Cooking together on weekends - actual tips that work

Lotta posts here about cooking with kids but here's what actually works with my 5 and 9yo:

Pizza night - let them make their own personal pizzas with whatever toppings. It's messy but they'll actually eat it because they made it.

Prep day - they wash veggies, I do the chopping, they help assemble stuff. Makes weeknight dinners faster AND they feel included.

Breakfast for dinner - seriously. Pancakes, scrambled eggs, whatever. Less pressure than dinner, more forgiving if it's a disaster.

The key is picking stuff where their involvement actually matters and where it's cool if it's not perfect.