The walk home from school is always full of some kind of drama. My friend Kathy’s kids often walk home with us as well. Her oldest daughter is the same age as Jacob so it never fails that there is some kind of 3rd grade boy / girl banter going on. Heaven forbid you act like you are friends with a girl when you are a 3rd grade boy. Nooooo…. you have to make every attempt to distance yourself and make sure the entire world knows that there is no love between you two whatsoever.
Yesterday was the typical day… walking home, Jacob and Molly were arguing about something, I’m sure very important. The entire way home their intense banter was volleying, back and forth. Back and forth.
An interesting thing happened when we all got to our house. I corralled all 6 kids into the kitchen to cook with me. I had some kid friendly recipes to try and decided now was as good of time as any to put the oldest two in charge. Six kids, one kitchen, all assigned different tasks. Believe it or not, in that crammed little kitchen, magic began to unfold. There was laughter. There was cooperation. There was NO 3rd grade boy / girl arguing! Just a whole lot of fun and getting things done.
Unilever brands, the name behind kitchen staples like Skippy Peanut Butter, Hellmann’s mayonnaise, Ragu Pasta Sauce, Lipton Recipe Secrets and Knorr Sides, is teaming with families across the nation to encourage them to not only make dinnertime a priority, but to get everyone in the kitchen cooking as a way to reconnect as a family.
As a part of their initiative, Unliever invited me to host friends in my home to cook up some recipes using their products. After flipping through the Fun Family Cooking cookbook, we chose Rayna’s Nutty Marshmallow Topped Chocolate Cake and a variation of Dan’s Chipotle Rice Burritos. We also made my mom’s Spaghetti and Meatballs with one of her secret ingredients coming from a Unilever brand product (I’ll share that recipe next week!).
I am passionate about family mealtime, and teaching kids the valuable life long skill of cooking. As part of the effort to encourage Dine & Dish readers to cook with their friends and family, Unilever is providing 4 lucky readers with the Family Dish Fun Family Cooking Cookbook and coupons for one free package / jar of each of the following:
- Ragu Pasta Sauce
- Hellman’s/Best Foods Mayonnaise
- Skippy Peanut Butter
- Knorr Rice and Pasta Side
To enter, all you have to do is leave a comment telling me the very first thing you ever remember cooking. All entries must be received by midnight CST on Monday, November 22nd. The four winning comments will be chosen by Random.org and the winners will be notified shortly after.
I think it is so important to spend time with your family in the kitchen and sitting around the dinner table. The nice people at Unilever sent me a gift card and Unilever products to try out some of their recipes as well as prizes for my readers. The views expressed in this post are my own.
Recipe: Knorr Fiesta Rice and Bean Burritos (adapted from HERE)
1 package Knorr® Rice Sides™ – Chicken or Knorr® Fiesta Sides™ – Spanish Rice
1 can (15 to 19 oz.) red kidney beans (I use Bush’s Kidney Beans)
1/4 cup chopped romaine lettuce
6 medium flour tortillas, warmed
1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack or cheddar cheese (about 2 oz.)
- Prepare Knorr® Rice Sides™ – Spanish Rice according to package directions. Stir in beans and warm through.
- Evenly spoon rice mixture onto warm tortillas; top with cheese and lettuce. Fold in sides, then roll up. Serve, if desired, with sour cream. *For a dinner version, simply add warm cut-up cooked chicken or steak to rice mixture!
Recipe: Rayna’s Nutty Marshmallow Topped Chocolate Cake
- 1 box (18oz) chocolate cake mix
- 1 cup Hellmann’s or Best Foods Real Mayonnaise
- 1 cup water
- 3 eggs (I only used 2)
- 1/2 cup Skippy Creamy Peanut Butter
- 2 jars (7.5oz each) marshmallow creme
- 1 cup frozen whipped topping, thawed
- Sprinkles for decoration (optional)
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray a 13/x inch cake pan. Set aside.
- Beat cake mix, mayonnaise, water and eggs in a large bowl with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds. Beat on medium speed, scraping sides occasionally, 2 minutes. Evenly pour into prepared pans.
- Bake 35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely.
- Meanwhile, whisk together the peanut butter, marshmallow creme and whipped topping in a medium bowl. Frost cake with peanut butter frosting. Decorate as desired.
Your posts make my heart happy. 🙂
Great post! A while back my 5 yr old daughter had 3 friends over to play, thinks started getting nuts so I said who wants to cook? Well needless to say we made 3 fun things that day now every time they are over as a group or individually – guess what they want to do! Kids they are so ritualistic but I love it! Love your collage of the kids!
That’s easy – for my Girl Scout cooking badge waaaaaay back when, we made an entire dinner and my contribution was au gratin potatoes. I thought they were as good as my mom’s, but today I’d rather have hers because things just taste better when someone makes them for you.
The first thing I ever remember cooking was an attempt at making fudge. It was a disaster. Yet it opened the door to a whole world of food for me. (I have since learned how to make it!)
The first time I cooked something, I was trying to make bars. I can’t remember what I messed up on, but the cats wouldn’t even touch them.
The first thing I ever remember “cooking” was some sort of cake with my mom. I only remember sneaking spoonfuls of batter and my mom remarking how short the cake was after it was done baking. 😛
The first thing I remember cooking was a scrambled egg. It was brown and rubbery, but it was great because I made it!
One of my favorite posts and some of my FAVORITE pics – especially that last one in the bottom left corner!
My first attempt at cooking was either chocolate chip cookies or a boxed cake mix – can’t remember that far back Kristen!
I couldn’t agree more! The kitchen is the heart of a home!
My first thing that I remember cooking would be…Christmas cookies! Sugar cut-out cookies with icing in a rainbow of colors that we would “paint on” with paint brushes! Still makes my heart sing when I think back on those times! LOVE this post Kristen!
That is uber simple. The first thing I remember cooking was a group effort stew in my 6th grade cooking class. It sparked another world for me. I love cooking!
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I just love your adorable family 🙂
The first thing I remember cooking (does this mean baking, too?) Cooking- would have to be helping Mom get a roast in the oven for dinner. Sweets- definitely spice cake from the box and the Jell-O Butterscotch pudding that you cook on the stove.
The first thing I remember cooking was “helping” my mom make Christmas cookies. I think I just helped make a big mess!
We used to make “pizza bread” – white bread, tomato sauce, mozzarella, melted in the toaster oven.
The first thing I ever remember cooking was an ice cream pie with graham cracker crust. It was from a kids cookbook and I remember being so excited to try it with my Mum and sister. I hope cooking with my kids will create the same memories 🙂
That cakes look amazing! Love the sprinkles on top! 🙂
The first thing I remember cooking is Ramen Noodles. My mom was sick and couldn’t cook for me, so she walked me through the steps of how to make them. I remember being so proud of myself. 🙂
First thing??? Um, maybe it was Rick Krispie Treats 🙂
First thing I think I can remember was Rice Krispie Treats.
That marshmallow topped chocolate cake is looking crazy good right now. I too think that family meal time is so important. Thanks for sharing such an important program with us. I think some of my favorite cooking memories was “licking the batter!!”
I think the first thing I ever cooked was an egg. I also remember taking Home Ec in middle school, which I still wish they offered around here, where we made Jambalaya with sausage. I was shocked when it turned out tasty!
first thing i remember cooking on my own with no help from my mother was scalloped potatoes out of a box…wanted to help make a side dish for dinner and accidentally poured too much milk into the recipe – turned out awfully soupy, but my mother appreciated that i wanted to help and that i wanted to do it on my own.
I was grilling steaks for the family by the time I was 10, some adult lit the fire, but it was my job to put on the steaks, watch, turn once and serve them medium rare!
A house full of kids like that sounds awesome-with no arguing, impressive! I can’t wait for my little guy to bring home a ton of friends
The first thing I remember making was a Chef Boy-R-Dee pizza. I’m sure it was delightful.
What a nice post. Now that my daughter is almost 4 she asks to help me in the kitchen all of the time, it’s some of our most special times together.
The first thing I remember cooking with my mom and grandmas were a Puerto Rican dish called Pasteles. In some spanish speaking areas these would be considered cakes but in Puerto Rico they are actually a savory dish made with green bananas, garbanzo beans and meat. The method is similar to tamales with the green banana being the “maza”. They are put together and then wrapped in banana leaves for cooking. It is a long process but the outcome is so worth it. Many fun times were had making these and just the smell of them takes me back to those happier times.
So true, 3rd grade boys can NOT appear to like girls. It’s against the law I think.
What a precious day!
Key Lime Pie, only I didn’t realize key limes were a specific kind of lime. Turned out extremely tart and inedible.
I remember making hamburgers with bread in them and cooked in butter…
Apple Pie – grandma’s kitchen!
The first thing I remember cooking was chocolate pudding with my grandmother. I remember thinking that my arm was going to fall off from the constant stirring! Love the memories of cooking with her and wish I could do it again.
The burritos look delicious, Kristen!
The first thing I cooked alone was a chicken dinner with green bean almondine and a loaf of bread shaped like a turtle. I was 7 and very ambitious. :-p
Your posts are always so much fun. I don’t need to enter the giveaway but definitely want to share my early kitchen experience. Pancakes. Every Sunday from age 7 or 8 I’d wake up at about 4 am, watch Davey and Goliath and make myself pancakes. Weird, huh?
I can remember a few early cooking experiences but I’m not sure what came first, my grandma teaching me to make pie (mine was a wee mini pie because I think she figured if I savaged the whole thing, at least I hadn’t ruined a whole pie… smart), or the time I made Kraft Dinner all on my own and failed to drain it before adding the cheese packet in. I was clearly destined to cook.
The first thing I ever remember cooking was breaded tomatoes with my Grandma Cox. I remember thinking it was such a strange combo, but I trusted my grandma in the kitchen! I remember thinking it was so fun to add that big scoop of sugar to tomatoes and cubed bread. What a great, sweet, warm dish!
The first thing I remember cooking was spaghetti and meatballs called, Golden Nuggets’. The meatballs had a chunk of cheddar cheese inside and the sauce was made with a can of tomato soup. This was a revolutionary meal for my family in the late 60’s, because the only Italian food we ever had came out of a can and was heated on the stove. My mom and I weren’t sure my father would even eat something so radical! He did and I remember we all enjoyed it!
Great post (and pics). My first memory was baking snickerdoodle cookies with my grandma (“grams”). She was the only person who had patience with me in kitchen and I will forever be thankful for that an all of the memories that came with it!!!
I remember sitting down with my mom and making brownies in my easy bake oven. Good memories.
I remember some super fun creations via my Easy Bake oven. Not very tasty, I must admit, but fun nonetheless!
The first think I remember cooking was brownies. They turned out pretty good. The cake looks yummy, can’t wait to try it.
The first thing I remember cooking was Baked Custard. It was about 68 years ago and we lived on a farm with fresh eggs and heavy cream in abundance and I was so proud of that easy dish. Been cooking ever since. Enjoy your blogs.
The first thing that I remember cooking was pizza with a Bisquick crust recipe on the back of the box and canned tomato sauce 🙂 I made it quite often when I was young.
I remember very vividly making my first chocolate cake with my grandmother probably back in the mid 50’s. She was very particular to have me beat it with the addition of each ingredient and to this day I think of her when ever I make a chocolate cake. And yes, “Grandma in the City” I do blend every ingredient throughly!
The very first thing I remember cooking is a grilled cheese sandwich. It’s also what my 9yo loves to make the most now 🙂 I love cooking with my daughters and you’ve given me a great idea on what to blog about :)! TIA!
Brownies, I was so proud because I made the “best brownies ever” (from the box of course)…its funny to look back on now I was probably 10 or 11.
I remember making cinnamon toast with my brother! Good times.
I remember making chicken noodle soup and swiss miss hot chocolate with my best buddy after school.
The first thing I remember making by myself was a cranberry jello salad—I have not idea why I made it; I hated cranberries! But I was in 2nd grade and that was my contribution to our Thanksgiving that year!
The first thing I ever made in the kitchen were Toll House Cookies! 🙂 🙂
Black Bottom Cupcakes with my Grandma…still my favorite after all of these years!
I don’t really remember the very first thing but I would guess cookies! I truly loved home ec class and all the recipes and fun with friends in Jr. High and High School…You are right we should all cook more as a family.
Spaghetti and garlic toast.
Scrambled eggs!!
My grandma used to have me help her make Rice Krispie Treats. The first thing I probably ever made by myself was No Bake Cookies.
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Not stopping in to enter the contest, but to enjoy the stories you always share about your family. And as usual, your photos capture the experience beautifully. Thanks for sharing your family, K.
xo
m
I agree & love your story! My kids- both the 7 yr old boy & 5 yr old girl (and even my 22 month old) LOVES to help me in the kitchen! They also will eat much better when they are a “part” of making it!
I think the first thing I ever made on my own was a sandwich – it used to be lunch that I took to school. In terms of cooking, the first thing I learned to cook was a big old pot of rice, boiling water and all!
I seem to remember Mac and Cheese as my first attempt. I ate half the pot by myself before I realized what I’d done!
The firs thing I ever remember cooking or trying to cook was an ice cream pie. I was pretty young and my mom told me to get the ice cream pie out the freezer and get it ready to serve. So, I got it out and asked my mom what temp I should set the oven too. Hello! It’s an ice cream pie, you don’t cook ice cream pie…lol. I’m 29 years old and I still get made fun for it.
Probably cookies or tacos in home ec class
I went to afternoon kindergarten and my Dad worked second shift, so we always made grill cheese sandwiches (my favorite) for lunch before I got on the bus.
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I really can’t remember the first thing I cooked unless you count a peanut butter and jelly sandwich cooking. I do remember making rice krispy treats and Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookies when I was a young girl.
I was about 5-6yrs old. I used to watch my greatgrandmother make pies. The whole kitchen smelled wonderful. She gave me the leftover dough I rolled it out. Used a cookie cutter to make circles and put them in tart tins. I filled the tarts with homemade jams.I have great memories of cooking with her.
I was probably 6 or so, and I remember cooking a pumpkin nut rull cake of some sort that was cooked in a coffee can. This was the first thing that I ever cooked by myself.
I always was in the kitchen with my Mother or Grandmother. Probably the first thing I cooked was Chocolate Chip Cookies.