Week 11 Cooking

Today we worked on our Cooking badge.  When the girls arrived we went through our opening.  They’re all doing a great job memorizing the verse, prayer, purpose and goal.  We’re still not sure of the tune of the song, but several have memorized the words.

I handed out some basic cooking information to the girls and we went over Cooking 101.  We talked about Rules of the Kitchen, measuring devices, various pots and pans, washing dishes, kitchen terms, proper place settings, reading a recipe and a list of Cooking Websites for Kids.  Once we went through all of that, I had them break into four groups to make dinner! 

Group 1 Meatloaf
 One of the brothers wanted to help.

Group 2 Green Salad

Group 3 Fruit Salad

Group 4 Banana Bread

I had four stations set up, which included, a main dish, vegetable salad, fruit salad and dessert – banana bread.  All the ingredients, except the refrigerated items, were sitting on the counter along with a recipe for them to follow.  The kids washed their hands and got right to work.

After the dishes were prepared and in the oven or the fridge, the kids got busy cleaning up.  Each group wiped down their station and washed the dishes they used.  They each had their hand in setting the table for dinner as well.  They all worked so hard and so well together.  I wish they could come every night and make dinner for me.  

Here are the groups with the finished product.  Some of the girls had left before the pictures were taken.

What happened?
hmmmm  

It may not look good, but it sure was tasty. 

After clean up, they enjoyed pretzels and juice and playing in the yard.  We also spent a little time talking about our service project, a lemonade stand to help a friend who is raising money for pediatric cancer patients.   The kids are excited about this project, they not only get to help out a friend that has moved away but also to help raise money for a great cause.  We’ll be having our lemonade stand next Saturday at one of the girls grandmothers house during her garage sale.   The kids helped pick lemons from our tree and will be busy squeezing lemons throughout the week.

The group up in a tree

To earn the cooking badge the girls need to:

• Demonstrate how to set the table correctly.  This includes proper placement of all utensils and accessories.
• Prepare five different breakfasts.  The breakfasts can include cooked cereal, eggs, pancakes, french toast, sausage, hashbrowns, etc.  Cold cereal, coffee cakes and doughnuts (unless homemade) are not allowed.
• Prepare five different lunches.
• Prepare five different dinners.  Dinners must include a cooked meat, chicken or fish (not hot dogs, pizza or processed meats), potatoes (not chips, frozen potatoes, canned potatoes or dried potatoes) or some other starch, vegetable salad, dessert and a beverage.
• For each of the above meals to count toward the badge, the girls will need to have prepared the menu, prepare the meal, set the table, serve the meal, and clean up after the meal.

This was a fun day.  The kids really did a great job working together and making the meal. 

We have such an awesome group of kids and I am enjoying myself immensely working alongside them.