My Little Helper

This is how we've been cooking dinner around here lately: my Pioneer Woman cookbook in the stand and monster trucks on my cutting board.

Andrew has taken an interest in everything I do on the counters now.  Any time I start cooking dinner or do some baking, he pushes the chair up to the counter and wants to help.  I am slowly learning to have more patience with this.  He almost always makes a huge mess and wants to touch everything, but I love the few moments when he plays quietly beside me as I chop veggies or knead bread.

 

I am loving this cookbook that my sister gave me. I have tried many of the recipes and they have all been delicious.  That may have something to do with the amount of butter that is called for! 

I also have been trying to do a lot of freezer cooking.  Dinner is the most stressful time at our house so I will do anything to make it more enjoyable.  Jarod doesn't get home until 7 some nights so we eat late.  And instead of making two dinners, Andrew waits to eat with us.  I know that is a long time for a little boy to wait, but I think it is important to eat as a family.  The problem is, he gets whiny when he's hungry and wants all of my attention.  On top of that, 6:00 is Dominic's fussy time and has to be held.  This makes cooking dinner a challenge...  The other night I had Dominic strapped to me in a baby sling and preoccupied Andrew with a chocolate chip cookie just so I could get dinner on the table and it was still not ready by the time Jarod got home.  So having already made meals in the freezer has been a big help.  Yesterday I pulled a pan of chicken enchiladas out of the freezer, popped it in the oven, and then I was free to play with Andrew and hold Dominic until dinner was ready.  Plus I didn't have many dishes to do afterwards which is a huge bonus.  It takes a lot of extra effort to prepare the meals on my cooking days, but it is totally worth it!