In our last episode, ‘Two Kids Cooking: Roll Out Sugar Cookies,’ we had fun learning about baking while we baked cookies. This week, we’re learning about Broiling. We’re also having some tasty fun broiling up some BBQ Chicken!

We also want to draw some attention to the sauce we’re using on our chicken. It’s Loretta’s Best Gourmet BBQ Sauce and it’s delicious. We met the owner, Michael Blow, at 2010 Forest Lake Area Craft Show. We tasted both the BBQ sauce and the mustard sauce and hey were both really good. Michael was generous enough to provide us with a jar of sauce for your show, but we’ll be heading over to the Loretta’s Best website for more (and some of that mustard sauce, mmm…….). Make sure to check it out for yourself.

Enjoy the show and Happy Family Cooking Everyone!

Alex, Soph and Kelly

P.S. Head on over to Facebook and give us a ‘like.’ The mom (that’s me) is going to be focusing on keeping in touch over there, so go like us!

This week we’re rerunning one of our Thanksgiving episodes–Turkey Meatballs. Meatballs are not only easy to make with kids, but they’re fun too. All that squishing of meat and forming into balls–need I say more.

Enjoy the show!

Alex, Soph and Mom

P.S. The Two Kids Cooking Shop has just the tools your kids need to foster their inner-chef–check it out!

Alex and Soph LOVE shrimp. We eat a lot of it and their favorite way to cook it is with Lemon Garlic Sauce. As we shared when this episode originally ran in January 2010, this recipe is kind of like a shrimp scampi, but it replaces all that butter with a reduced broth. It’s really tasty and it’s actually kinda healthy.

We hope you enjoy the show!

Alex, Soph and Mom

P.S. Get the tools you need to enhance your child’s inner-chef at our new Two Kids Cooking Shop!

Cooking is:

The preparation of food. The process or activity of preparing food for eating.*”

That’s a pretty simple definition, right?  There’s nothing in there about complicated techniques or exotic ingredients. Just plain and simple, ‘preparation of food.’ That means, cooking  can be as basic as washing and drying vegetables, or arranging pre-cut cheeses and meats on a platter, or sprinkling seasoning over chicken. All these things are cooking; And, kids could do any of them…even kids as young as 3.

Getting kids in the kitchen doing easy tasks starts them on an interactive journey with the food they eat. It provides them knowledge and some control over an essential part of their lives. Plus, when you focus on simple recipes that you can make together as a family, cooking can be lots of fun.

Cooking in general, doesn’t have to be super fancy and complicated. Although there are times when it is, when you bring the kids into the kitchen, the most basic recipes are fine–and they still count as cooking!

There are three tips that can help un-complicate the cooking process when working with kids:
- Use simple recipes or break more complex recipes into basic steps
- Assign or encourage age appropriate tasks for each child
- Review the process with all participants to make sure everyone knows the plan

Cooking is about getting food ready to eat–that’s it. It’s an activity that can easily be done as a family. And, with a little planning, delicious ingredients and a simple recipe, time spent with the kids in ‘the process or activity of preparing food for eating,’ will not only be easy, it will also always be remembered with fondness.

Now go, pick out a recipe, grab the kids, and cook something!

Alex, Soph and Mom

P.S. For even more tips on cooking with kids, sign-up for our mailing list (to the right)…you’ll get our free report, “Secrets to Making Cooking with Kids Stress-Free.”

*According to Encarta® World English Dictionary[North American Edition].

If we haven’t mentioned it, this past weekend was not only Sophia’s birthday, it was also the MN Fishing opener for 2010. So, in honor of all of the fisher people out there–including us–this is fish week!

That means that our The Kids Cook Monday is a fish dish, of course. Soooo, we are sharing a recipe we wanted try for Trout. I, the mom, cook lots of fish, but am not experienced in the Trout department. I have always wanted to try it though, so when I found this super easy recipe in ‘Joy of Cooking,’ I knew the kids and I could share it for the show.

The recipe is really easy to make with the kids, plus, Alex and I loved it! Soph wasn’t as enthusiastic, but I think it had more to do with the ‘whole fish’ thing than the taste. Enjoy the show!

Happy Fishing to All our Minnesota Fans!