At the age of two, my firstborn became fascinated with the process of preparing and cooking food. I only wish he extended the same enthusiasm when it came to consuming food. Feeding a picky-eater is frustrating; time and energy consuming.
One evening, after agreeing to finish his dinner as long as I let him cook it himself, I let him experience cooking for the very first time. Of course it had to be his favorite: Chicken Pesto Pasta.
He didn't have the patience to wait for the chicken to defrost, he was only two years old after all; we went ahead and cooked pasta with pesto sauce.
INGREDIENTS:
Olive Oil
Garlic
Tomatoes
McCormick Pesto Sauce Mix
Pasta
STEPS:
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| First, cook the pasta. |
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| Wash the tomatoes, peel the garlic and chop them up. I handled the slicing part; he washed, peeled and nibbled on tomatoes & garlic. |
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| Saute garlic in olive oil, over medium heat. The garlic got burned a little since he had trouble moving the turner. |
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| Add the tomatoes |
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| Add McCormick's Pesto mix and water. I took care of this part since we couldn't afford to spill the pesto mix all over the place. |
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| Let it simmer for a few seconds and you're done. |
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| Sprinkle in some Parmesan cheese. He really enjoyed this part. |
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| Mix sauce with pasta |
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| Pesto Pasta prepared and cooked by a 2-year-old boy. |
Cooking with a toddler is not tedious as long as you prepare everything beforehand. Keep the items needed within your toddler's reach to avoid things from tipping over. The stove has to be right for your toddler's height to avoid accidents and ALWAYS be a step ahead of your little one.
Now at 5, he still dreams of being a chef one day. His dream might change as he grow older, but until then, I am proud to have him around as my Sous Chef.
