KIDS In the KITCHEN

If I am doing something in the kitchen that is not safe for 21 mo ds & 3&1/2 yr dd to help with I let them "wash dishes" in the sink. One step ahead has an stool thing with sides on it that was a little pricy but worth every penny. Its like an enclosed chair. Both kids fit on it & it folds.

Nothing in particular comes to mind, just to let him "help" with whatever you're doing. Mine helps me by scooping the oats into the pan for oatmeal. Then, he screws the lid onto the container (80-pounder). We use a long-handled wooden spoon to stir, and I let him help me hold it. When I wash carrots and potatoes, I let him hand them to me and/or pat them dry afterward. He's two months from being three.

"Dump ingredients"

My son has recently started collecting the garbage from the various rooms and dumping it in the kitchen garbage on garbage day. Not a cooking task, but your son may like this ---mine does.

Mine likes to scramble eggs (I cook them).
And any time I'm cooking, he wants to help by dumping the filled measuring cups into the bowl. I have a stand mixer, and he likes to control the speed on it - I tell him what number to put it on.

Sandwiches
scrambled eggs
cereal
Jello
cookies (or the kind you buy and slice and pop in the oven)

I taught my kids how to cook from toddlerhood.
They can learn anything.
Just teach them safety, in the kitchen and supervise of course.

At 3, my son could make his own scrambled eggs from start to finish, while I supervised.
But he did it all himself.

My dd helps me knead and roll dough for egg noodles, mixes random everything (dough, batters, marinades, etc.) creaks eggs into bowls for me (took quite a few weeks of picking out eggshells, but now she's a pro! Lol.) she also helps me measure dry ingredients.

Pretty much, any time I am cooking, she will do anything that doesn't involve the stove or precision.

scoop and measure ingredients. mix at the stove. When you decide to allow them to crack an egg just do it over another bowl with nothing in it in case you need to scoop out some shell. My 8 year old can now do an egg 1 handed with no shell! Egg cracking is such a satisfaction for my kids.

What a great thing you are doing! There are tons of fun things he can do.

Ants on a log. Can be peanut butter in celery or cream cheese with raisins on top.

Fruit kabobs. He can help you chop soft fruit with a butter knife. Bananas, strawberries, orange segments pre-peeled, whole grapes, pineapples peeled and in rings. Then let him skewer them on wooden kabob skewers.

Jello jigglers
egg salad
smoothies in the blender
spaghetti and red sauce (with help)
no bake cookies
rice krispie treats
ham and cheese stackers on ritz
mini pizzas with flattened biscuits for the crust
pigs in a blanket with crescent rolls
veggies and dip
microwave omelets (you put all the ingredients in a baggie and nuke them)
tortilla rollups (any combination of meats, cheeses, and veggies then you roll tight like sushi and slice with a butter knife.

I could go on and on. There are a million things you can make and they are all great learning experiences for math, science, small motor, following instructions, precision.

I just had my kids do ANYTHING that they were capable of, and kept them interested.
Lots of pouring, stirring and mixing.
Rinsing off dishes/bowls in the sink, and rinsing/scrubbing fresh veges
Helping set and clear the table.
If I was making pie crust or biscuit/bread dough I always saved a piece for them to play with :-)

Cracking eggs and/or scrambling eggs
Mixing brownie or cake batter (cookie dough is a bit hard)
Mixing and pouring pancake and waffle batter
Adding spice rubs to meat (wash hands immediately)

Another thing is that I tend to buy boxes of things (crackers, cheese puffs, cookies etc) and bag them up into individual portions instead of buying single-serve items. You can give him a measuring cup (or a number of something like cookies) and some snack or sandwich bags and have him portion snacks for the week. Makes packing lunches easier and helps me with portion control.

We make biscuits with Bisquick, milk and cheddar cheese, and a sprinkle of garlic. We either do drop biscuits (which are faster, so more "immediate gratification" or we knead it (according to the box directions) and do cut outs with cookie cutters and bake them.

For dessert, have her help you mix up apple pie filling from scratch (mix sliced apples, sugar, cinnamon, a little lemon juice.

Make pudding and/or pudding pie. Easy, fun to whisk, and yummy. For pie, we use a store bought graham cracker crust.

Homemade pizza, either with pizza shells, pitas (for smaller size) or on English muffins. Spread sauce, & sprinkle cheese and herbs. Bake or toast in toaster oven.

Well since my oldest was about 17 months old my kids have all enjoyed helping me in the kitchen.
It could be something very simple from putting peanut butter on apple slices with raisins. One of the first recipes we made together was chicken soup..before that he didnt much care for soup. afterwards he loved it because he helped

Helped you tear lettuce, set the table, rinse fruits and veggies, etc. He can also dump ingredients. When you cut things up, allow him to put them in the pot. If you are dumping a can of something, allow him to do it. Scrambled eggs.

When my daughter was that age I would have everything pre-measured for cookies (we make a lot of different kinds for presents at Christmas, for example.) and she would get to add them when it was time for them. She thought this was the best ever, and still loves helping. She especially loves cut out cookies and getting to pick the cookie cutters and press them in the dough. She also loves doing the sprinkles. :)

Three year olds in Montessori programs learning wet and dry pouring and measuring. At 3 my son could scoop sugar into a measuring cup, mix ingredients, whisk ingredients, cut with a plastic knife (soft things), juice lemons and help crack eggs.

My 3 year old does stand on a chair at the island and we talk or listen to music while I chop and he dumps. If it's gonna take a bit of time, he likes to eat a carrot while I chop some vegetables, and he always asks what's good about each thing. After practicing, he can now be trusted to take measuring spoons (when I hand them to him) to scoop and level off, and dump it in the bowl. He likes to stir and knows to hold the handle with one hand and stir with the wooden spoon with the other hand. Last night we had tikka masala and my 7 year old made the basmati and dumped the chicken pieces into the skillet after melting butter. I let my 3 year old measure out the spices, and in a separate bowl the corn starch, salt, and cream. My 7 year old stirred that stuff and poured it into the skillet with the chicken, and they took turns stirring it. Teamwork! (Yes, it takes a little longer and is NOT a break at this age, but it's important for them to learn to cook, have some fun, and it's a chance to bond and that's wonderful).
Sometimes I give him corn chips or crackers to crush, and I'll put it in a large ziploc bag, give him a rolling pin, and let him go to town on that while I'm busy elsewhere. He can also do the shaking if I put potatoes or meat in a bag to toss around with flour or oil and seasonings.
He also loves to get his hands dirty and help his big brother make meatballs, sausage balls, things like that, and we stand next to each other and he copies me as we roll a little cheese and lil' smokies in a crescent roll (pig in the blanket kind of thing) or we lay the crescents flat, scoop out a little bit of "whatever" (rice and crawfish etouffee, cinnamon apples, chicken mixture, little pizza sauce, cheese, and pepperoni...literally whatever) onto squares and then lay another square on top and pinch the edges. His might be a little more messy, but it's ok, it tastes the same. I just stress that we take our time and just copy me. Both boys also like to make cookies and top them however they like at my friend's house. And of course, they love making pizza. We use the pillsbury refrigerated dough, they put on some sauce and spread it around with their spoon, and then can top it however they like. They always put a layer of pepperoni on, then a layer of mozzarella, then a layer of whatever they want (green/black olives, onions, red/green peppers, mushrooms, tomatoes, etc) and then top that layer with cheddar or mozzarella. I don't let them handle jalepenos when cooking "just in case" but they can eat them after they're cooked.
Noodles are interesting for my kids, because they're hard and crispy when they go in...I stand right there and direct them, they've had "dry runs" as practice so they know how to put the noodles in without causing splashes that could hurt....but then yeah, a few minutes later when I remove the noodles and drain the water, they can look and see how different it is. They think that's pretty cool.

This isn't edible cooking, but I wonder if your son would enjoy making baking soda and vinegar volcanoes at his age. I started mine with that at 3.5, and it was a huge hit. It's still my 5-year-old nephew's favorite thing in the world to do.

Aside from that, it's just great to have him "help" with any and all cooking and cleaning. Anything (as long as raw meat, heat, and sharp knives aren't involved) should be fair game.

I always had my daughter in the kitchen with me at that age. I would just let her help with whatever needed to be done, it never too early for them to start learning cooking and safety skills.

measure something, let her dump it in the bowl
making baked potatoes, let her poke the holes in it
let her open a package
let her stir something, even if it doesn't need stirring
let her wash dishes, they love playing in the soapy water

At that age, DD would dump ingredients as others have said. She could also help make a salad which we eat most nights. Very easy for a child with clean hands to tear lettuce and cut cucumbers with a child safe knife. She could also dump things like olives, grape tomatoes, etc. that I set out for her. Easy and not too much mess.