Kids In The Kitchen

Kids with sharp knives??? 

This might bring terror to their moms.

But with instruction and supervision they can be good to go.

Little Sister is 11 and is plenty old enough to use one.

Rest easy...I was supervising the entire time.

Everyone needs good knife skills unless they plan to eat out forever. 

 Little Sister and I worked on slicing and chopping techniques over the weekend.

Our favorite pasta salad was a great place to start.

With so many vegetables to slice and dice, she got plenty of practice.

Then it was quick and simple to stir the vegetables, pasta and dressing together.

Cooking is also a good way to teach about caring.

To teach about being helpful. About being a kind, thoughtful human.

Taking food to someone is one of our favorite ways to say "I care."

Over the weekend my kitchen was also a science lab.

Little Sister is studying plant and animal cells.

And these cakes that she baked by herself represent the cells.

And all the candy and frosting made up the call components.

When the "cells" were done, she labeled all the parts

–nucleus, ribosome, mitochondria, etc.—

and made a video presentation for her class about the project.

Baby Girl had her turn in the kitchen, too, and baked banana muffins. Sadly there are no photos because I was her baking coach. She did all the measuring and even used a hand mixer all by herself and filled the muffin tin. She is still small enough that she has to stand on a stool to cook. When the muffins were done, they were packed and delivered, too. 

You've probably seen these recipes here before. They are both tried and true. But I'm sharing them again. Who knows when your house will be the one full of grandchildren who want to cook? 

GARDEN PASTA SALAD

1 (16-oz) box of pasta -- rotini, bowtie, or penne 

5 cups of chopped fresh vegetables*

fresh parsley, chopped (optional)

1 (15-oz) bottle Italian salad dressing (my fav is the Wishbone brand)

3-4 tablespoons McCormick Salad Supreme Seasoning

Cook the pasta according to package directions. Rinse under cold water. Drain well. Put pasta and vegetables and parsley into a large bowl. Add salad dressing and Salad Supreme Seasoning. Toss gently until mixed well. Cover. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or until ready to serve. I like to make it a day ahead.

*We used carrot, red pepper, yellow pepper, corn, broccoli, red onion, celery, zucchini, yellow squash, cucumber and cherry tomatoes. It doesn't take much of each veggie. 

This recipe fills a 5-quart plastic container.

BANANA MUFFS

2 cups Bisquick baking mix

1/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoons butter, softened

1 egg

1 cup mashed very ripe bananas (2 to 3 medium)

Preheat oven to 400º.

Combine baking mix, sugar, butter and egg. Beat vigorously for 30 seconds. Fold in bananas.

Evenly divide between 12 greased (or line with cupcake papers) muffin cups. Bake 15-18 minutes. until lightly browned.

While warm, you can drizzle with Thin Icing and sprinkle with chopped nuts, if desired. (The girls like them better without the nuts.)

Thin Icing: Blend 1 cup confectioners sugar and 2 tablespoons water until smooth.

Sometimes I make 36 mini muffins instead. Bake those for 12-15 minutes.