Tag Archives: cooking with kids

Cooking With Kids: Banana Bread Cookies

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I love banana bread, so when I first saw this recipe for banana bread cookies, I had to try it. They have become my all time favorite cookie recipe. The cookies are easy to make, and so delicious! They are very moist and taste like the perfect combination of banana bread and chocolate chip cookies. My favorite part is I don’t feel too guilty when I eat them because they have banana and oats.

Buddy and I made these before Thanksgiving to bring with us on our 9 hour car trip. (These were a great car snack – delicious, filling, and satisfying!) This was Buddy’s first time baking cookies with me, and he had a great time.

The first thing we did was to put the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. I measured the ingredients, and Buddy put them in the bowl. 

Then we put two sticks of butter into the mixer, and whipped them until they were fluffy. This was Buddy’s first chance to use the stand mixer, and he thought that it was amazingly fun! I let him turn it on and off (with close guidance), and he thought that was the best!

We added some brown sugar and whipped it up some more. I measured it out, and then I put it into a bowl to make it easier for Buddy to add on his own. 

Then we added two bananas, vanilla, and eggs to the butter mixture. We turned the mixer on low to combine the ingredients. Usually I have old bananas in the freezer that I use for these cookies, but this time we happened to have two very ripe bananas on hand. 

Next we added the flour mixture into the batter. This was a little messy for Buddy, but not too bad. 

Last, we added oats and chocolate chips to the batter. The recipe also calls for walnuts or pecans, which I’ve never used. Then we stirred it briefly before turning off the mixer.

Once everything was mixed, Buddy and I used soup spoons to form balls of cookie dough. (The recipe says to use a teaspoon, but I prefer bigger cookies.) Then we baked them at 375 degrees for about 10 minutes. I totally forgot to take a picture of our final product, but they were great! Since we had a ton of cookies, I took a bunch to school and they disappeared almost immediately!

You can get the full recipe on White Lily’s site here.

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Cooking with Kids: Apple Pie

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Hubby loves to cook and bake. (I’m so lucky!) Both of us have been trying to teach those skills to Buddy whenever we can. A few weeks ago, apples were on sale, so Hubby and Buddy decided to make apple pie. Hubby has made this recipe himself, and adjusted it after several tries. (The full recipe is listed at the bottom of this blog.)
To start, Hubby peeled 9 apples. Then, he had Buddy put the flour, sugar, and salt into a bowl. He asked Buddy to give the salt a few shakes, and he pre-measured the other dry ingredients. 
While Buddy had lunch, Hubby sliced the apples. Then they added them into the dry mixture together. Hubby added a little lemon juice on top.
Hubby put a pre-made pie crust into the pie pan, and then he poured in the apple mixture. They added some cinnamon, nutmeg, and butter on top of the apples. Then Hubby put the pie crust on top. Finally, Buddy coated the top of the pie crust with an egg wash. Then it baked for 50 minutes at 425 degrees. 
This pie was amazingly delicious, and Buddy was so proud that he helped.
Apple Pie Recipe
6-7 large Granny Smith apples (or 8-9 small apples), cored/peeled
Dry Mixture:
3/4 cup sugar
2 tbsp flour
Pinch of salt
Mix apples/dry mixture, add one squeeze of lemon juice.
Pour apple mix over unrolled pie crust, top with cinnamon and nutmeg,
Add 1 tbsp butter cut into four small squares.
Cover with 2nd pie crust, sprinkle with light addtional cinnamon and sugar. Cut slits into crust to vent. Brush on an egg wash made from one egg and a tablespoon of water.
Cook at 425 degrees about 45-50 minutes.
Let sit for a couple hours to cool and allow liquid in filling to congeal.

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Cooking With Kids: Baked Ravioli

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Buddy and I recently made baked ravioli together. I was looking for an easy recipe to try with Buddy, and I realized ravioli would be good to try. We used this recipe from Betty Crocker.

First, I preheated the oven to 350 degrees and greased a glass baking dish. Then, I pulled out the ravioli, spaghetti sauce, mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese, and a large spoon.

I scooped a few large spoonfuls of sauce into the bottom of the pan. Then, Buddy used the spoon to smooth it out.

Next, Buddy and I put a layer of ravioli on top of the sauce. We used the fresh packaged Buitoni, but I have also done this with frozen ravioli. We ended up using two packages so we could have enough for company and another night of leftovers.

Once we put down the ravioli, we covered it with a layer of sauce and cheese. Buddy is getting better about sprinkling out the cheese evenly instead of throwing down clumps of cheese.

After that, we repeated the steps with another layer of ravioli, sauce, and cheese. We also added a little Parmesan cheese to the top.

We covered our pan with aluminum foil and baked it for 40 minutes. Then we took the foil off and baked for another 15 minutes.

This ravioli was so easy, and so delicious! Buddy’s Nana and Great Aunt were visiting us, and they were so impressed that Buddy made our dinner! We all loved it, and Buddy’s asked for ravioli several times since we made it. I would highly recommend it as an easy and fun recipe for kids.

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Cooking With Kids: Delicious Drumsticks

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Last week, I wanted to find a new recipe to try with Buddy. He really loves cooking, so I want to give him new recipes to try. I found a recipe for Delicious Drumsticks in a cookbook from my childhood (Alpha Bakery Cookbook). It sounded like an easy, fun meal that Buddy could make mostly on his own.

*Disclaimer- this post contains affiliate links for your convenience. As an Amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.*

Here is the recipe: 

I started by preheating the oven to 425 degrees. Then I measured the dry ingredients, and Buddy dumped them into a large bowl. (1/2 cup flour, 1 teaspoon of salt, 1/2 teaspoon of paprika, and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper.)

Once they were in the bowl, Buddy mixed them up with a spoon. Buddy loved the word “paprika” and kept repeating it with delight over and over!

I melted half a stick of butter in the microwave in another small bowl. Then, I found a large spoon to help with the coating in the butter bowl and the flour bowl.

For each drumstick, I put it in the butter bowl first. Buddy used the spoon to help coat the chicken in butter. 

Then, I moved the drumstick to the flour bowl.  Buddy used a spoon to help coat the chicken with the flour mixture. Once it was coated, I moved the drumstick to a glass pan. (I used an 8×8 one as suggested in the recipe, but it was a tight squeeze to fit all six drumsticks.) 

Buddy loved using the spoon to scoop the flour mixture! He wanted to keep playing even after we had finished coating all of the drumsticks. So I let him scoop and dump for awhile as I cleaned up the rest of the kitchen. Then I asked Buddy to help me wipe up the flour when he was done.

This was a fun and easy recipe for kids, and everyone in my house enjoyed eating our delicious drumsticks. I’m sure we’ll make chicken drumsticks again soon.

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Cooking with Kids: Stromboli

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I’ve been making Stromboli for a long time. It’s easy to make, and is a fun variation on pizza. I don’t remember where I found the original recipe, but I’ve adapted it to make it easier. Since I’m always trying to involve Buddy in the kitchen, I thought this would be a great recipe to try with him.

To make Stromboli, you need Pillsbury pizza dough (the kind in the tube), pizza sauce or spaghetti sauce, shredded mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese, pepperoni, basil, and olive oil.

Preheat the oven to 425. Spread out the dough on a baking sheet. Mix a couple of tablespoons of olive oil with basil, and brush it on the dough. Buddy really loved using the basting brush for this part. 

Next, cover half of the dough with pizza sauce. (I actually forgot to do just half this time. It’s ok to cover the whole dough too.) You only need a few tablespoons of sauce. I usually use spaghetti sauce and then use the rest of the jar later in the week with pasta. In the original recipe, the sauce isn’t used until the end for dipping. You can serve it this way if you prefer.

Cover the sauce with mozzarella cheese. This was Buddy’s favorite part! We like a lot of cheese in our Stromboli, so we used the whole bag. 

Next, put a layer of pepperoni on top of the cheese. You can sprinkle a little Parmesan cheese on top of the pepperoni if you wish. (I usually do.)

Fold the dough over so that the edges meet. Use your fingers to press the loose edges together. Buddy decided to give the whole dough a few pats, but that isn’t necessary.  

Bake the Stromboli for 20 minutes. It should be a light brown when it’s done. Then you can slice  and serve it. My whole family loves Stromboli, and it’s so quick to make. Buddy had a lot of fun making the Stromboli, and I’m sure he’ll be involved the next time I make it as well.

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Cooking with Kids: Easy Zucchini Bake

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My family is looking for easy, healthy dinner ideas. When I was searching through some of pinned ideas, I came across a recipe for Easy Cheesy Zucchini Bake from Mom Endeavors. Buddy likes zucchini, and I was happy to find something easy to make with him.

I started by cutting up five zucchini into small slices. I did 1/4 – 1/3 inch thick, but the next time I make it, I will do thinner slices. Then, I put the slices into a large bowl. I set the slices out on the counter along with a greased 9 x 11 glass pan, a jar of spaghetti sauce, and a bag of shredded mozzarella. Once everything was set up, I had Buddy come over and stand in a chair.

Buddy was beyond excited to help make dinner. And this recipe was so easy, he was able to do most of it himself. To start, I had Buddy made a layer of the zucchini on the bottom of the pan. He kept saying “zucchini” and “I did it myself” over and over again. It was so cute. 

Next, I covered the zucchini with some of the spaghetti sauce. Then, Buddy helped me put  some of the mozzarella cheese on top. 

After that, we repeated the same steps to do a second layer of zucchini, sauce, and cheese. I chose to add some parmesan cheese and basil to the top for a little extra flavor. 

The zucchini baked in the oven at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. It was still a little crunchy, but thinner pieces of zucchini would be more like pasta. Here is our final product. 

All of us loved this dinner! Buddy even asked for seconds and thirds! He was also happy to eat the leftovers, which isn’t usually the case with zucchini. This easy zucchini bake was definitely a recipe we will make again.

If you have any other easy kid recipes, please leave a comment. I want to do several other recipes with Buddy this summer.

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Cooking with Kids: Easy Ham and Cheese Sliders

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Buddy is very interested in trying to imitate others and being a “big kid”. As a result, I look for ways to include him in my daily routines around the house. I’ve already blogged about many of these chores in this blog post, but recently, I’m trying to include Buddy in the kitchen as well.

A couple weeks ago, I decided to try out this recipe for ham and cheese sliders. I realized that it would be easy for Buddy to help, so I let him.

I cut apart the Hawaiian rolls an put the bottom part in a glass dish. Buddy helped me put the ham and cheese on top of the rolls. Then, I put on the top part of the roll. I melted butter, and Buddy helped me brush it on the top of the Hawaiian rolls. Finally, we put the rolls in the oven at 350 degrees to bake for 20 minutes.

The ham and cheese sliders were delicious and took less than 10 minutes to put together. Buddy was so proud of himself for helping make dinner.

I’m hoping to find some other easy recipes to try with Buddy. If I find anything I’ll like, I’ll share it here. I’d love suggestions if you know of some good recipes for kids.