Hello! I finally figured out a way to convince my little brother to hang out with me, bribery. Okay not really. Well, maybe kind of… see I recently realized he doesn’t know how to cook. And at 15 he is a typical teenage boy that can always eat. So when I bought him a mini-cake kit he didn’t make it until I came over to help because he’d never used the oven before.
I made the cake with him a few weeks ago and read him the directions as he made the cake. Since he got cake at the end of the project I think he considered it a success.
I used that tactic again a few days ago and told him I was coming over to make dinner but needed his help. This time I asked if he could read the directions to me. This made him feel like he was helping, but more importantly it probably made him feel like he was bossing his usually very bossy older sister.
We were making a family dinner from Blue Apron.
He directed me on all the steps – from prepping the produce to making the sauce. I was able to get him to stir a few things and get me ingredients – it was a good amount of teamwork.
It was also fun to cook with ginger and explain to him that ginger is what comes with the wasabi at sushi restaurants but it’s sliced super thin. After I diced it for the sauce we smelled the discarded skin parts and noted how potent it is!
We made Honey Glazed Cod with Coconut Rice. I served it family style and my mom and dad joined us for dinner. It came out so good everyone said it was delicious.
The food was great, the company was great and my mom did the dishes which was great too!
Bonus: A few days later he text me this sign from Blue Apron he spotted out and about. He was paying attention!
My other Blue Apron meal for this week was Panko Crusted Chicken with Pea Tip Salad. The last time I made breaded chicken for a Blue Apron meal it was a huge hit so I knew this would be another winner.
Making a delicious crusted chicken is so easy and impressive (if I had any friends to impress I would make this). I feel like a legit home cook when I do this and get a perfect crispy crust and moist chicken on the inside.
A little fun bonus of this dinner was the Pink Lemon that came to garnish the meal. I had never seen one of these and before I read the insert that came with the delivery wasn’t sure if it was a lemon or a lime. Check out those stripes! It had a subtle pink hue on the inside too. My camera didn’t do it justice, but it was a very pretty sight.
Can you believe I made this? I feel so fancy…
Next time I want to try Baked Eggs and Cheesy Garlic Bread on their recipe page.
The first 25 RER readers to sign up for Blue Apron get 2 FREE meals. Go here to get more info or sign up.
Question: Do you cook? Alone? Does someone help?
This post is in partnership with Blue Apron. All opinions are my own.
Super great idea!!!!! I do all the cooking, but this is a great tip for me to get my son to learn how to lend a hand. He’s super picky, but I could work it. Maybe tonight’s dinner.
Ok, how flipping’ adorable is your brother? I think that’s great you guys are cooking together!
My mom helps me with dinner 🙂
Luckily when I go over to cook my mom does the dishes 🙂
I had that weird lemon in my last Blue Apron too! I think it was for the chickpea falafels (SO good). That cod and coconut rice dish looks amazing!
aww what a good older sister showing your brother how to cook! i have done with same with my little sister, how is it younger siblings dont know how to cook?! I usually like to cook alone that way i dont run into people but when im cooking for a lot of people i get my husbands help and he is a decent sous chef but gets easily confused lol
I love to cook. I usually cook alone but sometimes my husband helps me.
I eat a lot of peanut butter and jelly because I just don’t get the urge to cook very of then and then my food spoils. It’s a vicious cycle.
I use this tactic on my husband hehe 🙂