Cooking for kids recipe thread

I made slop - and my son loved it. I cooked up some ground beef, onions and mushrooms, served it over mashed potatos and gravy with some steamed broccoli and he totally dug it. Not so much the greens, but the rest was devoured. I was impressed. Oh, you wanted healthy recipes???

One of the lunches my mom would make for me was noodles (usually elbow macaroni), a little butter, grated parmesan/asiago cheese to taste, and tuna fish. As an adult, I've adjusted this a bit. Sometimes I use brown rice instead of noodles, plus I'll throw in some cooked chopped frozen spinach or some other veggie. Nice and simple.

One of my kids really doesn't like fruit or veg. I have to "hide" them in his food. I make a lot of milkshakes in the blender and always put a banana in there. Sometimes I can sneak berries in there, too. Very healthy and delicious. He thinks it's dessert.

I use the food processor to puree the vegetables and make a cream soup. Nary a vegetable in sight. Tasty and nourishing.

Anthony Matias said:

That could work Jennifer. Sub. ground turkey for beef and use vegetarian gravy.

Thanks.

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Oooooh and ground Turk is really tasty. But sheesh food is expensive today!

Kids seem to love 'dipping' foods.
If you offer a small dish of ranch dressing for dipping and a plate of neatly cleaned and trimmed raw or steamed veggies, they may think it's fun to eat.

Highly seasoned foods generally don't appeal to kids.
You can serve healthy plain dishes like rice pudding, oatmeal cooked with dried fruits, chunks of banana with a bit of peanut butter on top and so on.

Finger foods are popular; sometimes just cutting a sandwich into three or four strips makes it seem special.
Make eating fun--they'll remember and appreciate Dad's cooking when they're grown up.

My father always fixed our breakfasts.
Back in the days before anyone worried about cholesterol, he would make a favorite dish he called Toad in the Hole.
He tore a circle out of a slice of bread, lightly fried one side, then turned it over and broke an egg into the hole in the middle and cooked it until the 'Toad' was done.
On St. Patrick's Day, he would tint the oatmeal green with food coloring.

Thank you, Dad.

pizza bagels and quesadillas are two big hits with my kiddos.
For the bagel put your turkey, creamcheese and cucumbers on and then cut like a pizza! The quesadilla is anything i have in the frig with cheese and salsa to dip. Green peppers, mushrooms are yummy this way.

Shedded cheese on scrambled eggs is good. So are peanut butter and banana sandwiches (but not the Elvis Presley Special, where you fry them. That's too much, even for my cast iron stomach).

Actually you can amek pizza really haelthy without the kids knowing, if you make your own topings. To make your tomato sauce, take a can of tomatos, drain, add in as much veg as you think you can get away with and blend it : The pieces will be too small for them to pick out.

This works with all kinds of sauces / mashed potatoes etc. Be sneaky.

Let them help make it -- they are more likely to eat it then.

Also, my two would eat anything if I told them it was for grown ups and not for kids

My daughter will generally eat these right up. With the barbecue meatloaf, you can add just about any kind of vegetable you like to it, and it will still be good. I just fixed the Chicken Divan last night for the first time, and I told my daughter that the broccoli was green spice, and she bought it and ate broccoli for the first time.

Chicken Divan
5 chicken breasts, cut up
bag of chopped frozen broccoli
egg noodles
1 can of cream of chicken
1 can of cream of broccoli
1 can of broccoli cheese soup
Shredded cheddar cheese

Cut up the chicken breasts and put it in a stockpot with the broccoli and water. Bring it to a boil, then add the egg noodles. Cook until it's all done and then drain. Mix in the soups and a handful of cheddar cheese and stir until well mixed. Pour in a casserole dish and top liberally with cheddar cheese. Back in the oven until the cheese is crispy and brown. It's very good and very, very easy.

Barbecue Meatloaf:

1.5 pounds of ground beef or turkey
2 eggs
1 cup of oats oats (it doesn't matter whether its the old fashioned or the quick cook ones; you can also use breadcrumbs)
About half an onion, finely chopped
1 cup barbecue sauce
1/4 cup teriyaki sauce

Beat the eggs and pour them over the ground meat. Add the oats and onion. In a separate bowl, mix the barbecue sauce and the teriyaki sauce. Add about half to the meat mixture. Mix it up with your hands (a spoon doesn't seem to get it mixed as well). Form it into a loaf and put it in a lightly greased loaf pan. Add the rest of the barbecue sauce on top, along with some onion, if desired.

Smothered pork chops

Two onions
Four pork chops, boneless
Pork gravy
Shake 'n Bake (If I don't have Shake 'N Bake, I make my own with some bread crumbs and seasonings that I like)
1 tablespoon of oil (I used olive oil)

Cut the onions like you would for onion rings and toss in oil. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Coat the pork chops according to the instructions on the box. Layer them in the pan and top with the onions. Bake 30 minutes, then pour gravy over the top. Cover with aluminum foil and bake 15 more minutes. This is excellent. My little girl loved it.

Oven fried chicken:

Four or five chicken breasts (Or however many you need to fix. You can also cut a whole chicken for this)
Two eggs
Cup of flour
Paprika
Chili powder
Salt
Pepper

Preheat over to 350 degrees. Place a little butter or margarine in a casserole dish and place in the oven. Allow it to get hot. Place flour, paprika, chili powder salt and pepper in a plastic baggie. Break eggs over chicken and mix with your hands. Sprinkle the spices over the chicken and egg mixture and mix again. Place the chicken in the baggie. Seal it and mix it up over and over again to coat the chicken in the flour. Put the chicken in the hot pan and allow to cook for 20 minutes. Turn and cook on the other side for 20 minutes. This is also really, really good. And, if you want, you can use oil in the dish instead of butter or margarine.

I have to say I'm really lucky in that my four year old isn't picky. On top of that, she was raised on fruits and veggies so she really likes those. (Even the ones I don't. Like carrots. yuck)

When we go shopping, she's the one asking me to buy broccoli. I think as long as you introduce your kids to healthy foods, and get them started on it young (and your kids look reasonably young) it helps reinforce good habits.

Not to mention those habits can wear off on you, too.

Sorry. I've been pretty lucky in that our kids have never been finicky and eat what we eat.

I spent about 5 minutes trying to translate SAHD, thinking it had something to do with attention deficit hyperactivity (only because our youngest is being tested for it). Then I finally got it.

Sanitizer And Hanky Dispenser

Anthony Matias said:

That's great advice SLC and fortunately we have done the same as you; however there are still some things that my daughter just won't go for.

I'm just looking for recipes that will help introduce things in a way that the kids won't mind, not just for me, but for other parents as well.

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What sort of foods specifically?
Maybe we have a few tricks up our sleeves for pleasing kids.

I've got to get new glasses. When I looked at the title of this thread, I read "Cooking the kids . . ."

My kids can't get enough of this dish I made up.

You cook your chicken breasts, two is plenty for five people, cook up rice, one serving per person, unless you have a person who likes more food, then give them two, once those two are cooked up, combine them along with some heated (I prefer to start with frozen veggies then just microwave them) veggies, the mix I like is the California mix with broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots. By starting out frozen they aren't mushy, I hate mushy veggies so they're perfect.

Add in either one can of cream of whatever soup or top with teriaki (yeah, I know, I can't spell this word.) sauce for a variation and enjoy.

My kids tend to like a casserole or stir fry. Serve with rice, noodles, polenta, or mashed potatoes.

My advice for "strange" veggies is, don't try to disguise them. Cook them nicely, so they are still nice and bright, and only put a tiny bit on the plate. If it's only one little mouthful, they may be more receptive about trying some than if it's a great mountain on the plate.

The experts reckon that a "new" food will appear on the plate twelve times or more before a kid decides to try it. Don't give up, and don't despair. They eat fruit, bread and milk, so they are getting the things they need to be healthy.

Also helps if, when they're old enough (as the one on your right looks to be) you get them "involved" in cooking. Having them help out by stirring things, or putting things into the bowl (or in the case of chocolate chip cookies taking things out) can make a big difference, too.

Especially with vegetables, don't over cook them. Rubbery vegetables don't really taste good to anyone....

chevbrock said:

The experts reckon that a "new" food will appear on the plate twelve times or more before a kid decides to try it. Don't give up, and don't despair. They eat fruit, bread and milk, so they are getting the things they need to be healthy.

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We have a simple rule in our house. You have to take one bite. You don't have to like it, you don't have to finish it, just one bite. It's always been our rule, always has been our rule, and my kids adore most fruits and veggies. I respect their decision when they say they hate something and don't serve it to them for a while, then later (like months later) we try it again.

My kids love broccoli, they call them little green trees and they will run past the candy in the store to get to the fruit and veggies. They will take an apple or banana or orange over a candy bar any day.