Slump

I've been in yet another cooking slump lately.  I love to cook, but I don't like coming up with ideas for something to cook every day.  When I ask my people what they want for dinner, they all gloss over and say something like, "Duh, I dunno." 

So this morning I tried a new tactic.  I handed out cookbooks to the kids and told them to pick out a recipe that we could cook for tonight.  Within a minute, Sarah landed on this page, and said, "I want THIS!"

I had a whole day of cleaning and schooling planned to catch up from the weekend, but right then and there, I decided that instead of doing our boring spelling lesson and cleaning the bathroom, we would have one big class about how to make a whole meal.  We even invited guests and practiced hospitality. 

First, a trip to Kroger to get all the supplies.  Noah pushed the cart and actually didn't crash into anyone or take off zooming down an aisle when I needed the cart.  I think this is the first time he's been able to see over the cart, and he was a good help.  We searched for the ingredients, compared prices, studied nutrition labels, and discussed the merits of buying a can of bread crumbs vs. making our own. 

We went through the self-check-out lane, and the kids did all the scanning, bagging, and looking up produce codes.  Noah found the code for cucumbers and keyed it in, and then the machine asked him for the quantity.  He stretched way up on his tiptoes to reach the "1", but accidentally pushed the "4" on his way.  I said, "What?  Are we buying 41 cucumbers?!" and he collapsed in a heap of laughter.  He swiped the credit card, and I even let him sign his name on the line. 

When we got home, they made bread crumbs,

assembled parfaits,

and pounded chicken.

Sarah only took a couple whacks at the chicken, because it disturbed her when I yelled, "BAWWWWK!" upon impact.  She put the hammer down and mumbled, "Poor chicken." 

I didn't get a picture of the big feast, because the guests were here, but here are the leftovers: