Kids Make Dinner: Take 5

I chose for kids to make dinner on August 4 because it was Night Out Day and I wanted to go out for the evening, maybe watch the sunset, and not have the responsibility of making dinner that night. I want the kids to help each other (it's great when the older kids help the 6-year old who doesn't have as much cooking experience).
As often happens, substitutions were made, but I'll tell you... Lucky did a wonderful job with making chocolate chip cookies since August 4 is also Chocolate Chip Cookie Day. He used the chocolate chip cookie recipe from The Food Nanny Rescues Dinner. I'm so glad I got that book. He halved the recipe and did a good job remembering to use half a cup of certain ingredients instead of a whole cup. I was there supervising and helping a bit with figuring out half measurements but he put all the ingredients together and was so proud of himself for cracking the egg without getting any shell in the bowl. Way to go, Lucky. He needed a little help getting the mixer going and when the dough got a bit harder for him to stir with a spoon. He also asked that older people put cookies in and take them out of the oven but he got them off the sheet and onto a cooling rack. He didn't need a lot of help, mostly supervision and someone to answer his questions. I'm very pleased. I keep telling the kids about benefits to knowing how to cook/bake.

Here's what else the kids made (only the dried fruit was in the original plan but that's life):
Nichole made pasta with pasta sauce. Jr. made mini cornbread muffins. Jr. Jr. had dried banana chips and dried pineapple for us to eat.

It was getting later and later and I still wanted my night out so I left before dinner was ready. Jet slept in the van while I drove to Powell Lake to see birds and try to see evening lighting on the hills.

Not so great. The hills kind of just got dark. I've seen better. Oh well.

I also got hungry after a while and decided to go home to eat some of the food that was left.