Chef Declan

For Christmas, Declan got a kids' slow-cooker cookbook from Aunt Andrea and Uncle Matt.  Today I told him he was in charge of dinner.  He whined a bit about it initially, but I sat down with him and we picked out a recipe.  He chose a Mexican casserole kind of deal.  I put an apron on him and all I did was cook the meat  and otherwise play runner.  Declan took the reins, read the recipe and guided me through what he needed.  He put it all together as I did my best to give him tips over his shoulder.  Somewhere in the middle of it, his attitude totally changed as he decided this wasn't so bad!  The last step was to turn the crock pot on low and let it cook for a few hours.  Declan turned to me and said, "Wait.  It just cooks in there?!"  I said yep, he was all done!  He stepped off the chair he was standing on.  "I like being a cooker!  I think I'll just cook dinner every night!"

The Not-Quite-Naked Chef

When it was finally dinner time, we all sat down and enjoyed our meal.  Everyone thanked Declan for cooking such a delicious dinner and he just sat there and beamed, so proud of himself.  Some comments he made while we were eating:

"Actually, I'm getting thanked five times because I thank myself for making it and I thank myself for choosing the recipe!"

"I think I want this for my birthday dinner and I don't even need help making it since I already know how."

"Logan, if you want this for your birthday dinner, you just let me know and I'll cook it for you!"

So, we may have a little chef in the making.  I'm happy it was such a success for him.  He didn't even notice the deviously included green chiles that he would have otherwise zeroed in on and used as an excuse to refuse to eat the whole meal.