Making Family Memories in the Kitchen

There is just something about being in the kitchen that makes the world a better place.

When I’m in the kitchen all the worries and stresses from the day disappear. I could be chopping for hours and be still at complete and utter peace. I don’t have to worry about a thing in the kitchen; I can just cook and reap the benefits of a delicious meal after a couple of minutes!

Growing up, the kitchen was a place where my mom and I connected. To this day it still is, especially after she went back to school at Le Cordon Bleu. When she comes to our house to visit we usually hang out in the kitchen, she teaches me the things she’s been learning and I cook her my latest recipe from the blog.

Because the kitchen was such a big part of my childhood memories, I want it to be the same for my little guy. Between making meals, eating, and taking photos, I probably spend between 2-3 hours in the kitchen a day so I want to make sure that little man can be involved in most if not all of those activities. Teaching him what things are called, letting him stir things, letting him taste things, and helping me take photos (he, of course, has his own camera), I want him to be involved in everything!

After all, he is going to be the next “Bobby Flavor,” hehe!

One of our favorite things to do in the kitchen is make cookies. This kid LOVES cookies, he definitely is his mother’s son!

As soon as he sees me bring the bag of dark chocolate chips out of the freezer he goes crazy! Literally. He has his own chocolate chip dance that he does in the kitchen and then climbs up on this stool to help me make the cookies.

Mommy is in charge of scooping and measuring and little man is in charge of dumping the ingredients into the bowl and mixing. Yes, on occasion we have missed the mixer or turned it on too fast, resulting in flour everywhere. But that is the joy of cooking and making memories in the kitchen!

I absolutely love that he enjoys spending time with me in the kitchen, that he likes to learn, and to try new things. What kid do you know who eats goat cheese and balsamic reduction on a regular basis! 🙂

I hope that his childhood memories will be filled with fun times in the kitchen like mine were!

As little man continues to get older, I secretly want him to still enjoy coming into the kitchen with me, making cookies, anxiously waiting until they are finished, and then eating them warm right out of the oven with gooey chocolate running out of them.

I will continue to do it as long as he’s interested and plan on doing it with our grandkids when we are older!

These are just a few memories I will cherish in the kitchen.

The kitchen should be not a child-free zone, it should be one where they can learn, experiment, and try the creations they’ve made! The kitchen is the heart of the home – and so much of life plays out in its most honest forms.

Do you have any memories in the kitchen from when you were growing up?

Are you making any new ones now?

GE Appliances put together a few fun stories as part of their Our American Kitchen series of why the kitchen is the heart of peoples’ homes! Since I have been talking about cookies you need to check out this video: Maryann, the Cookie Lady of Rome, NY.

It is about a woman who is known as the “cookie lady.” She is always baking and showing her love by handing out cookies to people in the neighborhood, police officers, whoever! Her husband is a politician and she is known around the town more than he is! She is pretty hilarious to watch too and you can tell it brings her joy! 🙂

What does the American Kitchen mean to you? Tell me in the comments in three sentences or less and you’ll be entered to win a GE Cafe™ Series Refrigerator worth $3,100! Entries from participating blogs will be pooled and one winner will be chosen at random.

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