kids in the kitchen Archives - Page 3 of 7

Making Eggs in a Hole Breakfast #kidsinthekitchen

June 19, 2014 by Melissa

Breakfast seems to be the most quiet part of the day lately. The kids are waking up groggy and zombielike. This comes from a day of play in the sun and pool. I obviously want to start them off with a good breakfast. Shae asks for eggs and toast all the time. At age 6 some might think she’s not ready to cook but out of the 3 of them she’s the most comfortable in the kitchen. I taught her how to make Eggs in a Hole or as some people call it Toad in a Hole. I don’t understand where “toad” comes from.
Anyway, we started with the cutting a circle out of her bread. She used her juice cup, it was the perfect fit.

In a large buttered skillet over medium heat she added her toast pieces then slowly poured a cracked (but not scrambled) egg into the hole.
Slowly is the key. The heat of the pan will set the egg and you’re less likely to get spillage under the toast. If the egg does leak out just press down on edges of the bread for a moment.

She lightly sprinkled her egg with salt and pepper and I flipped them to cook on the other side.

Within 3-4 minutes her breakfast was cooked. I served this along with a yogurt and bowl of fruit and orange juice in her cup.

This method doesn’t work very well for scrambled eggs though. None of the 3 times I tried did I have a successful “omelet” in my toast hole.
Come join me and my co-hosts, Sarah of Play to Learn with Sarah, Paula at Frosted Fingers and Sara at Sensibly Sara, each week linking up a post, new or old, that feature the theme Kids in the Kitchen. It doesn’t matter what you are doing as long as you are doing it together, enjoying it and learning something along the way.

preparing healthy snacks
having a tea party
counting skills with m&ms
pouring from measuring cups
discovering a local restaurant that your kids love
creating new family friendly recipes

You’ll find so many more ideas on the #KidsintheKitchen Pinterest Board.

Follow Melinda Babiak’s board #KidsintheKitchen on Pinterest.

An InLinkz Link-up

Spinach and Cheese Bites #Recipe #kidsinthekitchen

June 12, 2014 by Melissa

Finding new lunch and snack ideas for the kids over the summer is on my to-do list. We wasted no time. The first day of summer break and we were experimenting in the kitchen with classics like pizza dough and not so favorites like spinach. My kids eat what I serve but I want them to enjoy the food I make so we made these Spinach & Cheese Bites extra kid friendly with lots of cheese.

Enjoy right from the oven, room temperature or warmed up from the freezer. This batch makes 24 bites(muffin size).

Spinach and Cheese Bites

Ingredients
1lb pizza dough homemade or packaged. (crescent rolls would work to)
1lb frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1tbls olive oil
2 tsp garlic
1 tsp onion powder
1tsp dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste
4oz softened cream cheese
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 cup shredded mozzarella
pinch (or more) red pepper flakes

Directions

Roll out small balls of pizza dough and spread them into each well of 2 muffin tins. Set aside to rest.

In a medium-hot skillet add olive oil and spinach. Break up to cook away all the moisture. Add garlic, onion powder and salt & pepper. Set aside to cool.

Preheat oven to 400°

In a large bowl stir together your cooled spinach mixture, cheeses, pepper flakes and more salt and pepper to taste.

Add spoonful of spinach to each muffin well on top of the pizza dough.

Bake for 15-18 minutes till cheese is bubbly and dough is golden brown.

The kids ate these with NO hesitation and actually said they were delicious. Win for MOM!
Come join me and my co-hosts, Sarah of Play to Learn with Sarah, Paula at Frosted Fingers and Sara at Sensibly Sara, each week linking up a post, new or old, that feature the theme Kids in the Kitchen. It doesn’t matter what you are doing as long as you are doing it together, enjoying it and learning something along the way.

preparing healthy snacks
having a tea party
counting skills with m&ms
pouring from measuring cups
discovering a local restaurant that your kids love
creating new family friendly recipes

You’ll find so many more ideas on the #KidsintheKitchen Pinterest Board.

Follow Melinda Babiak’s board #KidsintheKitchen on Pinterest.

An InLinkz Link-up

Restaurant Choices for Kids #kidsinthekitchen

June 6, 2014 by Melissa

I’m a pretty good cook but there are sometimes when I like to leave the cooking up to someone else. That then leaves us to decide where to eat out with kids. At home I have complete control over portion size and veggie options, but recently we discovered some well known eateries that have approached this topic with healthful and much more flavorful ideas in mind. Doing this gives parents a little ease of the mind. Giving kids and parents some healthier options than chicken fingers and fries makes going out a fun experience instead of the chore it was turning into.

Red Lobster-not my idea of a fancy seafood dinner but you can’t debate that the food is pretty tasty. Their kids menu offers broccoli or oranges as a side and has main entrees that include broiled fish, grilled chicken and garlic grilled shrimp.

T.G.I.Friday’s has always been a favorite. Today they have not only gluten free options for kids but they cater to a more enhanced palate with their Kid’s Chicken Skewers, meat marinated in soy-garlic and served with papers and onions on pita bread.

Panera-soup and sandwiches can be a great meal. All the nutrition information for your sandwiches, salads and soups are available as you order. Kids meals come with choice of yogurt or apple and there are juices and milk options to drink as well as seasonal fruit cups to choose from. Kids can choose All Natural Low Fat Chicken Noodle Soup for just 80 calories or a heartier Baked Potato soup for 230 calories.

Chipotle-my new fave Mexican style restaurant. While I like to offer chicken as a safe meal for my kids the chicken at Chipotle is a tad on the spicy side. The Carnitas on the other hand is moist, flavorful and just right for my kids. Loading a burrito with rice, beans, corn salsa and cheese makes this a meal in a hand and a great way to get the kid’s bellies full.Try the kid’s taco kit where they can build their own.

P.F. Changs-Asian style food with a touch of sophistication, no paper boxes here. Their food is always light, delicious and filling instead of that icky overstuffed feeling that typical take out Chinese food leaves you with. P.F. Changs kids menu boasts items that kids are bound to enjoy like Lo Mein noodles with chicken, the veggie filled Buddha’s Feast and Honey Chicken. Since all meals are cooked to order allergy restraints are no issue as long as you inform your server so the meal can be adjusted accordingly.

Cheesecake Factory is the ultimate indulgence dinner with so many options to choose from. Kids can pretty much have things their way when ordering pizza and quesadillas. Other favorites are the Roadside Sliders and Southern Fried Chicken Sliders. Check out their Small Plates & snacks menu for an even wider variety of food in smaller portions. Kid sized desserts on on the menu but no cheesecake can be found. They should fix that.

Firebirds Wood Fired Grill is one the top of our list for a great night out. As parents we love love love it and love love love that our kids love it too. My kids order the fish or smoked wings and the lobster & spinach fondue as an appetizer. There are great side dish choices to like carrots with ranch, fruit salad and green beans. It’s a bit spendy as a family but the food is so worth it.

Romano’s Macaroni Grill offers kids a wide variety of sauces to go with classic spaghetti or the kids can switch it up with cheese ravioli. Classic Italian is always a hit but they offer plenty of selections for the pickier eaters too.

Eating out can be fun again by visiting the restaurants that cater to growing taste buds. Where are your favorite places to eat?
Come join me and my co-hosts, Sarah of Play to Learn with Sarah, Paula at Frosted Fingers and Sara at Sensibly Sara, each week linking up a post, new or old, that feature the theme Kids in the Kitchen. It doesn’t matter what you are doing as long as you are doing it together, enjoying it and learning something along the way.

preparing healthy snacks
having a tea party
counting skills with m&ms
pouring from measuring cups
discovering a local restaurant that your kids love
creating new family friendly recipes

You’ll find so many more ideas on the #KidsintheKitchen Pinterest Board.

Follow Melinda Babiak’s board #KidsintheKitchen on Pinterest.

An InLinkz Link-up

New Breakfast Ideas #kidsinthekitchen

May 22, 2014 by Melissa

Each morning we wake up as a family, get ready for the day and try to eat breakfast together. Some days it works out some days Rob is running out the door because he spend too much time goofing off with the kids. If we have our act together I try to make the kids something instead of just relying on frozen waffles and cereal. This week Shae wanted to try something new with her eggs to make them different and BETTER.

The first day she asked for something “fancy” on them. Chives have a great flavor and she loves onion so that is what we did. The next day we chopped up some grape tomatoes, another favorite of hers. Next I want to suggest sauteed mushrooms or spinach. This is a great way to doctor up a simple meal, encourage more veggie consumption and broaden tastebuds.

I have a feeling this is going to become a new staple, scrambled eggs topped with whatever is in the fridge with a side of wheat toast topped with 1 slice of cheese.

Letting your child pick ingredients is a way to get them to try new things. This could be right out of the fridge or in the produce aisle at the grocery store.
Come join me and my co-hosts, Sarah of Play to Learn with Sarah, Paula at Frosted Fingers and Sara at Sensibly Sara, each week linking up a post, new or old, that feature the theme Kids in the Kitchen. It doesn’t matter what you are doing as long as you are doing it together, enjoying it and learning something along the way.

preparing healthy snacks
having a tea party
counting skills with m&ms
pouring from measuring cups
discovering a local restaurant that your kids love
creating new family friendly recipes

You’ll find so many more ideas on the #KidsintheKitchen Pinterest Board.

Follow Melinda Babiak’s board #KidsintheKitchen on Pinterest.

An InLinkz Link-up

Making Chicken and Cheese Taquitos #kidsinthekitchen

December 26, 2013 by Melissa

I know teaching my son to cook and be self sufficient in the kitchen is so very important but it’s hard to do when he doesn’t want to learn. Shaun is 10 and uninterested in doing things for himself. He’s much rather spend his time playing video games and other boy stuff. Making these Chicken and Cheese Taquitos was a lesson in chopping, patience and listening to details.

Using leftover roasted chicken, veggies, and artisan cheese with some seasoning, we made a surprisingly tasty lunch. Consider checking artisan cheese online to get the right cheesy flavor while preparing the taquitos.

I would’ve preferred smaller corn tortillas but we used what we had on hand, burrito sized flour.

Shaun chopped up a couple cups of cooked chicken while Sabreena finely chopped red peppers. We added frozen corn, a cup of frozen corn and then spiced it up. I had the kids sniff each herb/spice and tell me what it reminded them of. Oregano smells like pizza and cumin smells like tacos.

The details and patience part of this task came when it was time to roll up the taquitos. I had Shaun redo the rolling part if it wasn’t tight enough or if the filling came out. Moving them from the counter to the baking tray needed a gentle hand, one he doesn’t have. By the 5th one he understood to take it slow.

They got a brush of olive oil, went into a 425° oven and baked for 15 minutes. They were surprisingly very very good. I didn’t even complaints about the red pepper.

We’ll be making these again with a whole array of ingredients. Next time we’ll make pizza taquitos.

Come join me and my co-hosts, Sarah of Play to Learn with Sarah, Paula at Frosted Fingers and Sara at Sensibly Sara, each week linking up a post, new or old, that feature the theme Kids in the Kitchen. It doesn’t matter what you are doing as long as you are doing it together, enjoying it and learning something along the way.

preparing healthy snacks
having a tea party
counting skills with m&ms
pouring from measuring cups
discovering a local restaurant that your kids love
creating new family friendly recipes

You’ll find so many more ideas on the #KidsintheKitchen Pinterest Board.
Follow Melinda Babiak’s board #KidsintheKitchen on Pinterest.

Salt Dough Christmas Ornaments

December 12, 2013 by Melissa

With Christmas coming up in less than 3 weeks Shae’s on a mission to get her ornament making in full swing. Salt Dough is so simple and versatile it only makes sense to make ornaments from them making it a great addition for #kidsinthekitchen. The final product is sturdy enough to last years.

One tip when making ornaments and decor from the kids, write the date in a hidden spot so you know how long it’s been hanging around.

Salt Dough

Ingredients

1 cup of flour
1/2 cup fine salt
1/2 cup slightly warm water
cookie cutters
rolling pin
Paint & brushes
ribbon or twine

Directions
Preheat oven to 250°.

In a large bowl mix flour, salt and water until combined. Turn out onto a smooth surface and knead till smooth. Dough should be soft but not sticky. Add flour or water by the spoonful if needed to achieve the right consistency.

Roll the dough out to 1/4 inch thickness, cut with cookie cutters and place on cookie sheets. Use a toothpick to add hole for hanging and to emphasize details like smiles or eyes.

Bake for 2 hours. Remove from oven and move to a cooling rack for 1 hour.

Your shapes are ready to decorate however your child pleases. Thread with ribbon and hang. Don’t forget to add your child’s name and the current year.

These can be made in advanced and painted whenever the chance comes up. We gave some to my nieces on Thanksgiving so they could paint on their own at home.

Aside from removing from the oven Shae did everything thing by herself. You realized this doesn’t have to be a kid only craft.

preparing healthy snacks
having a tea party
counting skills with m&ms
pouring from measuring cups
discovering a local restaurant that your kids love
creating new family friendly recipes

Find even more inspiration and ideas for your own home from our #kidsinthekitchen Pinterest Board.

Follow Melinda Babiak’s board #KidsintheKitchen on Pinterest.

Making Farro Risotto #kidsinthekitchen

December 5, 2013 by Melissa

This week for #kidsinthekitchen we each are showcasing The Piccolo Chef Cookbook. We’ve chosen to create a recipe call Toasted Farro Risotto with Mushrooms. Farro is something we’ve never had before but thought it was a good way to introduce a new ingredient. Shae helped with MOST of the cooking. Risotto is a bit time consuming so Shaun lost interest after toasting the farro in olive oil.

“The Piccolo Chef Cookbook” was developed by the owners of the award winning cooking school in Los Angeles, California. Piccolo Chef was created by Italian mom-preneurs with a vision to make healthy eating attainable and fun for children of all ages and economic backgrounds. Their inspiration are their children, and teaching kids and parents the art of fresh cooking and reconnecting with one another through all phases of cooking, from garden to the table.

Shae on the other hand was by my side almost the entire time asking questions, tasting ingredients (raw onion), stirring, asking more questions and overall being the ideal sous chef.

Risotto is a straightforward process and this variation wasn’t very different. I adjusted some ingredients and left out others but we ended up with a very tasty meal that I would definitely try again. Farro wasn’t weird or gross, in fact in tasted like a cross between steel cut oats and brown rice just much larger in texture. Shae and Shaun said it smelled like popcorn when it was toasting in olive oil. I added some steamed broccoli to the finished product and added a blend of sauteed mushrooms, onions and garlic to the risotto.
Come join me and my co-hosts, Sarah of Play to Learn with Sarah, Paula at Frosted Fingers and Sara at Sensibly Sara, each week linking up a post, new or old, that feature the theme Kids in the Kitchen. It doesn’t matter what you are doing as long as you are doing it together, enjoying it and learning something along the way.

preparing healthy snacks
having a tea party
counting skills with m&ms
pouring from measuring cups
discovering a local restaurant that your kids love
creating new family friendly recipes

Don’t have a blog? Share an instagram photo or Facebook update.

Come join our #kidsinthekitchen Pinterest Board for more ideas, kid-friendly recipes and kitchen centered crafts and activities.

Peanut Butter Nutella Graham Treats #kidsinthekitchen

October 31, 2013 by Melissa

I was in the mood for a new sweet treat this week so Shae and I worked on a spin of something that we made over a year ago. Using graham crackers as a base we decided to combine some of our FAVORITE flavors into a “bark” kinda dessert.

Shae was definitely main chef for this project. She laid out all the graham crackers, scooped peanut butter and nutella and spread the mixtures all over.

A quick set in the fridge and they are ready to eat.

Ingredients

graham crackers
peanut butter
Nutella
vanilla candy wafers

Directions

Cover a large baking dish in foil (reduces mess).

Spread graham crackers in an even layer.

Microwave a cup of peanut butter to a spreadable consistency, about 20 seconds.

Add a large spoonful of Nutella to the peanut butter and gently mix but don’t blend completely. You should still have a marbled look.

Pour this mixture over the graham crackers and spread evenly. Place in fridge to set.

Microwave 1 cup of vanilla candy wafers till melted. Pour this over your set peanut butter mixture and spread evenly.

Set aside in fridge again for 15 minutes. Break apart and enjoy.

Did you have fun in the “kitchen” this week? Did you try a new food or a new kid friendly restaurant? Did your littlest ones use their snacks to count to 10? We invite you to share your experiences, photos, stories or recipes that include your #kidsinthekitchen.

Come join me and my co-hosts, Sarah of Play to Learn with Sarah Paula at Frosted Fingers and Sara at Sensibly Sara, each week linking up a post, new or old, that feature the theme Kids in the Kitchen. It doesn’t matter what you are doing as long as you are doing it together, enjoying it and learning something along the way.

preparing healthy snacks
having a tea party
counting skills with m&ms
pouring from measuring cups
discovering a local restaurant that your kids love
creating new family friendly recipes

Don’t have a blog? Share an instagram photo or Facebook update.

Witch Finger Cookie #FAIL #kidsinthekitchen

October 17, 2013 by Melissa

A few days ago I shared this link for Skeleton Gingerbread Girls. I showed it to Shae and she said she wanted to try to make them. I happened to buy a set of christmas cookie cutters this week so I was onboard but things went terribly wrong.

We started with a shortbread cookie. I personally don’t like gingerbread very much and figured shortbread would be simple.

1 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1tsp vanilla
2 cups flour

Beat butter and sugar till fluffy. Add vanilla and mix till blended. Add flour and mix till combined.

Form into a disc, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.

This is where our experiment came to a halt. I could NOT get the dough to form right, it kept sticking to the counter even with flour. This is exactly why we don’t do rolled cookies. So we switched gears. Witches fingers!! We rolled some finger shapes, added sliced almonds for fingernails and baked them. THEY LOOKED AWESOME

Another fail! The cookie dough was too soft so it spread out instead of keeping the finger shape. But they tasted good. You can never go wrong with a delicate sweet shortbread.

Shae did most of the work. She made the cookie dough, rolled the dough, tried to pressed out the cookie shapes, formed fingers and added wrinkles and fingernails. Isn’t that what it’s all about.

I have a “gingerbread” house cookie cutter. I’m thinking Haunted Houses would be super cute! Maybe a Sugar Cookie Dough will work better.

Did you have fun in the “kitchen” this week? Did you try a new food or a new kid friendly restaurant? Did your littlest ones use their snacks to count to 10? We invite you to share your experiences, photos, stories or recipes that include your #kidsinthekitchen.

Come join me and my co-hosts, Sarah at Play to Learn, Paula at Frosted Fingers and Sara at Sensibly Sara each week linking up a post, new or old, that feature the theme Kids in the Kitchen. It doesn’t matter what you are doing as long as you are doing it together, enjoying it and learning something along the way.

preparing healthy snacks
having a tea party
counting skills with m&ms
pouring from measuring cups
discovering a local restaurant that your kids love
creating new family friendly recipes

Don’t have a blog? Share an instagram photo or Facebook update.

Making Breakfast #kidsinthekitchen

October 10, 2013 by Melissa

Getting kids interested in actual cooking isn’t as hard as I thought it would be. I asked Shaun if he wanted to make pancakes for breakfast and he jumped at the chance.
Kids Cooking #kidsinthekitchen
him measurements but just told him to eyeball things. That’s the way I cook.

Things went pretty well, he even made breakfast for his little sister. He followed most instructions except he kept swinging the dirty spatula around like it was a sword. At the end of breakfast he asked if he can make breakfast on the weekends for the whole family. This kid knows how to warm my heart.
Kids Cooking #kidsinthekitchen

Come join me and my co-hosts, Paula at Frosted Fingers follow, Sarah of PlaytoLearnwithSarah and Sara at Sensibly Sara follow, each week linking up a post, new or old, that feature the theme Kids in the Kitchen. It doesn’t matter what you are doing as long as you are doing it together, enjoying it and learning something along the way.

preparing healthy snacks
having a tea party
counting skills with m&ms
pouring from measuring cups
discovering a local restaurant that your kids love
creating new family friendly recipes

Linky Rules, #kidsinthekitchen

Salt Dough

Find even more inspiration and ideas for your own home from our #kidsinthekitchen Pinterest Board.

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