Every parent knows that life with kids is always busy. Be it a birthday party or a dance class or a baseball game, there is an unending supply of activities that need to be attended. Parents also know that kids grow up fast…the time really does fly. That is the reason why I enjoy the time the kids and I spend cooking together. I cherish every moment I can squeeze in with those kiddies.

Plus, everyone has to eat. That means, if the family cooks together, they get to spend some quality family time together AND they get to eat!

Incorporating family time into the cooking process without adding stress can be more simple than you might think. There are three three simple tips I always follow when the 2 Kids and I are in the kitchen:

1) Choose a day and a menu together
Pick out a day of the week that works best for everyone. Alex, Soph and I cook together a lot, but there are days that we prefer, like Mondays or Fridays, when we get home from school earlier. Whatever day will allow the most relaxing, non-rushed experience is the best to pick.

Choosing the menu should also be a group decision. If everyone in the family actually likes the menu, or at least parts of it, the whole experience will be much more enjoyable.

2) Go over the game plan before starting
Just like with any group event, when everyone on the team knows what the goal is, the whole process goes much more smoothly. Every time the kids I make a recipe, we run through what we’re going to be doing first. Then, once we’ve all got the same picture in our heads, we divide tasks and work our way through each step. By choosing tasks in advance, we also prevent arguments over who will do what while we’re in the middle of making the meal–and we all know that’s a good thing

3) Plan for fun, not perfection
If you’re looking for everything to go perfectly smoothly…well it won’t. Even with the amount of time Alex, Sophia and I spend in the kitchen, we still end up with extra salt in the marinade, or half an egg in the bowl, or a tipped-over bottle of lemon juice, or–I think you get the picture. The thing is, it’s these little imperfections that make the whole experience fun. Plus, the memories you make will be priceless.

Yes, life is busy, but we all know that kids grow up fast. Family time is precious and cooking together is one way to get some of that time back.

Now go, get those kids and cook something together!

Happy Family Cooking Everyone,

Kelly, Alex and Mom

If you like cooking, you probably like cooking with your kids. Cookies, pizza, meatballs and snacks are some of our old stand-by’s, but sometimes spicing up  the recipe or kitchen activity requires outside influence. For us, that means one of three things is going to happen:

1. Cook Book Searching – When Alex and Soph get bored and a hunger for that elusive ‘something’ sets in, one of the first places they head to is our book shelf, filled with various cookbooks. Alex also refers to online sources, but for the most part, our cookbook shelves are the first choice for cooking activity research.

Sophia usually heads for books that contain sweets. Her favorite books for browsing include Mrs. Fields Cookie Cookbook and any of the Barbara Beery Princess Cookbooks (particularly the Pink Princess Cupcake Cookbook).

For Alex, it depends on his mood. Lately, his favorite book for the non-sweet has been Teen Cuisine by Matthew Locricchio. And, just like Soph, Mrs. Fields Cookie Cookbook is a favorite as well.

2. Let’s Try Mixing Stuff Together – the kids are both big fans of science, especially science experiments. I try to keep baking soda and vinegar on hand at all times, just because it provides a quick ‘kitchen science fix’…although it never stops there. So, this mom decided to step in and organize these ‘mixing’ sessions.

The first thing I did was get online and do a bit of research. I found some websites and a few books, here’s a list of the resources I found and that we refer to:

3. Kids Cooking Club & Kids Cooking Lessons- Another option we might choose when we need some fun that isn’t in our standard repertoire is a recipe from the Kids Cooking Club. We’ve only been members since September, so we don’t have that many of the monthly recipes yet, but, each month has additional recipes and menus from their website and they’ve recently started a forum where visitors can learn and share (if you’re a member, stop by our page and say hi!)

We also have started working through Kids Cooking Activities eBook, ‘Kids Cooking Lessons.’ It’s 67 pages of recipes, lessons, activities, glossaries and certificates for kids ages  6 to 18. It’s divided into age-based sections – Assistant Chef, ages 3 to 6; Chef-In-Training, ages 7 to 11; Junior Chef, ages 12 to 15; and Senior Chef, ages 16 to 18. Each section contains 13 lessons and is packed with great information that facilitates kitchen fun and learning.

Sooo, if you and your kids get that urge to venture into new territory and try something different in the kitchen for the New Year, maybe one of our methods will help you find the perfect activity or recipe to scratch that itch.

Happy Family Cooking Everyone,

Kelly, Alex and Sophia

P.S. You can find more cook books we like in the ‘Kids Cooking Recipe Books‘ section!

We’ve been participating in the ‘The Kids Cook Monday‘ initiative for about a year now, so you’ve probably seen our posts about ‘em, or at least have a vague recollection of us mentioning them before; But, guess what? They have officially launched their awesome website! It’s filled with great resources to help families get in the kitchen together and have some fun.

What exactly is The Kids Cook Monday? Well, it’s an initiative that encourages families to keep-up or start a tradition of family dinners. When Monday is family dinner night, the meal becomes a fun event, ensuring that parents and kids spend quality time together every week, all year round.

You don’t have to be an expert cook to make a family meal together either–Parents can explore cooking with kids even if they’re novice cooks! The Kids Cook Monday website is filled with recipes that come with age group suggestions as well as “parent”, “kid’ and “together” cooking tasks. There’s also an information packed toolkit to help get your family started.

Studies show that children who engage in regular family dinners eat more nutritious diets, get better grades in school and develop better communication skills, so how can the modern family incorporate a regular, family mealtime? Alex, Sophia and I, along with ‘The Kids Cook Monday’ and the other organizations and bloggers on board are here to help your family answer that question. Go check out www.TheKidsCookMonday.org, look through their suggestions and ideas, and then get in the kitchen and start having fun!

Happy Family Cooking Everyone!

Alex, Sophia and Kelly

It’s Monday again, and that means ‘The Kids Cook Monday’ time! This week we’re re-sharing one of our super early episodes–I believe it was our second. Snickety Snacks are easy, healthy and involve no oven or stove for preparation. This easy to cook with kids recipe is perfect for after-school snacks or for munching on while recovering from playing outside.

Enjoy the show and Happy Family Cooking Everyone!

Alex, Sophia and Mom

P.S. Have you ‘liked’ us on Facebook yet? Why now do it now! Thank you!

Sometimes, Alex and Soph can be a bit picky about the food they eat. Ok, maybe it’s a bit more than sometimes, I admit. BUT, because of that, one thing I do to encourage them to broaden their taste bud horizons is to try new things. With this process comes picking out and preparing new recipes.

Every other Sunday, the kids return home after their week at their Dad’s house. This is when we prepare for our week together, reviewing activities, finishing homework and planning what we’re going to eat for dinner each night. After trying to put together a few basic meal ideas for the week and having the kids respond with less than enthusiastic comments, I know it’s time to pull out the cookbooks and get them to help. I usually hand over a couple of our go-to cookbooks and a few of the newest issues of various cooking magazines I have on hand and have them start looking.

The beginning results of this process inevitably lead to dessert item after dessert item being flagged for us to make. However, with some persistent reminders of our goal to find dinner items, we eventually come up with at least a couple of respectable choices. Once we decided on our ‘try it’ recipes, we finalize our shopping list and head to the store for groceries.

When the assigned day for one of our agreed upon ‘try-it’ recipes arrives, we’re always excited about it. As soon as we get home from school and work, we dig out the recipe, all the necessary ingredients and tool and get to work. We all do our part cleaning, cutting, stirring and flipping as necessary—oh and tasting too, of course. Sophia usually makes the event into a party, as well, by fancying up the table and making sure we eat by candlelight (as all families should on occasion ;D).

When we plan a ‘try-it’ meal it’s like a family date night. It belongs to all of us and it’s lots of fun, even when the recipe isn’t so tasty or if we mess it up. As we eat, we discuss how great of cooks we are or what we’ll do different next time—or we laugh as we eat tuna sandwiches because the recipe was a disaster.

Get your kids to pick a recipe or two they’d like to try and then plan the night. I assure you you’ll have a great evening together as a family.

Happy Cooking Everyone,

Alex, Sophia and Kelly (Mom)

P.S. Our One Year Anniversary gift to our list subscribers will be coming out soon (this weekend if all works out) so make sure to sign up now so you don’t miss it!

This week on Two Kids Cooking TV we get into some baking. Now, there are lots of things you can bake, like chicken, fish, potatoes, lasagna, etc… BUT, a favorite baking delight of most everyone is COOKIES! And that’s what we’re sharing this week.

The recipe we’re using is from the back of the box of our favorite custom-made-for-kids-cooking-tool-making-company, Curious Chef. As you’ll see, the recipe is easy to make with the kids, plus, rolling-out, cutting and decorating cookies is always a fun way to spend some time in the kitchen as a family.

Enjoy the show and Happy Family Cooking Everyone!

Alex, Soph and Mom

P.S. We’ll be sharing my review of the Curious Chef 6 pc Cookie kit that we are using in this episode, so make sure you’re following us on Facebook or Twitter !

For some of you, school may have already started, but for Alex and Soph, September 7 is the big day. Alex will be starting 6th grade and his last year in elementary school, while Soph will be moving up to 2nd grade. For me though, it’s not just about heading back to the classroom, it’s about getting back into the groove of things.

We love summer as much as any family—unstructured time is awesome—but fall means it’s time to get back to business. With work for Mom, homework for the kids and the inevitable after school activities we’re going to be super busy. Taking time to plan our meals is a must for me. Making sure we get healthy, balanced meals is part of it, but the planning also means that instead of rambling around the kitchen trying to figure out what we can eat, the kids and I can cook the meal together. We don’t make every meal together, but, with planning, at least once a week, we spend some quality time in the kitchen.

PLUS, we’re coming up on the One Year Anniversary of the show (Sept 12), so it’s a good thing we’re getting focused. You may have seen the first show of Season Two: ’45 Pounds Pork Chops’ last week, and we’ve got more in queue. We are going to be moving to an every-other-week schedule so we keep our sanity, but, so you don’t miss us ;D, we’re introducing a new weekly blog series we call ‘Kids In the Kitchen,’ featuring ideas any family can use to spend some quality time together cooking, eating and even cleaning up in the kitchen. And, on the opposite weeks of the show, I’ll continue sharing my ‘Thoughts from the Mom.’

We hope your ‘Back to School’ goes smoothly and gets everyone in your family back into the groove too!
Happy Family Cooking Everyone!

Alex, Soph and Mom

P.S. If you’re interested, check out our premiere episode, 2 Kids Cooking TV: Berry Dippers

photo courtesy of http://lifeasmom.com

When school starts, the leisurely, time-filled days of summer, well they just disappear. Calendars fill up with various activities and finding quality time to spend together as a family can be on the challenging side. But, the thing is, I love spending time with my kids, so I try to make sure we schedule in some time we can do something together each week they’re with me. Game night is pretty easy and whipping up a snacky supper is easy to do with the kids before the games begin.

The activities we plan usually involve food element (big surprise, I know ), even if just snacks to accompany a night of monopoly or maybe the pet shop game. On any given week, here are the steps this mom will follow to accomplish my goals of having some fun with my kiddies and getting them actively involved in food selection and planning:

1. Pick a day of the Week. Since I only have the kids every other week, I like to pick a day Wednesday or later, but whatever day is the most open for your family is what you should pick.
2. Select the Game(s). Make sure to choose the game or games well in advance, that way all participants have time to get on board. Lack of planning can cause some minor disturbances that can easily be avoided if all children involved agree on the game(s) that will be played.
3. Choose the Menu. Let everyone pick a menu item. Game night dinners for us can involve pizza, cheese and crackers, veggies and dip, soup…we each pick something and a theme usually emerges. The menu should be more snack-like in nature, easy to eat while playing. And something that the kids can easily help prepare. The bonding time of game night can and will begin well before the first roll of the dice if everyone works together to prep the food.
4. Pump Up The Event. Since we usually plan our events later in the week, once we have everything set, I bring it up in the evening or before bed, like a count-down to the day. If we have errands to run that involve the game night—like picking up food items, or maybe even a new game—we talk about the plans in the morning on the way to school.

By the day of the planned Game Night, the kids are psyched and as soon as we get in the door from school the afternoon the preparations begin. We work like well-oiled machine, preparing our menu and setting up for the festivities. Once all is ready, we eat, play and be merry for an evening of family, food and fun.

Grab your kids right now and plan a Family Game Night with a Snacky Supper. You will have lots of fun with your kids in the kitchen and enjoying some of that ‘quality-time’ we parents are always longing for.

Happy Family Cooking!

Alex, Soph and Mom

P.S. We’ll be sharing ideas for getting your ‘Kids in the Kitchen’ each week. To make sure you don’t miss one, sign up for our mailing list and we’ll make sure you get the weekly update.

Ladies and Gentlemen, we are finally back with Season II of Two Kids Cooking TV!  We’re kicking off our return by sharing a recipe from 45pounds.com.  45pounds is dedicated to helping overweight children by educating both parents and children about the principles of healthy eating. They have an online cookbook with lots of healthy, tasty recipes. Recently, they held a video contest and we used this recipe as our entry.  Alex loved these pork chops and we’ve made them a couple of times since taping this episode.

Here’s the recipe we used:



If you’re interested in checking out more recipes, meal plans, exercise DVDs and everything else 45pounds provides, check them out: http://www.45pounds.com.

Enjoy the show and Happy Family Cooking Everyone!

Alex, Soph and Mom
P.S. To stay in touch with the 2 Kids and Mom, make sure to ‘like’ us on facebook!

Yep, it’s another rerun, but we’re ending our summer filled with reruns with Aliens, Alien Treats that is

Enjoy the show and be ready for the new episodes…they are coming…we promise!