I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t always invite my kids to help me cook in the kitchen. The holiday season may be the only time it’s all hands on deck! My youngest son loves to help and will often ask if he can help me with whatever I am doing. I am slowly allowing him to gain his independence around the kitchen and give him small tasks to do. He loves to make his own milkshakes and smoothies while I supervise him. He also likes to make pitchers of mixed drinks and help me bake. I think his favorite thing to do is crack the eggs. We just started working on separating egg whites for certain recipes.
I was excited at the opportunity to learn more about the Uncle Ben’s Beginners Program and cook a family recipe with my son. The Uncle Ben’s Beginners Program promotes incorporating your children into your cooking routine and turning it into a fun family activity. This is perfect because I always turn what we are doing into a lesson of sorts. My youngest is home schooled so when we prepare a meal or bake together he is getting a math, health, science and reading lesson. It’s hands on learning and he really enjoys it!
Uncle Ben’s Beginners also shares that kids who cook develop healthier eating habits that last a lifetime. They have created a digital hub to provide interactive step-by-step instructions and family friendly recipes to bring families together through preparing meals using online lessons. You can also take a picture of your rice-based creation and share it on social media using #BensBeginners. If you’re feeling adventurous enter the Uncle Ben’s Beginners Cooking Contest for a chance to win one of five Grand Prize Packages.
The Uncle Ben’s Cooking Contest Prize Packages include $15,000 cash, a $30,000 cafeteria makeover for your child’s school and a hometown celebration. Submissions will be accepted on the Uncle Ben’s website until 11:59 p.m. ET on October 9th, 2017. This is a great way to create more memories in the kitchen with your little one. It’s also a great way to better your community and school with a single dish. The contest is open to parents with kids in kindergarten through eighth grade. Check it out!
I was surprised at how much my son enjoyed helping prepare a meal from start to finish. This was the first time he stayed in the kitchen the entire time and was genuinely intrigued by what we were cooking and asking questions along the way. We cooked Caribbean Pumpkin Seasoned Rice. It’s a recipe that my grandmother used to make for me and my mother still makes for me to this day. It was my first time attempting to make it with mini me, so my mom was on speed dial throughout this process.
We went grocery shopping and bought all of our ingredients which included: Uncle Ben’s Original Enriched Parboiled Long Grain Rice, Pumpkin, Grape Tomatoes, Scallion, Thyme, Fresh Parsley, Habanero Pepper, Shrimp & Cod Fish. We then washed all of our ingredients and had to do some measuring and cutting for our recipe. Once the prep work was done we were ready to start cooking; starting with boiling the water for the rice. We also boiled our cod fish for about 10-20 minutes to cut some of the salt out.
Instructions: Boil rice with pumpkin. Pick a part your cod fish and add it when the rice is half done. Add Scallion, Thyme, Tomatoes and Habanero Pepper. Cover it and let it cook down. You’ll add the shrimp last because it doesn’t take that long to cook. Garnish your dish with fresh parsley. Prep time shouldn’t take any more than 15 minutes and cook time should be 45 minutes or a little longer depending on how you like your rice cooked. Feel free to use the graphic with the recipe and cooking instructions to make this delicious rice dish.
Disclosure: This conversation has been sponsored by the Network Niche and its advertiser Uncle Ben’s. All opinions expressed are 100% honest and completely my own.