Quick and Fun Recipes for Cooking With Your Kids

Kids love to cook and it’s a real learning experience for them. You can cut down on the mess by first laying newspapers out on the kitchen table. Let kids peel a banana and break them in half. Put a popsicle stick through the large end of the banana then roll in honey and granola for a hand-held treat. Core apples and place them on individual plates. Let kids fill them with choices of peanut butter, granola, cottage cheese, raisins and other selections.

Place a pear half on a plate and allow the child to cover it with granola, nuts, toppings, cottage cheese or other choices.

Place individual servings of ice cream in a bowl and allow kids to add their own toppings. Use squirt toppings for less mess than spoon-on toppings. Include topping choices such as nuts, whip cream, cherries, strawberries, blueberries, graham cracker crumbs, granola, crushed cookies and candies.

Let kids spread butter or margarine on a piece of bread then sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon. Or let them make their own peanut butter and jelly sandwiches but buy squeeze jelly to save on the mess. The kids can then use cookie cutters to make sandwich shapes that are fun to eat.

Kids can also spread mayonnaise on bread then lay two different kinds of cheese slices on before topping with another bread slice. This cheese sandwich leaves behind no mess. Or let them make bologna and potato chip sandwiches – a favorite among kids.

Lay out a couple of different cereals, nuts, pretzels, cheese nips, and light corn syrup. Let them put their own dry goods in the bowl then pour a little syrup over it. They can stir it themselves for a tasty trail-mix snack.

Take the crust off bread slices and use thinly sliced meats to put on top of one slice. Spread with cream cheese and roll up. Kids can just hold these and eat them with no mess. Variations include laying a green onion in the center, placing shredded carrot inside, or sprinkling the cream cheese with raisins.

Cheese crackers are really easy for kids to make and there’s all types of things you can put on top of the cracker. Give them choices like thinly sliced meats, olives, pepperoni, and other things they love. Use bread sticks or pretzel sticks and let kids first dip them in peanut butter then roll them in

Let kids pour their favorite juice in an ice tray. When the juice begins to freeze place a toothpick into each section. After completely frozen they have an ice pop that’s easy to eat.

Microwave a stack of pancakes then let kids decorate them with smiles, dots or whatever they like. Use squeeze jellies, syrups, whip cream and other treats, along with chocolate chips, raisins, strawberry slices and other toppings.

A rich snack, for a rare treat, requires graham crackers, marshmallow cream and chocolate. Kids can spread the marshmallow cream onto the grahams then place a chocolate bar on the cream. Top with another graham and you’ll have smiling kids. Or let kids spread peanut butter on the grahams then sprinkle on chopped nuts, raisins, coconut or other goodies.

Let kids make their own salads by placing plates or bowls full of shredded lettuce, cherry tomatoes, baby carrots, thinly sliced ham, thin cheese slices, croutons and other goodies. Purchase dressings that squirt out rather than ones that pour out quickly.

Let kids make mini pizzas with an English muffin half, spaghetti sauce, pepperoni and shredded cheese. Kids love cold pizza so there’s no need to warm. Or, warm the muffins then let them add cold toppings.

Kids love cooking and if you look around your own cupboards you’ll find you have lots for them to do. Look at canned fruits, easy-dispensing meats and cheeses, mini veggies, crackers and breads, spreads, dips and other kid-friendly foods. They’ll have fun, you’ll catch a break, and the clean up is a breeze.