Main course:
- homemade baked chicken tenders - Rachael Ray's Baked Chicken Tenders https://www.rachaelrayshow.com/recipe/15328_Baked_Chicken_Tenders/
- rice pilaf (Uncle Ben's Ready Rice -rice pilaf... time was limited)
- baby carrots (Everyone agreed on raw carrots; which worked great due to the limited time frame)
- a "cinnamon roll casserole" https://www.pillsbury.com/recipes/cinnamon-french-toast-bake/e710db37-7d40-4bba-b63e-e6e4ad81ae81
The lesson entailed creating the shopping list so that I could do the shopping. They had to figure out how much of each ingredient they would need for the menu.
According to my students, they have had little experience in the kitchen, with the exception of eating or heating food in the microwave or toaster. On the day of the cooking lesson, the four students were paired up to make the two different courses. First we discussed kitchen safety and then food safety. The most important lesson: first wash your hands and keep them away from your face and hair.
Here are two of my students working together to make the "cinnamon roll casserole." They took turns reading the recipe and following the various steps: measuring, leveling, cracking eggs, whisking, etc.
Here's the other team of "iron chefs" who made traditional chicken tenders and buffalo style chicken tenders. Learned what "dredge in flour" meant, and then dipped the tender in egg and then bread crumbs...
Here is one student who deviating from the recipe (e.g., using flexible thinking); he used buffalo sauce, instead of eggs to make the tenders.
Finished products... They all decided that both recipes turned out better than they had originally thought and asked if they could do another cooking lesson...
I think the most challenging step for my students was the clean up at the end. As they were unfamiliar with cooking (mostly) from scratch, they didn't realize what the clean up entailed. Three out of four of the students said that they would like to help their parents cook dinner and be a part of the process. One student said that he would like to cook the chicken tenders for his family.
More involvement in daily activities will lead to more opportunities for communication and learning life skills.
According to my students, they have had little experience in the kitchen, with the exception of eating or heating food in the microwave or toaster. On the day of the cooking lesson, the four students were paired up to make the two different courses. First we discussed kitchen safety and then food safety. The most important lesson: first wash your hands and keep them away from your face and hair.
Here are two of my students working together to make the "cinnamon roll casserole." They took turns reading the recipe and following the various steps: measuring, leveling, cracking eggs, whisking, etc.
Here's the other team of "iron chefs" who made traditional chicken tenders and buffalo style chicken tenders. Learned what "dredge in flour" meant, and then dipped the tender in egg and then bread crumbs...
Here is one student who deviating from the recipe (e.g., using flexible thinking); he used buffalo sauce, instead of eggs to make the tenders.
Finished products... They all decided that both recipes turned out better than they had originally thought and asked if they could do another cooking lesson...
I think the most challenging step for my students was the clean up at the end. As they were unfamiliar with cooking (mostly) from scratch, they didn't realize what the clean up entailed. Three out of four of the students said that they would like to help their parents cook dinner and be a part of the process. One student said that he would like to cook the chicken tenders for his family.
More involvement in daily activities will lead to more opportunities for communication and learning life skills.
