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!

It’ll be August tomorrow. We all knew it would arrive eventually, and for some of us it’s too soon (us=Alex and Soph). For others, though, it’s the beginning of the time when the garden starts sharing, and that’s a good thing.

I’ve never really had a super green thumb, more of a light green if anything, but I grew up with home grown food, so I do my best to try with what I have. Our patio herb garden and tomato plant are minuscule compared to the huge, backyard-filling garden my Dad tended every summer. As a kid, veggies from the grocery store where pretty much unknown. Veggies at our house came one of three ways: Fresh from the garden; From the freezer; or From the jars in the basement. I have hours of footage stored in my head of things like pea shelling contests between my siblings, the kids my mom babysat and me; I can still feel the pricks from the raspberry bushes when we’d have to go in ‘deep’ to get the berries; And, we can’t forget the rotten tomato throwing fights we’d have in the fall after the freeze destroyed the remaining tomatoes on the plants. For us, food wasn’t just something you bought, it was something you were a part of making happen.

Every gardener knows it’s not just about tossing seeds in dirt. Gardens require maintenance and care to ensure a good crop. Pulling weeds, watering, fertilizing, watching for plant problems…it’s like having another kid. I’ll have to say though, that, despite the differences my ex-husband I have, I am happy that he has a real garden for them so they experience more than just my apartment patio herbs. This week, he even sent a bag of cucumbers with the kids for us–Soph and I have been eating ‘em up. He also included some green beans, which were very delicious. Although I enjoy the fresh food, it’s actually less about that for me, I can get fresh produce at the farmers market. It’s about the kids getting the chance to plant and harvest their own food. It’s about Alex and Soph helping their dad build a scarecrow to keep intruders out of the corn. It’s about my little mini’s getting excited to see the first red tomato of the season.

Plus, when they grow it, they’re more likely to eat it. You see, they aren’t real lovers of green beans, but if the green beans are from their garden, they eat ‘em right up. And, if they ask, ‘what’s the green stuff on this?’ and I reply, ‘it’s the herbs from OUR herb garden’…’all I hear in response is, ‘oh, they’re good, mom.’ And I respond, ‘I know, I know… ‘

Happy Gardening Everyone,

Alex, Soph & Mom

P.S. That picture up there, that’s our first tomato of the season

I love living in Minnesota. I can’t imagine having a year without continuous change every few months. Each season influences the food we crave. I will say my favorite season is fall; from the super tasty harvest, to the trees dressing up in my favorite colors. But, for us, the food of summer is always something we look forward to–the freshness and simplicity–makes me drool a little just thinking about it.

I also love summer because it introduces a level of variety to family cooking. If someone in the group has a green thumb, they can lead the family in planting a garden which will later lead to ultra-fresh, family-cooked meals. Or, if your brood is better suited for shopping than gardening, farmer’s markets and produce stands offer the opportunity for everyone to get in on the action by picking out their favorite, just-picked fruits and veggies for consumption that day.

As for the Two Kids Family and our summer food adventures, Alex, Soph and I live in an apartment, so our gardening is restricted to our patio herb garden. We had fun and spent some quality family time together planting it, plus, we’ve been using our herbs in various recipes and are anxiously awaiting the ripening of our tomatoes. We’re also enjoying berry season–strawberries, raspberries and blueberries are everywhere and we’ve been using them in recipes (as you’ll see in our upcoming ‘bake-off’ episode of Two Kids Cooking TV) or just eating them fresh. Oh yeah, and grilling…there is nothing like the smell of meat cooking on an open fire. I realize you can grill in the winter, even in the great arctic Minnesota, but, when the temps below freezing, you’re really not outside smelling the deliciousness. And again, it’s fun to do the grilling thing with the whole family, burgers, brats, hot dogs, veggies–the whole works.

If you need some ideas for food and family fun, here are a few things you might find the Two Kids entourage partaking in:

• Berry Picking – When we were on our road-trip out to Appleton, MN to visit, we did some berry picking in Grandma and Wayne’s raspberry patch, but there are lots of pick-your-own places all over. After an afternoon of picking, a berry pie for dessert in the evening hits the spot.
• Family BBQ – The quintessential cooking method of the summer is grilling. For us, the grills are down at the pool in our apartment complex, so we work together to plan out what we’ll eat, prepare it for the trip down to the pool and then I cook while the kids swim. When it’s all done, we enjoy a leisurely, poolside, family meal.
• Celebrate a Vegetable – it is the time of year when lots of fruits and veggies are coming into season. Why not pick one or two and plan a whole meal around that in-season treat?
• Have a Picnic – We LOVE picnics. We don’t do anything super fancy, just whip together our favorite sandwiches, cut up some fruit and veggies, toss in a bag of chips and some beverages and we’re all set. Oh yes, and don’t forget our Hannah Montana picnic blanket ;D
• Ice Cream Party – Any sort of frozen treats work, but ice cream is traditional. When it’s hot we like to have our sundaes and eat them too. Occasionally we get creative with Popsicles or other icy treats, but like I said, Ice Cream is our favorite.

All seasons bring with them opportunities to spend time with the family, cooking and eating. And, each season provides a uniqueness to the food it offers. For us, summer food is all about freshness and simplicity, along with outdoor eating and adventure. Alex, Sophia and I hope your family gets out there and enjoys the summer food in your area together.

Happy Family Cooking!

Alex, Sophia and Mom (Kelly)

P.S. To get the whole family involved in your summer cooking, check out our Curious Chef 8 Pc Fruit & Vegetable Set, perfect for little hand helping with veggie prep. Or, if desert is more your style, why not have an Ice Cream Sundae party with the Curious Chef 22 Pc Sundae Sleepover Kit!

I know the last few weeks we’ve been really quiet and all you’ve seen from us is reruns, BUT, we’ve actually been pretty busy planning and taping new shows AND thinking up new stuff to help spread our enthusiasm for getting kids in the kitchen.

Now, we have also been spending some time relaxing at the pool and enjoying our summer vacation. Oh, and don’t forget Alex’s baseball practices and games. But, we want you to know that, even with the weeks off we’ve had, we’re still working hard at work producing new episodes and we’re going to be heading out later this week for our ‘Feasting Across Minnesota’ road trip episodes!

Here’s some of the stuff we’re working on for our next ’season’:

• Our ‘What is?’ series, featuring basic cooking methods like baking, grilling, frying…sharing definitions, and cooking examples to show kids and their families just what they can do together in the kitchen.
• Our ‘Two Kids Reviews’ series, will continue from last year, but we’re hoping to add a bit more detail and fun to each review show.
• A ‘Family Cooking Across the Web’ series will feature interviews with some of this mom’s favorite kid-friendly food bloggers and others.
• And, our real-life cooking adventures inspired by Alex and Soph…like the ‘Fairy Berry Bake-off’ we’re going to be having next week

We’re really excited so we hope you can stick with us for a few more weeks of reruns. In the meantime, I, the mom, will be do my best to share our Two Kids ideas for making cooking with kids fun and easy.We hope you all are having a great summer!

Oh yes-Happy 4th of July!!!! (<—that’s the mom’s favorite holiday )

Now go, cook something together!

Alex, Sophia and Mom

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!

Walleye is the official state fish of Minnesota. It is also super tasty. So today Alex, Soph & I are sharing one way we Minnesotans like to eat our state fish–Pan Fried.

Fishing itself is a fun way to spend the day together as a family. Now, you don’t always catch walleye, but this recipe would work with any panfish – sunnies, crappies, perch, etc. Then, after catching your limit, hop of the lake and come on in for some family cooking fun–this is another one of our easy to cook with kids recipes. We’ll show you just how easy in this weeks show.

Enjoy!

Alex, Soph & Mom

P.S. Stop by our facebook page and become a fan!

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!

Since this is Soph’s birthday week, we’re sharing a recipe for one of her favorite vegetables. Soph and Alex both love beets. We usually don’t do anything too fancy with them, but for the show we’re showing everyone how we make our Glazed Beets. All you need is a little orange marmalade and some cider vinegar and you’re all set!

We hope you enjoy the show. But, make sure you stop back next week when we share some Fish recipe’s in honor of Minnesota’s fishing opener, which is actually today.

Happy fishing everyone,

Mom, Alex and Soph

P.S. Happy 7th Birthday Soph!