Kids cooking

[lifecooks]

I believe that cooking is a great place to learn lots of things including measurement, measurement conversion, scaling, and of course, chemistry.
Does anyone have a favorite kid friendly recip that you want to share?

My grandson loves "overnights" with us because that's when we get up in the morning and make oatmeal. It's easy, fun and a great bonding experience.

[Mama Mangia]

Pancakes, waffles, French toast - specially chocolate chip pancakes with a light drizzle of chocolate syrup and a dollop of whipped cream or cool whip on top - maybe even a sprinkle of nuts or a few extra chips! Kids absolutely love stirring the batter and watching the bubbles from the pancakes as they cook (and then they tell you when to flip them!) and the steam venting from the waffle maker! Brown and serve sausage are easy enough - and it's never to soon to learn how to make eggs all different ways. Stuffed French toast is also something they like to do and also try making a breakfast casserole or breakfast burritos with them.

Many kids like hotdogs for lunch - and there is a lot you can do there as well. Make healthy sides with beans or veggies. Depending on their age will depend on if they can handle a veggie peeler to clean carrots or taters.

Grilled cheese sandwiches can be filled with many ingredients as well.

One thing a friend of mine does for a quick soup and the kids absolutely love it - use 1 or 2 packages of Liptons Chicken Noodle or Ring Noodle Soup, add 2 - 4 additional cups of water and 2 - 4 t. chicken bouillon or cubes, when just about done add a can of mixed veggies or a can of peas and a can of carrots or corn. They really think they made soup!

Another thing the kids like - grilled PB & J sandwiches. Assemble, lightly butter the outside of the bread and grill - they think they are gourmet chefs!

[Jafo232]

I was going to start getting my twin boys into cooking starting last week. Had a ton of veggies I wanted to process and can, and actually could have used their help.

Well, then on of them seriously strained his wrist during peewee football so no chopping for him. With twins, you try not to exclude an activity from one or the other so basically I can't start until this weekend when his wrap is removed.

When we were kids, the summers usually meant we would be all sitting out at the picnic table this time of year snapping beans, stripping peas, and shucking corn. When I was about my twins age, we were allowed to use a small paring knife for some of the light knife work, Coring tomatoes, etc..

I am kinda looking forward to it myself.

[tcinsa]

Jafo232, how are your twins coming along in the kitchen? I've just started inviting my kids in the kitchen to help and it's wonderful. The 5 year old loves helping with any little chore. He comes in and pushes his stool up to wash his hands really well just to be ready in case I want help! I would never have thought he would like it so much.

[chubbyalaskagriz]

I started my nephew Layne, in the kitchen when he was about 5. His first favortie things to help make were cookies & fudge. Later we graduated to fancy, decorated layer cakes. The all-time favortie times we've had in the kitchen have been carving jack-o-lanterns and building/decorating gingerbread houses.