cooking with kids part II

So when Daniel joins mom in the kitchen, I have to come up with something for him to do. Try these ideas when your little ones are underfoot:
Let them mash and "smash" the potatoes. Put out all the ingredients for stuffed potatoes: cheese, sour cream, green onions, bacon bits, garlic, etc. Boil the potatoes yourself and then turn the pot over to the kids with a potato masher. Let them decide which ingredients - and how much - to add. As long as they don't reach for the jelly, what can it hurt?
Let them make dessert while you make dinner. Bananas, strawberries and other fruits can all be cut with a kid-safe plastic knife. So get out the sundae cups, cool-whip, and fruit, and leth the kids assemble their favorites. If it's not to your taste, "Oh, mommy ate too much dinner and is just too full for dessert!" Rest assured, they'll eat your share - after all, they "cooked" it!
--Misty