Side Dish

Kids in the Kitchen: Cooking Delicious, Healthy Recipes With Little Helpers

- Mama 5 Comments

From the earliest age Zach was able to hold a spoon, he has wanted to help in the kitchen. Obviously, I wanted to be sure that he wasn’t going to get hurt doing these tasks. Of course, no one was going to go handing my one year old a knife, but encouraging his natural interest in cooking was a must for me. So, I spent many long, hard hours researching how kids could have their kitchen interest engaged… safely.

Armed with suggestions from around the web, and a few realizations of my own, I started giving Zach ways to help in the kitchen, and he started showing me new ways he could succeed, also. So, below is my list of great ways that kids can help out in the kitchen, safely and in age-appropriate manners.

Two year olds can…

-Wipe a table. (Fun tip! Spray shaving cream on the table, then allow your child to draw pictures in the shaving cream with their finger and rub it around on the table. It’s a great sensory experience! Wipe the table, and their hands, thoroughly, and enjoy your clean table!)
-Tear lettuce for a big salad
-Stir a mix or batter with supervision
-Rinse food, like vegetables and fruits
-Add ingredients to a bowl, with guidance

Three year olds can do all of the above and…

-Squeeze citrus fruits for fruit juice or lemonade
-Assemble a pizza by spreading sauce, adding toppings and cheese
-Knead dough
-Peel fruits like oranges and bananas (sometimes needing help to start the orange peeling)
-Count food items
-Crack eggs with help
-Scoop food from one bowl to another

Four year olds can do everything above and also…

-Set the table
-Measure dry ingredients
-Make sandwiches (with guidance)
-Cut soft foods like bananas with a butter knife and a LOT of supervision

Five year olds, finally, can do everything above and…

-Measure liquids
-Separate eggs with an egg separator
-Zest fruits with supervision

But the really important thing to remember is that while kids help in the kitchen, they need guidance and help staying safe. For optimal child safety, give your child their own workspace! If they have a workspace of their own that’s away from knives, other sharp objects, hot stoves, and hot pans, they’re able to stay safe from harm while they cook and learn!

Always supervise children in the kitchen. Be sure to tell them all of the safety rules so they know that only grown-ups should use the stove, small appliances like toasters and blenders, and sharp items like knives.

Be sure everyone washes their hands and that you wash all fruits and vegetables thoroughly to prevent the spread of disease!

Don’t mind the mess! Start out with a clean kitchen, but realize that if you’re cooking with a child, it’s going to take a little longer than doing it yourself, and there will probably be a larger cleanup. Invite your child to help you clean up any areas that are safe to help in, so they learn that cleanup is part of the cooking process. But don’t cry over spilled milk… recognize that the mess and longer time is just part of the learning process and part of the memories that you and your child will hold dear for years to come.

Want to keep your kids extra safe? I’ve designed a fun 8×10 printable safety tips poster. You can check out the preview below, then download it here.

If you’d like to test out these great safety tips by cooking with your little helper, you’re in luck, because today, my son Zach and I are sharing two favorite recipes from our kitchen that I know will be a hit in your kitchen, as well. First up, a delicious smoothie.

Mango Pineapple Fruit Smoothies

Zach is a huge fan of smoothies, so we always love finding a new smoothie recipe to try. We’ve bought bagged smoothie kits, shaker smoothies, and made a variety of fresh and frozen fruit and veggie smoothies, but this one hits the spot every time, especially during the summer.

You’ll need 1/2 a cup diced mango (about one large mango), 1/2 cup diced pineapple (about 1/4 a whole pineapple), 1 Tablespoon honey, 1 container of vanilla yogurt (6-8 ounces), and 1/2 cup orange or mango juice. We had mango on hand, so that’s what we used.

Parents, go ahead and pre-slice the mango chunks into small bite-sized pieces. If you have an older child, they may be able to help with this part with supervision, but you’ll still likely want to cut the meat off of the harder pit so they don’t slip and cut themselves.

Pre-slice the pineapple, as well, also into bite sized pieces. Again, an older child may be able to help with this step with supervision, but use your best judgement about what your child can handle, and make sure they’re experienced in handling a knife.

You may also want to take this time to pre-measure the juice and honey, depending on your child’s age. Because Zach will only be 3 in July and is still learning in the kitchen, I chose to measure them in advance.

Invite your little chef to pour the ingredients into the blender. Make sure you remind your child to be mindful of the sharp parts inside the blender, and remind them to never stick their hands inside.

Blend until smooth, then enjoy!

This makes approximately 6 (1/2 cup) smoothie servings!

While sipping your smoothie, talk to your child about their favorite part of making this recipe, and ask them what sort of fruit they think might go well in a future smoothie! You may be starting a delicious and healthy smoothie addiction in your child!

Tangy Fruit Dip

My son is a huge fan of fruit. He also loves yogurt. So what’s the best way to pair the two? With a delicious yogurt-based fruit dip, of course! Because trust me, my son can’t eat any food from fish sticks to fries, without wanting to “dip it!” and I wanted to re-create that same experience with a healthier, lighter fare that makes a great afternoon snack or a delicious side dish or party food.

You’ll need a container of vanilla yogurt (6-8 ounces), two teaspoons of honey, and 3-4 key limes (or 1 lime*), and the fruit your child likes best to dip. We personally chose watermelon, but this fruit dip is great with strawberries, plums, pineapple, and more!

I started by slicing my watermelon so it would be ready to eat as soon as Zach finished making the dip. To easily slice a melon into fry-like sticks, cut off each end of the melon, then shave the sides off using the knife. Finish by cutting the watermelon into slices, and those slices into sticks. Quick and easy!

Next, juice 3-4 key limes (or 1 lime*). Make sure you strain out the seeds! An older child could help you with this task, but since Zach is a bit younger, I went ahead and did it myself. You can also zest the limes or key limes to use as a garnish, if you’d like.

Have your child combine a container of yogurt and two teaspoons of honey.

Then, stir in the lime juice.

Remember, like Chef Gordon Ramsay says, all good chefs taste as they cook! As long as there are no raw eggs or raw meat, foods are generally safe to taste, and this is a great learning opportunity.

Finally, serve! If you’re photographing your food first, like I did to share with you guys, be careful that a sneaky little chef doesn’t come in and steal the food props! You might have a cheeky grin in store for you if that happens.

But in the end, it’s a delicious way to add a little protein from the yogurt into a great snack for fruit-loving kids!

*As you might have noticed at your local grocery store, typical lime prices have skyrocketed! Limes that usually cost around $0.39 cents are priced at $1.99 currently. Why? Well, a lot of reasons… first, there was a drought that reduced the lime quantities this year during the growing season. Then, heavy rains knocked blossoms off of the trees which meant even fewer limes grew. Because they became more rare, the Mexican Drug Cartels started seizing lime shipments and making farmers pay large sums. The farmers had no choice, and ended up having to pass these higher costs onto their distributors and customers. Some lime growers even stopped growing the plants out of fear of the cartels. So that’s why there are fewer limes and they’re a higher price. You can definitely use key limes in the recipe, which are grown in the USA and a bit cheaper at the moment. You could also wait a few weeks until the limes grown in California are ripe and ready to be shipped across the county, lowering prices. Or, you can use an artificial lime juice if you prefer. In fact, even lemons would work in the recipe.

Now, if you’d like to remember these delicious and easy recipes, don’t forget to download my printable recipe cards here. They’ll print on an 8.5×11 sheet and can be cut into 4×6 cards to fit into your recipe card box!

 

Make sure you come back next Monday through Friday, as every day I’ll be sharing more tips, recipes, and printables to make summer meals easier, more affordable, and more fun for your family. There may even be a giveaway in store, so stay tuned!

Happy Cooking!

 

Strawberry Pretzel Salad

- Mama 2 Comments

It seems like every family has it’s staple foods that are a must-have at every big family gathering, like Thanksgiving and Easter. For my family, that was always Strawberry Pretzel Salad. I’m not entirely sure why we call it a salad, because it doesn’t have any of the traditional characteristics of a salad, but we always called it a salad, and it never, ever found it’s place at the dessert table, despite it being oddly dessert-like. No, Strawberry Pretzel Salad’s place was on the main buffet of food, alongside potatoes and deviled eggs and ham.

Over the past few years, I’ve seen similar recipes float by. Some with pineapple, most with more or less cream cheese or Cool Whip, some with powdered sugar instead of granulated, but it seemed that I had no chance at finding THE Strawberry Pretzel Salad I grew up eating. However, after hours of searching through old church cookbooks, I finally found the Strawberry Pretzel Salad that I knew and loved. And now, I’m sharing it with you.

The ingredients are quite simple: Strawberry Jello, Strawberries, Pretzels, and a few others. I’ve found that Philadelphia cream cheese works better than store brands, but that’s a personal preference and you can use what you have on hand. It’s just my preferred brand. When buying the Strawberry Jell-O, make sure you’re buying the 8-serving large box, rather than the small box.

You’re going to start by making the pretzel crust. For those of you who love sweet and salty, this crust is made for you. Start with 3/4 Cup melted butter or margarine, and stir in 3 Tablespoons of granulated sugar. Then, crush enough pretzels to make 2 cups (it took me 3-4 cups of whole pretzels to get 2 cups of crushed pretzels) and spread them into the bottom of a 9×13 pan. Pour the butter mixture over the crust, making sure the pretzels are coated and packed into the pan.

Just like this!

Bake the crust for 8 minutes at 350 degrees. Be sure to let it cool completely before moving on to the filling.

For the filling, you’ll take your package of Philadelphia (8 ounces) and a cup of sugar and cream them together until they’re well combined and a bit fluffy. You can use a beater if you’d like, but a fork will work just fine.

Add in an entire tub of Cool Whip and combine that very well, also.

Spread it over the cooled crust and refrigerate as you prepare the topping.

For step 3, start by boiling 2 cups of water. It will look like… uh… boiling water. In a separate bowl, go ahead and open the package of Strawberry Jell-O.

When your water boils, stir it into the Strawberry Jell-O until the gelatin is dissolved.

Add in 20 ounces of thawed frozen berries. I personally love the pre-sliced Dole strawberries, but they come in a 14 ounce package. You’ll use about 1 1/2 packages, so you’ll have half a package leftover for smoothies later. After adding the berries in, you’re going to stir and wait until the Jell-O mixture is cooled, but not fully set.

Carefully pour it over the cream cheese layer, then refrigerate for several hours until the Jell-O layer is firmly set.

This dessert is just perfect, especially for Easter, because it tastes light and fresh, not too heavy, and has a great sweet-salty consistency, and a bit of crunch from the pretzels. It’s a great choice. But if you serve it, don’t forget, it’s a salad, not a dessert, which means if you over-indulge on the desserts this Easter, well… at least you ate your salad, right?

 

What’s your must-have food for Easter? Let me know in the comments below!

Three Ingredient Soda (or Beer) Bread

- Mama 2 Comments

For years, I’ve been buying beer bread mix from companies like Tastefully Simple or Wildtree. I’m not going to lie, they’re expensive. But I’ve always been under the impression that they were so much easier than if I were to make it myself. I mean, you can’t exactly get much easier than opening a package and pouring a can of soda in, can you?

Except you can.

http://i.imgur.com/jsA0c.jpg

This bread literally has only three ingredients. Measure, pour your soda in, and bake.

Put some self-rising flour in a bowl and add a little sugar. Then grab your can of choice… because my family does not drink or purchase alcohol at all, we use soda, but you can make this a traditional beer bread if you prefer.

http://i.imgur.com/T8fIs.jpg

This time around, I used a can of Pepsi.

Pour it into the bowl with the self-rising flour mixture.

http://i.imgur.com/qhOV3.jpg

Barely mix it, just until it’s combined, and you get a thick dough.

http://i.imgur.com/HTNvI.jpg

Then, pour it into a greased loaf pan.

http://i.imgur.com/jv1f4.jpg

Bake it, and just about 15 minutes before it’s done, take it out of the oven and spread some margarine on top.

http://i.imgur.com/o4cpL.jpg

Pop that back in the oven for 15 more minutes, and it’ll develop a nice golden brown crust.

http://i.imgur.com/LuNfZ.jpg

This is awesome served warm… and it really goes well with the lasagna soup I posted recently!

This recipe is so easy, and it came to me in a handwritten note in the recipe box. I love that it was such an easy bread and it didn’t require any weird ingredients… three things. That’s it. It’s much cheaper than buying a box mix all the time, and it tastes just as good, if not better. While you’re at it, make up a few loaves to take to friends and neighbors. I know they’ll love it!

Soda/Beer Bread
 
3 cups self rising flour
4 Tablespoons sugar
1 can beer- room temperature (I substituted Pepsi)
Mix together in bowl, put into greased bread pan. Bake 350 for 55 minutes. Take out and put Oleo (margarine) on top and bake 15 minutes more.

12 Minute No-Rise Dinner Rolls

- Mama 1 Comment

When we have a family dinner, we don’t just serve a main dish. We often have a bread or roll, some fruit, and a vegetable or salad alongside it. On many occasions, we pick up affordable rolls or crusted breads at the store, but since inheriting a large stack of recipes with plenty of amazing bread recipes, we’ve started trying those.

The unfortunate thing about making many different roll recipes is that most of them need to be planned in advance, with mixing, rising, kneading, rising, rolling out, rising, and more rising before baking. I don’t have the patience (or usually, the forethought) to plan these breads so far in advance of dinner.

That’s why I was so excited to find a 12-15 minute roll recipe that had only four ingredients and absolutely no rise time. However, it had one strange ingredient that I wasn’t sure about…

Yup. Mayonnaise. Not Miracle Whip, but instead, real, true, Kraft Mayo.

After thinking about it, I realized that the two main ingredients in Mayo, after all, are eggs and oil… things that are pretty commonly found in breads. I decided to try it and see what happened.

This recipe was clipped from a newspaper. I have no idea the date it was published or what publication, and the name of the person who submitted it is clipped in half… all I see is “Sand” and half a “y”, so I’m guessing her first name was “Sandy.”

All you do to make these crazy-easy rolls is mix self rising flour, milk, sugar, and real mayonnaise together.

Put that into a lightly greased muffin tin. Bake it for 12-15 minutes, then serve warm with butter.

These are SO easy to make, and so delicious. They’re light, they’re fluffy, and they’re definitely worth making again and again. Not a fan of mayo? It’s okay– you cannot taste it at all.

Plus, who doesn’t love a recipe for fresh-baked rolls that literally take less than 15 minutes from the time you start mixing until the time the hot rolls reach the table? It’s the perfect last-minute roll recipe. Company coming over for dinner? Make a quick batch of rolls. Forgot to pick up bread at the supermarket? Make a quick batch of rolls.

Try them, then don’t forget to pin the recipe because it’s one you won’t want to forget.

What do you think of the idea of mayonnaise in a roll recipe? Does it make sense, or is it totally weird? Comment below and let me know!

12-minute No Rise Dinner Rolls

1 cup self-rising flour
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon sugar
2 Tablespoons real mayonnaise

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a muffin tin. Mix together flour and milk, then add sugar and mayonnaise, mixing until just combined.
Spoon into muffin cups and bake until done, about 12-15 minutes. Serve warm.

This recipe makes 6 rolls, but can be easily doubled or quadrupled to make more. We typically plan 2 rolls per person at dinner.

Tang-y Fruit Salad

- Mama 4 Comments

This recipe was from my grandfather, and I’m not sure where he got it from. The copy that I have is scrawled in his handwriting. When I first encountered the recipe, we were down visiting him at his house, after he had gotten ill. I thoroughly enjoyed the fruit salad, and Zach couldn’t get enough of it– the bananas, mandarin oranges, and pineapple were easy for his fingers to pick up and chow down. Because it was such a hit, I asked him for the recipe, which I texted to my email, and then promptly forgot about.

This is one of the few images I have of Zach and my grandfather together. It happens to be one of my favorite photos.

I rediscovered the recipe when I was going through the box of recipes I had gotten from him after he passed, and I decided I had to make it. The recipe was completely un-named on the paper, but all I’ve been able to surmise is that it’s a fruit salad, and that there’s Tang in it.

I told my mom I planned to make it, and she said “Yeah, but can you even still buy Tang?” Luckily, I found it at my local grocery store (and in fact, apparently they even make an off-brand, but I stuck with the original this time around!)

You’ll also need a box of Vanilla Jell-O instant pudding, a can each of pineapple tidbits or chunks and mandarin oranges (I like Del Monte), and 5 bananas (not pictured, ripe is best… too green or too overripe and it won’t be as perfect, but whatever you have on hand should work).

Start by draining the canned fruits into a bowl. Do not drain them into a sink or the garbage, because you need the juice!

Add a little Tang and the box of pudding mix, then whisk that up until there’s no more clumps of the powdered ingredients.

Put your sliced bananas and canned fruits into a separate bowl.

Then, pour the liquid over the top and mix until it’s combined.

Chill before serving.

We found that this recipe is best if made a couple of hours in advance, or even the night before, so the flavors really have time to mesh together. However, you can always make it right before dinner if you need to, because it still tastes awesome then.

This fruit salad is also good served over Angel Food cake.

Did you know that Tang was still on the market? Or better yet, do you drink Tang? Sound off in the comments below!

Tang-y Fruit Salad

1 can Del Monte chunk pineapple, drained
1 can Del Monte mandarin oiranges, drained
(reserve juice from both)
5 bananas, sliced
1 package Jell-o Instant Vanilla Pudding, dry
1 Tablespoon orange Tang
Add to juice dry pudding and Tang. Mix all, then add fruit back in. Add in 5 sliced bananas. Serve chilled.