Kid Chefs

[LABS4ME]

I was thinking after reading all the who's who posts, how many members have younger children. I think one of the best gifts to give your child, is the ability to cook a good wholesome dinner, and the gift of sharing that with the family sitting around the table eating it and interacting.

It seems most parents idea of teaching the child to cook is throwing a frozen pizza in the oven or macaroni and cheese... fine for lunch, but dinner should be a meal. If a child makes it, watch how they light up when it is served.

I thought this can be a great topic for us to share simple easy recipes that kids can cook with success. It teaches them kitchen skills, confidence that they CAN complete a new task, the ability to follow direction and that families sharing dinners are important.

Post up some recipes that you feel a young person could complete and would eat and ask them if they would like to try a few.

Good Luck!

Ken

[LABS4ME]

easy Hamburger Veg. Soup

1 pound ground beef

8 cups water

1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes

1/2 onion, chopped

4 med. potatoes, peeled and cubed

1 (16 ounce) package frozen mixed vegetables

1 can beef broth

1 can Chunky vegatble soup

1/4 cup ketchup

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Brown hamburger in large pot. Drain grease.

Add all remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer 45 min to an hour.

Good Luck!

Ken

[pushbutton]

Have had Jr. cooking with me before he was even two. Think the first thing was pancakes. Great way to start....just let them dump the ingredients and stir. Might want to wait a few years till they do the flipping In the same vein, here is a healthy recipe for a little older kid as they get to use the grater....

Potato Pancakes

4 medium potatoes

1 medium yellow onion

1 egg

1/4 cupish of flour

salt/pepper to taste

apple sauce

Grate the taters and onion.....and squeeze out the liquid.

Let them crack an egg in a bowl and just pick out the shells if needed. Beat the egg a little and add the taters and onion mixture.

Add a couple Tbls of flour.....little more if needed...you just need to make it not runny and start to thicken it a little.

Take a 1/4 c measuring cup, fill it, drop in to heated oil, smash down to about 3/8th to 1/2 inch thick.

Turn once when golden brown. I always let him turn them as well, but with close supervision. A little burn is a good lesson learned though

Serve with apple sauce instead of syrup.

A dinnertime variation is to just substitute sweet potatoes and some extra seasoning like a season salt or a poultry blend and make sweet potato fritters. Will usually serve it with a sweet mild chile sauce/oriental plum sauce with a little sour cream.

[reinhard1]

i grew up on potato pancakes. love that stuff. here is about as simple as they come:

Kid Kabobs

Hot dogs, cut into 1 inch or so sections

Tater Tots [defrosted]

Carefully put defrosted tater tots and one inch pieces of hot dogs on a skewer, alternating as you go. Place on ungreased baking sheet and broil for 10 minutes, turning once. have the ketchup handy for dipping. good luck.

[Leaky]

Great topic Labs.

My 8 year old daughter has scrambled eggs down pat. She loves them. I've also been having her help me put the rubs together for Ribs and Butts, then get her hand dirty smearing it all over.

This year she helped me clean the nice gills we caught off the dock (she would hand me the fish out of the basket), then I set up the flour, egg, bread crumbs for her to do the breading.

Your right, the food is so much better to them when they help put it together.

[reinhard1]

English Muffin Pizzas {kid's favorite]

English muffins, split in half

Pizza sauce

Parmesan cheese

Mozzarella cheese

Assorted pizza toppings

spread pizza sauce on muffins. add moxxarella and parmesan cheeses. add your favorite pizza toppings. bake at 350 degrees until cheese is bubbly. good luck.

[LABS4ME]

Easy Venison Stroganoff

1 pound venison, cut into small cubes

salt and pepper to taste

garlic powder to taste 1/2 teaspoon or so)

1 onion, chopped

1 package of fresh sliced mushrooms

2 (10.75 ounce) cans condensed golden cream of mushroom soup

1 (16 ounce) package uncooked egg noodles

1 (8 ounce) container sour cream

This is actually quite easy. My son has made it. He loves to use canned vennison in it because it is even quicker!

1.Season venison with salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste. Saute onion in a large skillet in a little oil and butter; when soft, add venison and brown. Stir meat until all sides are browned. Once meat is browned, add the mushrooms and cook 2-3 minutes and then add the soup. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 20-30 minutes stirring often so it does not scorch or stick to the pan. I tell him to cover it when he simmers on low.

2.Meanwhile, bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add noodles and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.

3.When noodles are done cooking, stir sour cream into meat mixture. Pour meat mixture over hot cooked noodles and serve.

Simple easy and your teen will think they really pulled off a fantastic meal!

Good Luck!

Ken