Making Dinner

Lately, whenever we're cooking anything, Anastasia wants to be in the action. She likes to sit on the counter and help with anything she can help with, so, when I decided to make Shake n Bake pork, I figured this was a perfect opportunity for her to get involved. On the menu: pork, roasted garlic potatoes, and steamed broccoli with butter. A simple dinner with lots of opportunities for help from our little chef.

We started with the pork. Annie really liked shaking it up, and was happy to let Mommy move the meat to the pan.



Once the pork was prepped, we moved on to the potatoes, which were quartered and tossed with salt, pepper, olive oil, and a healthy dose of garlic. I cut the potatoes and had Annie add the salt, pepper, and garlic. Once all the ingredients were in the bowl, it was time to stir, stir, stir.



Finally, while the potatoes and pork cooked, it was time for the broccoli. Once again, I cut it into manageable pieces and had Annie transfer it to a bowl. She's not a big fan of vegetables, but she had fun doing her job.



I admit that I hoped that helping to cook the broccoli would make her more willing to try it, but in the end, she just told me that I could eat her trees. Well, we'll keep trying. In fact, tonight, not only did she eat the salad on her plate, she asked for more!