Over the past couple of months I came to the realization that I really don't like to cook. It's just another chore, another thing that needs doing every day, and with our limited budget and my limited store of mental recipes, it gets old. Ryan hates to cook too, because by the time he's done cooking he doesn't want to eat whatever he's made. He's supposed to cook once a week on one of his days off but that hasn't been happening. It was a running joke last year that his day to cook was Friday, so we'd order pizza. I really miss that.
All of a sudden though, just this weekend, Gabe started wanting to help me in the kitchen. He offered to help peel potatoes, and I let him. He then helped chop them up while I worked with the meat on the stove, and together we had dinner ready to go in no time. I taught him how to smash a clove of garlic with the flat of a blade and the difference between dicing and chopping. Last night he was back asking to chop up more veggies so together we made a salad. He doesn't normally like mashed potatoes OR salad, but ate both because *he* had helped make them. I call that a win for sure. Hopefully this interest keeps up and he gets a lifelong love of food out of it, plus all the knowledge that goes with it.
I also hate to cook, but on the days that DH is willing to help me with the prep of the food, I don't mind it nearly as much. The other thing I hate is having to be the one to decide, all the time, what we're having for supper. I ask DH what he'd like to have and I get told "Whatever, I don't care." I run out of ideas after a while.
Hey there! I totally hear you. With Gabe in the kitchen with me cooking isn't such a chore. It's definitely more fun with someone helping! And yeah, I'm 100% incharge of what gets made every night, and I do run out of ideas too. Me thinks it's time to pull out the slow-cooker more often.