I love quick and easy dinner ideas that my kids can help me make, and eventually make on their own! Today I have a guest post from Aurora where she is sharing with us easy dinner ideas to make with your kids!
Easy Dinner Ideas to Make with your Kids
By Aurora M.
Many parents struggle to find easy ways to get their children to participate in housework. It can sometimes be helpful to have them assist you with a task, at least for awhile, before having them do it independently. One time that this can be especially helpful is when it comes to meals. You want to include your children when it’s time to make dinner, and there are a lot of great reasons to invite them to help you with the cooking process. Cooking is a skill that they’ll be grateful to have when it comes time for them to move out on their own, and for now while they’re young, it’s nice to have help. If you’re wanting to have your kids help you make dinner tonight, but don’t really know where to start, try a few of these easy kid-friendly recipes.
Pita Pizzas
This is a recipe that your kids will have just as much fun making as eating! It’s also incredibly simple, so there won’t be any complicated steps to explain to your kids. You can also try making them with french bread as the crust, instead of a pita.
Place pita bread (or french bread) on a lightly greased or lined baking sheet. Apply a thin layer of pasta sauce, and then mozzarella cheese, to each pita. Let each of your kids add their favorite toppings to their individual pizzas! Bake at 350 degrees until the cheese has melted, usually 10-15 minutes.
Tacos
A generally kid-approved meal in any home, tacos are a great idea to make with your kids. You can divide up the tasks of browning the meat, warming up/cooking beans, and chopping up vegetables and toppings, to each of your children. Everything will be ready in no time, and you can do a self-serve taco bar with all of the toppings your kids helped you prepare!
Turkey wraps/pinwheels
Wraps are incredibly quick and easy to make, and your kids are a lot more likely to eat them if they help you prepare them! It’s kind of like a sandwich, but funner!
Have your child help you spread cream cheese onto a flour tortilla. Top with the lunch meat of your choice, your favorite sliced cheese, and your favorite vegetables, really whatever your kids are willing to eat! Great ideas are spinach, tomatoes, carrots, or cucumbers. You can also swap out the cream cheese for your favorite salad dressing.
Chocolate-dipped strawberries
This can be a really fun dessert treat. And of course, while you have the chocolate out and melted, it’s fun to experiment with different combinations and foods. Once you have the knack of working with chocolate, it’s pretty easy. Try these tips:
- Make sure that strawberries and any other fruit you use is thoroughly dried before you dip it. Otherwise, the chocolate won’t stick! You can also dip and coat fruits with a little bit of flour or cornstarch before dipping it in the chocolate.
- Use a cool, smooth surface to work on, like granite. Even if you don’t have a granite countertop, using a slab can help the chocolate cool at the right temperature.
- Instead of heating up the chocolate in the microwave or directly in the pot, which can cause it to scald, get a special fondue appliance, or heat it up in a bowl placed inside of a simmering pot of water on the stove. Make sure the process is always gradual and slow.
Stirfry
Often, the reason your child won’t eat a meal is because they aren’t sure what’s in it(even if all of the ingredients are plainly displayed!). Your kids are much more likely to eat a meal if they’ve helped prepare it, because they feel a sense of pride and ownership over the meal. Stirfry is a great meal to try to make with your kids, because they’re less likely to pick out the vegetables if they helped you make it.
Make a pot of rice(your kids will love helping you measure out the rice and water! Just remember, 1 part rice, 2 parts water). In a skillet, saute your kids favorite vegetables with some sort of protein, whether it’s chicken, steak, or tofu. Try any combination of broccoli, water chestnuts, baby corn, carrots, snap peas, zucchini, and really anything else your kids are willing to eat. Once the meat and vegetables are cooked through, add your favorite sauce, such as teriyaki. Teriyaki is usually a good choice with kids, because of it’s sweet flavor.
Lasagna
The funnest part of making a lasagna is the assembly. Let your kids have fun with it, it’s okay if things get kind of messy! The important thing is that they’re helping you in the kitchen, and they’re enjoying the process.
In a casserole dish, layer pasta sauce, cooked lasagna noodles, meat(if desired), and a mixture either ricotta or cottage cheese(depending on your preference) that’s been mixed with an egg and italian seasoning. Layer until the pan is filled, and then make the top layer lasagna noodles, spaghetti sauce, and then mozzarella cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes.
Cooking with you will be an enjoyable activity for your kids, and they’ll be more likely to eat the “scary” foods if they helped you prepare them! It can be a great bonding experience for all of you, and it will help prepare them for adulthood someday, so they won’t be living off of ramen and boxed macaroni and cheese.
What are your favorite Dinner Ideas to make with your kids?
