One of the best ideas I have ever had!!!!

Towards the end of summer, every mid afternoon, I would hear those dreaded words from the pesky children....the words every overwhelmed housewife and mother dreads...you know the words....those dreaded three little words that cause panic when they are uttered....

WHAT'S FOR DINNER?

In the throws of summer, I am exceptionally unorganized cause there is only one thing on my mind...FUN!! Planning dinner to me is not fun. I loathe it. I am getting better at menu planning, but I have a long way to go!

So every night, I would cringe and sulk...and then one particular busy day, it dawned on me. Why do I have to be the one who cooks dinner? Plus cooking is a life skill, my kids need life skills, and by cooking dinner for them, I was depriving them of that knowledge. Shame on me!!!

So I had both of the boys pick a dinner night. Collin's was pretty much picked for him cause of his hectic schedule. Michael had a couple options. Collin's dinner night is Monday, and Michael's night is Thursdays. We do modify the nights as need be, and we

The results have been truly amazing and edible. Collin has cooked all kinds of dishes....Chicken and dumplings (we call it chicken pot pie even though it isn't a pie-its a south jersey thing), Chinese chicken, homemade macaroni and cheese, Chicken Marsala, Chicken Alfredo....He is really started to concoct some tasty meals...tonight was homemade macaroni and cheese with a bunch of different cheeses! Yummy!

Michael's menus have been more along the lines of Hamburger Helper, Macaroni and Cheese, Chicken Alfredo, Tacos, and more Tacos. Simpler and easier, I figured start with the basics and work our way up. Either way it is one less night that I have to make dinner. YAY FOR ME!

My 2 year old is eager to join the kitchen brigade, and I let her help me out on non-hazardous jobs on my dinner nights. So she is my little chef in training....