March is the month that we celebrate St. Patrick’s day. Here in Minnesota, it’s also the beginning of the end of an oh-so-long winter. So, the kids and I decided to come up with a recipe that is appropriate for the holiday, and that reminds us of the warm summer days we are missing terribly as we watch the snow fall, and fall, and keep falling. The result is our Tropical Shamrock Smoothie!

Tropical Shamrock Smoothie
10 to 14 ice cubes
1 13.66 fl. oz. Can of lite coconut milk
1 8.5 oz can of Cream of coconut
The juice of two Limes
Green food coloring
1 to 1 1/2 T Fresh chopped mint (and some whole for garnish)

Add all of the ingredients to a blender. Blend, pulsing as necessary until all of the ice is crushed. Pour into glasses and garnish with a sprig of mint.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day Everyone!

You may have seen the kids and I demonstrate this tasty recipe on last weeks episode of 2 Kids Cooking. If you did, you know just how easy Pizzadillas are to make. They have the benefit of filling customization, which we love, plus they’re good for kids at any skill level to do some hands on helping.

Pizzadillas
Main Ingredients:
Flour Tortillas
Cheese – Mozzarella, Cheddar, a Marbled variety, whatever you prefer
Pizza Sauce for dipping
Cooking Spray

Optional Ingredients:
Pepperoni
Sausage
Chicken
Olives, black and/or green
Artichoke hearts
Onions
Whatever you like on your pizza

Instructions:
The first thing you’ll want to do is prep the ingredients. Grate the cheese, slice your olives, cut up your chicken, etc… Next, give everyone two of the tortillas and have them start adding their favorite toppings. Be careful not to overfill or it will be hard to flip when it’s in the pan. Once each person is satisfied with the contents of their pizzadilla, add the second tortilla to the top and you’re ready to melt it up.

Heat a pan on the stove top. Once it’s hot, spray it with cooking spray and then set in your first pizzadilla. When the first side is browned, spray the side facing up and then flip the pizzadilla over. After side two has browned and the cheese has melted, lift it out of the pan and let it cool on a plate. Next, it’s time for cutting! We usually cut ours into either 4 or 6 pieces.

Once your pizzadilla is cut to your satisfaction, serve with a side of microwave-warmed pizza sauce and you’ve got yourself a quick, easy and tasty meal!

We hope you have fun with your own family pizzadilla fest!

P.S. Don’t for get to follow us on twitter (@twokidscooking) and become a fan at facebook.

OK, so we love pizza and we like to make in as many different forms as possible. This recipe is takes a classic quesadilla, and some pizza fixings (your favorite of course!), adds some pizza sauce ‘dip’ and viola! you have Pizzadillas.

The best part of this recipe is the simplicity. It is perfect for making with the kids and it’s quick to whip together. Alex, Soph and I show you just how easy in this weeks episode…enjoy!

P.S. Don’t for get to follow us on twitter (@twokidscooking) and become a fan at facebook.

Making your very own roasted is sooo easy. So easy Soph’s gonna show you how:

Here’s the recipe:

1 head of Garlic
Olive Oil

Instructions:
Peel much of the papery outer part of the garlic head. Cut the top of the garlic off. Place the head of garlic in the center of a piece of aluminum foil. Pour about 1/2 to 1 tablespoon of Olive Oil over the garlic, making sure to coat the entire head. Wrap it up in the aluminum foil and bake it at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes, until it’s soft.

That’s it, easy and tasty!

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!

2010 is the Two Kids Family year of trying to improve the nutritional value of the food we eat. This recipe stems from this goal, and, even though the kids weren’t huge on the Spinach, (as you may have seen in the recipe of the week post), they did try it and they loved the chicken. One thing is for sure, though, we had a great time making the meal together.

You’ll see how easy it is to make this recipe with the kids–and maybe, since they helped make it, they’ll try the spinach too

Find the recipe for Herbed Chicken and Garlicky Spinach right here!

For kids and adults alike, life is a continual opportunity for injury. Some activities increase the likelihood of injury more than others and although cooking is not the riskiest hobby, accidents can happen. When kids are in the kitchen, it’s important they know the rules so they can have a safe, owie-free experience.

Two of the biggest potential pains causing culprits in the kitchen are tools and heat.

Heat from the stove and tools like knives or food processors are essentials for lots of recipes. If you’re cooking with kids, both temperature and tool concerns need to be addressed. Age is one key indicator of a child’s readiness to use a particular tool or the stove, but it shouldn’t be the only indicator. We all know our own children and their skill levels; there are five year olds that are conscientious enough to use a knife and eight year olds that shouldn’t be trusted alone with a sharp fork. Once you’ve decided if your son or daughter is ready to use a particular tool, make sure you demonstrate how to use it and review the safety rules. The oven and stove are obvious kitchen dangers, too. Remember, knowledge is power. Show your kids the hot vs. non-hot parts of the stove so they know what how not to get burned.

Another safety consideration to emphasize is keeping things clean. Hand washing and isolation of raw meats like chicken are must-have habits for a healthy kitchen. Make it a habit to go to the sink and wash hands every time you cook anything, even a peanut butter sandwich, and it will become second nature for you and your kids. And, when preparing meat, I recommend a separate cutting board that is dishwasher safe and making sure all hands and tools that touch the meat are promptly washed and/or moved to the sink. Tell your kids why you’re handling meats like this as well. This is another area where information is key; kids like to know ‘why’ just as much as adults. If they know something can make them sick, they’ll avoid it.

There are a couple of other kitchen dangers that I like to mention as well. They seem seem innocent, but can end up causing tears or a trip to the emergency room:

1) Ingredients like pepper, garlic or onions can cause some serious eye burning if there is contact. If you work with ingredients that are spicy or ‘hot’, it’s best to make sure an older child who has been warned of potential dangers handles them. If a younger child helps with this hot-stuff, make sure you are right there next to them so they don’t start rubbing their eyes. And, make sure everyone who touches these ingredients washes their hands immediately after contact (eye rubbing + onion hands = crying child).

2) Stool, chairs and counters seem harmless; Most of the time they are, but the memory of New Years Eve 2008 remains in my memory forever. It was 9:00 a.m. on December 31, 2008. Sophia and I were in the kitchen making some coffee for me. Sophie was only five years old and was shorter than she is now, so she stood on her trusty Strawberry Shortcake stool. Approximately 2 minutes after getting on her stool, she promptly lost her balance and fell off, breaking her right arm (for the second time in her short 5 years of life, by the way). We spent the rest of New Years Eve in and out of the Hospital. Stools can be tippy; kids can fall off chairs and counters. We all know to be aware of it, but continual reminder to the kids helps them remember.

As parents we all have to come to terms with the fact that accidents happen. Kids can, and do, get hurt. Providing structure, information and rules give kids valuable resources when working in the kitchen. So, make sure your kids know the rules and your family cooking experience will by fun, tasty and SAFE!

This year, the Mom (that’s me), is focusing effort to improve the healthiness of the food the 2 kids and I eat. I’ve cleaned out the cupboards of super sugary snacks and am re-evaluating our favorite recipes to cut out the fat and sneak in some extra nutrients. Our Herbed Chicken and Garlicky Spinach meet this criteria, less fat and extra nutrient

The chicken in this week’s recipe has been a faithful member of our family recipe book for awhile, but the spinach is a new addition. I love the spinach, but honestly, the kids had a mixed reaction. We’re gonna keep it in our repertoire though, because Soph had lots of fun helping make it, as you’ll see when they demonstrate it in an upcoming episode of 2 Kids Cooking. The chicken is also simple to make with kids, making this meal a great candidate for a family cooking night–healthy and easy!

Herbed Chicken:
2 to 3 Cloves Garlic
1 tsp Italian Seasoning
1/2 tsp Salt
Dash of Pepper
4 Tablespoons Olive Oil
2 1/2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
4 to 6 Skinless, Boneless Chicken Breasts

Instructions for Herbed Chicken:
Mix together all of the ingredients except the chicken. Once they are blended together, add the chicken, making sure it’s well coated. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for 20 minutes to 1 hour. When the chicken is done marinating, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. While the oven is preheating, in an oven-safe pan brown the chicken on both sides over medium-high heat–discard the remaining marinade. When both sides of the chicken are browned, move the pan with the chicken to the oven to finish cooking (about 10 to 15 minutes).

Garlicky Spinach:
1 to 2 Cloves Garlic, minced
3 tsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 9 oz bag of Spinach

Instructions for Garlicky Spinach:
Heat the olive oil on medium-low in a large saute pan. Add the minced garlic. When the garlic becomes fragrant, after about 30 seconds, add the entire bag of spinach. With tongs, continually flip the spinach around until it starts to wilt. When it has wilted by about half, it’s ready to serve.

There are children out there that will eat pretty much everything. I know this is true because I was one of those children. My own children, well, let’s just say they don’t take after their mother. Because of this, I continue striving to expand their food repertoire. There is no one way that works, and everything is hit or miss.

1) Get the kids involved in the recipe/menu selection process. This allows them to take some ownership in the food preparation process from the very beginning. And, when that inevitable, “I don’t like that,” spews forth, it allows you to ask them why they don’t like it. With my kids, many times those ‘I don’t like it’ items have never actually been tasted. I’m able to get buy-in sometimes, though, when I can list ingredients for this ‘Icky’ recipe that they like. Basically, if you like what’s IN it, you should like IT.

2) Have the kids help you cook. This goes back to the whole ownership thing. If the food is something they made, they’re more likely to be willing to try it. Now, you’ll notice I said ‘more likely’; Alex, Soph and I cook together a lot and they do not eat everything they make. I’ve heard, ‘Mom, we made it for you’ many times. BUT, it has worked on occasion, plus, cooking with the kiddies is fun!

3) Sell it. By sell it, I mean make the food sound so irresistible they WANT to try it. Since I basically like all food, I genuinely feel bad for Alex and Soph when they miss out on foods I know they’d like just because they assume they ‘don’t like it.’ So, I tell them what they’re missing and how delicious it is. And, really, ONE bite, just to see…well isn’t that worth it? This method is more successful when one of the kids is on-board with trying to get the other to try it too. I guess they trust each other’s taste over mine.

4) Bribe them. Yes, I said bribe them, and I’ve advocated for food bribery before, and I’m sure I will again. For as little as 25 cents I’ve not only persuaded Alex and Soph to try food, but also have gotten them to discover that they like it. I say that is excellent ROI.

5). Keep on trying. The important thing, in my experience anyway, is to keep trying. Just like the repetition of practice ‘makes perfect,’ continuing to encourage kids to taste all kinds of food will expand their palette.

Like I said, these are only things that may work. Kids are strange creatures, resisting things that they may actually love based purely on one characteristic that doesn’t fit into their ideal of the moment. Trying new things, food or experiences, help kids learn and figure out what they like, need and want in this world. And I, as a Mom, promise to do my best, be it bribery or marketing, to help them grow.

Pizza is always popular meal with kids. Part of its attraction, I think, is that it’s such a customizable meal. If one person likes pepperoni and the other doesn’t, well we just don’t add pepperoni to the whole pizza then, right? Each person gets just what they like.

This recipe takes traditional pizza, and wraps it up in a pocket. Each person gets their very own ingredients and can make their pizza just the way they like it. When we made them, Sophia didn’t dd any sauce, ’cause she doesn’t like sauce, just cheese and a few other items. Alex added extra sauce and a variety of meats to address his carnivorous tendencies. The best part is, it’s a fun meal to make together, as a family!

Enjoy the show, and check out the recipe for Personal Pizza Pockets if you get the urge to make them for your family!