Ree Drummond's Advice For Getting Kids in the Kitchen Is So Ridiculously Simple

Being in the kitchen with my mom and grandmas is something I'll always remember fondly. I can recall baking Christmas cookies while standing on a chair at the counter at one grandma's house and then going to the other grandma's house to make her signature peanut butter fudge. My mom and I still cook together whenever we're in the same place, though, admittedly, I make her do all the cleaning up. Cooking is something that's fun for the whole family, but for those parents who aren't sure how to get their kids excited to help out, Pioneer Woman Ree Drummond has the simplest advice ever: start them young.

"Bring them in and give them a ball of dough or something," she said. "When they're little, just let them think they're helping, because at least they're in the kitchen." She suggested giving them a spoon or something simple, definitely nothing dangerous. "Obviously don't hand them a knife or anything, but something easy," she said.

Ree's own children have been known to help her in the kitchen from time to time, and she said she started them in the kitchen young as well. "They like to help me bake," she said of her four children. And Ree is a huge fan of baking, which is part of why she teamed up with Pillsbury this year to bring back the Bake-Off Contest. Along with Food Network and Pillsbury, she'll help select original recipes and stories from entrants to the contest — and she wants your story to be good! "We really want recipes that have a strong story behind them, whether it's heartwarming or funny, as long as it's a story," she said.

If you're like me and you have fond memories of being in the kitchen with your parents and whipping up amazing concoctions, maybe you should enter the Bake-Off. You never know, you just might win. And you'll add to your already amazing story.