The Perfect Dinner Salad – Let the kids cook for you! #MangiaTonight

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Around these parts, family is a pretty big deal. It’s the motivation for all we do.

I’m a bit territorial of my “domain,” aka, the kitchen. But some of my fondest memories are of learning at my mother’s elbow in the kitchen. It’s never too early or late to invite our kids into the kitchen.

We decided to stir things up a bit in the routine and the kitchen. We wanted an easy, delicious, satisfying meal that our kids could help cook every step of the way. We didn’t want just dinner. We wanted Mangia! The experience of creating a memory, rather than just a meal.

To do that, we needed a few ingredients. First, we ran to Smith’s to get some Bertolli Chicken Florentine (my favorite!!) from the freezer section.

 

They have LOTS of options, so make sure you grab all your favorites. These are perfect to have on hand.

It says right on there, “meal for 2.” Luckily for us, two of our people only count has a half. Actually, one of them probably counts as like a quarter of a person because she’s so picky. 🙂 So it was plenty to satisfy.

And what goes better with yummy pasta than a delicious salad? We didn’t want just any old bag of lettuce. We wanted a hearty salad that the kids could make all by themselves. So we ran to the produce section and picked up some essentials for a delicious dinner salad.

That night, we set out the fixings and the kids were in heaven!

They sprinkled the parsley and garlic on the French bread –

Then topped it with grated Parmesan.

Next, we poured the Bertolli in the saute pan and let it do it’s thing while we worked magic on the dinner salad.

The Perfect Dinner Salad

1 head/bag romaine lettuce (washed, chopped)
1 roma tomato, diced
1 avocado, sliced
½ cup mushrooms, sliced and washed
1 hardboiled egg
1/4 cup chopped cucumber

Have all the ingredients ready. Let the kids dump them in any order, toss and enjoy.

The salad was the easiest and funnest part. First goes the lettuce, then the kids had a blast dumping in the avocado and hard boiled egg. My son dumped in the whole bowl of mushrooms in one swoop. As you can see, it’s not the prettiest salad in the world.

And our fingers were goopy and messy by the time we were done. But look at those smiles!

When everything was broiled, tossed and heated to perfection, we sat down at the table with a fancy runner. My kids kept saying, “It’s a feast!” with that child-like wonder in their voices.

It was probably the easiest dinner to make, and yet it was so fun for the kids that they wanted to do it again the next night! And the best part was that they ate it all – seriously, everything! – because they were so involved in the process of making the food.

Hm. Now that’s food for thought.

Tonight is the night to create your own Mangia! Find Bertolli items at some of the lowest prices of the year in a Kroger or Kroger banner store near you. (Kroger banners include Fred Meyer, Smiths, Frys, Dillions, King Soopers, City Market, and QFC.) Find a store near you: http://cbi.as/22eph

What do you do to mix up your dinner? How do you make it special for you and those you love?