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Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Cooking parties still work with kids

We've been getting together with two other couples to do these awesome cooking parties for years now. Our last one, a Kabob Party, was just this weekend, and I had to laugh at how things have changed over the years. We still rotate houses each time, with the host choosing the menu and each couple buying the ingredients for one or two of the dishes, and we still spend a lot of time laughing, cooking, and eating, but... We used to have six adults and only one kiddo, and used to arrive around 3pm and cook until about 9 or 10 at night (the cooking was seriously delayed by all the talking). Now we've got seven kids between us (yep, outnumbered!), and we have to work around afternoon naps and chasing happy kids the whole time. So we've adapted things. The host still chooses the menu and the recipes, but now each couple prepares their assigned dishes ahead of time and brings them ready to be cooked. We choose plenty of things that the kids can help with during the party. And the parties start a smidge later and break up a little earlier (I chuckled when we were all on the road before 8:30pm this time). But the main things haven't changed a bit: we have incredible amounts of fun and cook (and eat) some really great food. For this weekend's Kabob Party, our host picked these awesome recipes, most of which were cooked on the grill: Cowboy Kabobs Chicken Satay Skewers with mango relish (this one was my fave) Pizza Pull Kabobs Cheese and Fruit Kabobs Grilled Vegetable Kabobs (yum!!) Dessert Kabobs (This one was brought unassembled, and then the kids got to make it for everyone.) Here are a few pics, taken with the purse cam. Ro and Ree like to help with everything in the kitchen. It can get a little tricky when mama is making things like mojitos, heh heh. So we changed gears and let them make virgin mojitos for all the kids. IMG_2402 IMG_2403 Ro was jumping so high it was crazy! I could barely hold the camera I was laughing so hard. Love how high in the air Ro is IMG_2422 Enjoying one of my custom mojitos. Mmmm, I've finally figured out how to make them. I'll share the recipe in another post. IMG_2437m They all loved making the Dessert Kabobs. Quick, easy, and fun, fun, fun. IMG_2445 Little Ree always makes this face when she's cooking. The girl is deadly serious about her cooking. IMG_2454 Hm, Ro just might, perhaps, have gotten a teeny bit on her face: IMG_2457 Am I clean, mama? Did I get any on me? Ro (hee!) Hee! Someday (maybe) I'll get my act together and take a group shot of everyone at our cooking parties. Wouldn't those be fun to look back on?

17 comments:

  1. Love the dessert kabobs! Can't wait to try that. And anxiously awaiting the forthcoming mojito recipe!

    p.s. blog award for you over at my place.

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  2. We often do hands on cooking parties for kids and one fun idea is to do a make your own pizza night. The parents would make the dough in advance and then just buy a bunch of fun kid-friendly topping (cheese, sausage, tomatoes etc). The kids can form their own pizzas and I find that if they make their own pizza, they are way more likely to eat it than if you make it for them! A fun twist for dessert is make your own sundaes with fun toppings like M&M's etc. I have other fun kid-friendly recipes, got to www.PartiesThatCook.com

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  3. Thanks for that link bibby! Can't wait to check it out.

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  4. Yum; I am craving chocolate now.

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  5. Oh my - that looks like too much fun!

    We should try to do something like that... gotta talk to K2.

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  6. The girls look SO GROWN UP!

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  7. Anonymous7/28/2009

    Those dessert kabobs look great, and I'm a grown-up! I think it's terrific that you and your friends still get together. So many times, I think "it's just easier to stay home" when I think of getting my two ready and out the door (and get myself in some decent shape to go) for a evening of fun.

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  8. My fave grilled kabobs as a kid were cubed ham alternated with pineapple chunks and slathered with bbq sauce. Grilled to perfection. YUMMO.

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  9. What a great way to have family fun together with friends! Mmmm...going to check out some of those recipes and give them a whirl!

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  10. Ha ha love that chocolate face!!

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  11. I love your dessert kabobs! I'm doing this at our next party. :)

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  12. Ree looked pretty intense there! lol On a side note, Gracie has the same exact shirt as Ree... I can't for the life of me even remember where I picked it up but it's one of my favorites. :) Glad ya'll had such a fun time!

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  13. What a grand idea. Yummy! That food looks amazing! I'm going to look into trying some of these!

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  14. We used to do that kinda fun thing in our old neighborhood. Man do I miss those days! Looks like the kabobs were a definite hit!

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  15. I love the chocolate face :) SO cute!

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  16. Anonymous7/29/2009

    We've been big on Fondue Friday but I love the idea of a Kabob Party. Looks delicious and fun!

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  17. Hi,
    Watch this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azgBhZfcqaQ
    We choose the MONSTER Britax Regent after a fender bender, than ;ater I watched this.
    They are pricey but it will last through until grade 2 or so.

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