Kitchen Contest and do just that! If you win you'll receive one Pampered Chef "My Safe Cutter" along with one Pampered Chef "Kid's Apron and Chef's Hat Set" and your little sous chef will be helping you in style!"
So how do you enter? Just leave a comment on this thread with a valid e-mail address (and don't worry, no one will see your e-mail address but me!) before 5:00 PM EST, Thursday, February 14, 2008. I'll print out the participants and my little sous chef will pull a name out of the hat. I'll e-mail that person for their address and announce the winner on Friday, February 15, 2008! Anyone anywhere on our little planet earth is eligible to enter so what are you waiting for?
Good luck! Oh and tell your friends! ;o)
Posted by Dianne at February 10, 2008 2:44 PM
Comments
Fun! I love to have my kids cook with me! Thanks for the safe cutter idea.
Posted by: Karen at February 10, 2008 3:56 PM
Wow Dianne - what a great idea! I'm at the stage with Ella now where I would love her to be more involved, but that means allowing her to cut and maybe stir on the stove... scary notion, but looks like Pampered Chef are onto the right idea. I lvoe Pampered Chef. They're not in Ireland, but I stocked up before I got back and have a great Stoneware collection! ;-)
Not sure if your contest is open to international commenters, but I'd happily pay for shipping!
Take care!
Posted by: Deborah at February 10, 2008 6:09 PM
Yes it's open to anyone that wants to participate and you don't have to worry about shipping either. :o)
As for Pampered Chef I love their stuff. Some of it is a little pricey, but I've been very happy with everything I've ever purchased from them.
Posted by: Dianne at February 10, 2008 6:30 PM
Sign me up! My kid would love that get up!
Posted by: Bev at February 11, 2008 11:59 AM
Neat idea! My daughter Brianna is 5 and has been helping me in the kitchen for a while, mostly with stirring things and decorating cookies. Her favorite things to make are pancakes (she likes to crack eggs) and chocolate pudding.
Posted by: Di at February 11, 2008 2:10 PM
Does the little cutter really work well? I have a lot of little fingers that want to get into the cooking! Unfortunately, I tend to be too impatient with my little helpers.
Posted by: Fruittart at February 11, 2008 5:01 PM
We've found that it works well for most things. It works really well with harder things (cheese, apples, pears, etc.) It probably wouldn't work well on tomatoes or anything like that. It would work on onions, but I wouldn't let Alexis cut those to begin with. Alexis cuts the caps off of strawberries with hers often. It would most likely work well on fresh pineapple too. Anything that can withstand a little pressure, given it's not sharp, just "serrated" so it lets them "cut" things, without having to worry about hurting themselves. It wouldn't cut skin or anything like that.
Posted by: Dianne at February 11, 2008 5:31 PM
I love having the boys in the kitchen with me. They love it too. Especially when its cookies!
Posted by: laurie at February 12, 2008 10:22 AM
What a great idea! My daughter loves to help in the kitchen. Her help usually involves eating my ingredients or mixing up a "stew" with whatever she can get her hands on.
Posted by: Beth at February 13, 2008 1:36 PM
Dianne,
I agree! I love having my son in the kitchen. He's still a bit young, but he's quite the helper when it comes to making salads or other things that aren't sharp. I can't wait till he and my daughter get a little older and can really help out!
Posted by: Sarah at February 14, 2008 12:01 PM