On these cold, rainy, and snowy days and nights, keep the children entertained teaching them food and kitchen safety, as well as cooking techniques with the various products and tools that adorn our galleys.  Safety in handling raw foods, sharp tools, and heat are the three most important lessons for our future chefs.  With adult supervision, the entire family can learn and grow together in the kitchen.

The Cuisinart 5-in-1 Griddler is a perfect accoutrement to any kitchen.  We all remember the famous Boxer and his indoor grill.  Cuisinart has developed more than just a floating cover.  Making paninis, pancakes and burgers are just a switch and setting away!  And purchasing the waffle plates for this kid friendly device will make every Sunday morning special!  On sale at less than $100, makes this a cool birthday present for the aspiring chef.

[caption id="attachment_2126" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Burgers, paninis to pancakes are made precisely on the Cuisinart Griddler.[/caption]

Making those waffles is just plain fun!  Simple for the children to learn.  And everyone can top it the way they like!  Instructing the little ones on how to follow recipes kick-starts their minds in math at an early age.  And, when using the KitchenAid Empire Red Professional 600 Series 6QT Lift Stand Mixer, Junior gets to learn about power!  10 speeds, 12 optional attachments, and a proprietary 67-point planetary mixing action is all us adults need to hear when purchasing a stand mixer.  This KitchenAid Stand Mixer will last the family from birth, to passing it down to your son or daughter for their college dorm! At under $500, and as KitchenAid states, this is a true culinary center, not just a mixer, well worth its unbeatable current price!

[caption id="attachment_2129" align="alignnone" width="1024"] This KitchenAid Stand Mixer is one the most advanced mixers of all time![/caption]

Here is an easy waffle recipe (adapted from Hungry for Truth):

INGREDIENTS

• 3 eggs
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 11 tablespoons butter
• 3 cups corn flour
• ¾ cups sour crème
• 2 cups milk
• 3 cups corn flour

DIRECTIONS

1.  Using the KitchenAid, start with the eggs and sugar 1^st.  Let the kids watch them turn nice and fluffy.
2. Add the remainder with wet, then dry ingredients.
3. Lastly, have the butter melted previously by a little teammate in the microwave.  This is a great time to teach stuff is cold, then hot from the microwave.
4. Time to use your Trudeau Flame Resistant Oven Gloves! Slowly incorporate the butter.  Let sit for around 15 minutes.
5. Then, in it goes into our Cuisinart 5-in-1 Griddler.
6. Top with whipped crème, syrup, berries, jelly, peanut butter or even chicken of course!

Some cute things we have to train our new food critics of the world are the Constructive Eating, Set of 3 Construction Utensils.  Our toddler gets to learn his fork and spoon by playing with a fork-lift fork, a front loader spoon, and bull dozer to push the food further on their lifts.  At less than $25, well worth to have around for your kids first, then theirs.

[caption id="attachment_2131" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Kids love learning their food with Constructive Utensils![/caption]

And once pushing foods around isn’t that fun anymore, time to move up to the Zwilling J.A. Henckles Twin Eckbert 4 Piece Children Set.  This classy little utensil set is great for when they are over three and get to practice cutting their own chicken and veggies.  On sale at under $30, this is a great gift, or family keepsake for generations of children in your family.

The kitchen is truly a great way to bond, learn, and grow in nutrition and family values.  Cooking utilizes many facets, therefore creating a successful, well-rounded individual at adulthood.  Allow yourself to be a kid again with your own kids in the kitchen.  Have fun!