Here’s another re-post of a show from February that we think is great for ‘The Kids Cook Monday’. The Kids Cook Monday is an initiative and soon to be website from The Monday Campaigns. The idea behind this concept is to make Monday an eating right, family night where families take the time to cook and eat together for better nutrition and greater communication.

Alex, Sophia and I strongly support this initiative because we know first hand the benefits that cooking & eating together as a family brings–lots of fun & memory making, a life-long skill for the kids, and healthier meals for all of us. Plus, the folks at the Monday Campaigns shared a couple of interesting facts that make taking the time to cook together that much sweeter:

1) A recent study in the journal of Pediatrics finds lower incidences of obesity among children who eat together with their families.

2) Columbia University’s annual ‘The Importance of Family Dinners,’ study consistently reports that children from families who eat together often get better grades in school and have lower incidence of recreational drug usage.

With data like that, plus all the fun and memories you’ll make together, taking one day out of the week for some family cooking and eating seems like a must do.

We’ll pass on more information, and the URL to ‘The Kids Cook Monday’ site as soon as it’s available, but in the meantime, we encourage you all to take one day this week and make your evening meal a family event.

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.

We have a number of standard menus that meet these criteria. We eat these standards regularly and the kids are perfectly satisfied. The kids are also perfectly satisfied to watch the same episode of Phineas and Ferb 50 times in a row; I, however, am not.

This desire for a more adventurous meal plan has lead to many cooking experiments designed to broaden the palette preferences of the kiddies. Throughout these food trials, there are a few things I’ve noticed:

1) Taking something familiar and changing it up a bit usually works. For example, we eat a lot of chicken and we have a couple favorite ways to make it. So, to change it up a little, I did a tandoori style chicken, soaking it in a yogurt based marinade and then broiling it. The flavor was different then our standard, but subtle. The kids and I both loved it and now we have a new taste that I know will be eaten!

2) Changing or adding one dish in the meal can prove successful. This works well when the meal consists of a main food item and side dishes. For me, it’s usually a new vegetable concoction that I’d like to try. Most recently I did this with a broccoli recipe. The kids both like broccoli, but only steamed and with a bit of butter and salt–this gets a bit boring for the mom. The recipe I tried included red bell peppers and a garlicky stir-fry like sauce. I knew if I just made a stir-fry it would be a no-go, so I snuck it in as a side dish to salmon & rice. I’ll admit they didn’t love it, but they ate it. And, they ate the salmon so I didn’t end up with hungry kids grumbling for something to eat right after dinner.

3) Let the kids help ‘invent’ a new recipe. This is one of our favorites and is actually the most successful. It doesn’t always result in menu item that is loved, but the kids always try their inventions and give honest feedback. Plus, they’re always excited to tweak their own recipes to make them more to their liking. One of our favorite recipes that Alex was instrumental in inventing is our Chicken Strips (which we’ll be demoing in a future episode of 2 Kids Cooking).

I think that trying to keep meal time interesting is always a challenge, but giving up is not an option. I don’t care how many times Alex and Soph wrinkle their noses at a new dish–most of the time, once they taste the food, they like it. Even if they don’t, exposing them to lots of different kids of healthy foods will keep their minds open so that when they get older, they just might appreciate a little variety.

Alex and Soph usually help get things ready for the big meal by helping make the desserts the day before. On Thanksgiving though, I’m kind of focused on getting everything done, so they have more limited hands-on kitchen time, but here are some ways they help out:

Hors d’oeuvres
When we have family and friends over for Thanksgiving, most of the time they arrive well before the big meal. This means we like to have plenty of snacks available for our guests. Alex and Sophia love getting hors d’oeuvres ready and serving them, so that’s usually one of their duties. We usually have an assortment of things including some family favorites like pickled herring, polish sausage, assorted cheeses…nothing too fancy, just some tasty items to keep tummies from growling before the main meal.

Crudité Platter
If you’ve seen our ‘Snickety Snacks‘ episode, you know that we love the veggie trays. Alex and Soph can put together a respectable Crudité platter in no time and with lots of style, so on Thanksgiving, I make sure they do.

Beverages
At our house, a guest with an empty glass won’t be empty for long. When I’m busy cooking, the kids are free to check on each of our guests needs, refreshing sodas or waters, or letting the ‘bartender’ know someone needs a fresh beverage. This responsibility keeps our guests well hydrated and the kids busy.

Relish Tray
Pickles, olives and pickled peppers, oh my! Whatever types of pickled delicacies are traditional on your table, they need to be prepared. Just like with the Crudité Platter and Hors d’oeuvres, kids have fun making serving platters look pretty. Sophia tends to eat as much as she plates, but that’s why we buy extra

Setting the Table
I remember Thanksgivings when I was a kids. Every year we’d travel to Jackson, MN to spend the holiday with my Grandma and Grandpa. My Grandma was a bit of a stickler for a properly set table, and my sister and I always had the duty of making sure this happened. Now, I’ve passed the duty on to Alex and Sophia, BUT, I’m not quite as picky as two where they place the silverware…I’m lucky to have all the place settings matching these days

And there you have it, a few of the ways Mom (that’s me) keeps the 2 Kids (that’s Alex and Soph), busy and helping on Thanksgiving. Because, Thanksgiving is about thanks, right? And I’m most thankful to have two great kids to spend time with, both in the kitchen and out.

Have a great holiday week everyone…and Thank You for watching Two Kids Cooking!

And, I’ll just admit it now, we are meatball lovers, we have them a lot and in all meat varieties (turkey, chicken, pork and hamburger). This recipe is our favorite, we get lots of compliments on it; and let’s just face it, juicy, little balls of seasoned ground meat–you can’t go wrong!

Thanksgiving Turkey Meatballs:
1 1/2 lbs ground turkey
1 egg
3/4 cup bread crumbs (we recommend panko)
3/4 cup milk
2 cloves garlic minced
1/2 Tablespoon italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 onions (optional)

Mix all ingredients in bowl and squish all together with your hands (kids love this part). When everything is well mixed together, form into 1 1/2 to 2 inch balls. Place on a foil covered baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for approximately 30 minutes.

Have fun making these tasty meatballs and have a great Thanksgiving!

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Of course all this family camaraderie only happens if the TV is off, and some nights, I admit, we do just sit and watch and eat and barely talk. I’m not sure how I feel about this. I mean, I know that in the ideal world I’d have enough energy after commuting, working, cooking, etc…but the fact is, sometimes I don’t.

Family meals are supposed to be about more than just the food and eating. They’re supposed to be about sharing and fun too. I guess since I am far from perfect, I’ll trust that those meals we have together when the TV is off build bonds; and I’ll hope that family ties are strengthened even when dinner includes watching Phineas and Ferb from the dining room table while eating spaghetti.

This week was our first week of the 2009-10 school year, and so-far, so-good. We managed to make real, sit-down meals all but one day and I made a total of three cold lunches. Of course it was only a four-day school-week, but I think that’s pretty good. We even managed to film one of the meals that will be a future episode of 2 Kids Cooking (Alex’s Secret Recipe Chicken). The first week or so of a new schedule is always pretty easy, though. The excitement of the new gets us motivated to prepare the night before, get out of bed early and on the road with time to spare. I guess for me, as time goes forward, say by mid-October, the newness has more than worn-off and I need deeper motivation to get my butt out of bed at 6:00 am on a cold Minnesota morning.

My weekly meal plans and the prospect of cooking and eating a family meal with the kids, things like these keep me on-track. The more I focus my mind on the end goal (fun times with the kiddies), the better I am at preparing. If I don’t do my Sunday shopping list and outline our food plan for the week, by Tuesday I feel like I’m in chaos land. We end-up eating quality foods like macaroni & cheese and hot dogs or frozen pizza.

I know for sure that I loved this summer and I’m working hard to find a way to support my family in a way that allows us more quality time together. For now, though, the kids are back in SAC after school and my staying in the groove–well it’s an essential part of remaining sane.

Whichever menu we choose, another important detail is the presentation and serving. Sophia loves doing ‘table scapes’ (a la Sandra Lee from the Food Network). For Movie Night Dinners we always eat picnic style–Soph spreads a blanket on the floor and then sets ‘the table’ for our meal. We have those lap table things that you can get at Michael’s Craft Store; They’re great T.V. trays for the kids, so sometimes she’ll use those in her set-up. The coffee table serves as the buffet, holding the food so we can easily retrieve seconds. I’m amazed at how well she’ll clear the ever-cluttered table to make sure her vision is met for Movie night, especially since most of the ‘ever-clutter’ wouldn’t be there if she’d put it away when I asked her originally ;D

By the time we’re 15 minutes into the movie, our bellies are full and we’ve moved from our picnic blanket to snuggle on the couch for the duration. We don’t talk a lot during the feature show, but cuddling up with a love bug on each side while relaxingly viewing a movie is, well…the best.

1) Are you crazy?
2) You let your kids use knives and go near the stove?
3) Isn’t it faster to just cook supper alone?

For the first one, the answer is ‘yes,’ but it’s doubtful that this particular reason is why I’ve gone to the crazy-side.

I guess the second one is understandable, but the answer, again, is ‘yes.’ I, Mom, let my kids use knives and go near the stove–they are supervised and instructed first, of course. Alex is 10 and Sophia is 6, so each task they are given is age appropriate. That being said, Sophia does cut stuff up and Alex uses the stove as you’ll see in their show. I am there each time and they are always reminded of the safety rules. Cooking is a learned skill that will stick with my kids for their entire lives. This fact alone heavily out weighs the safety risks in my mind, because I teach them how to use the tools and how to be safe.

The third reaction regarding the speed of cooking a meal with kids; well speed has very little to do with it for us. As I have stated before, I’m a single parent and after a full day of work, I pick up the kids, and get home by, hopefully, 6 p.m. each day. Then I have to make supper, make sure everyone eats, gets homework done and bathes…my kids and I get very little quality time before they have to go to bed so we can start it all over in the morning. Making supper together gives us a little time back (while, again, teaching a lifelong skill). Plus, the more you do it, the better the kids get at it and it actually speeds up the meal preparation.

I’m not gonna lie though, there are nights when I purposely make sure Sponge Bob is tuned in so I can just get supper prepared all super fast. And every year when we do Christmas cookie decorating, as I sit covered in flour amidst flying, holiday-colored sugars, I know for sure that I’ve lost my mind–and that I’ve gained priceless time with my love bugs…

Here’s the thing, my kids do like to eat, but in their minds, each food has its own special way of being prepared, presented and/or eaten. For example, let’s take spaghetti, a pretty basic meal. I usually make a red sauce with meat or meatballs, spaghetti noodles, garlic bread and a wedge of Parmesan to grate on top. Alex doesn’t eat noodles, so he just eats the the bread, dipped in the Parmesan covered sauce. Sophia doesn’t eat sauce, so she has the noodles, with butter, Parmesan and bread. I like all food, so I eat it the ‘normal’ way. The simple adaptions ensure we all eat, our tummies are full and we only have to make ONE meal.

When Alex was younger, I used to make him his own special meals if he didn’t like what I was making for dinner–he was a bit spoiled. But after the arrival of his sister, Mom got busier and we had to adapt. And now that the kids Dad and I are no longer married, I have neither the time nor budget to support custom order food. The kids and/or I just make sure each meal has at least one item that each of us likes (and that it’s fairly nutritionally balanced) and all is well. Some nights Alex just eats a pork chop, and sometimes Sophia just eats broccoli, but we all eat and I don’t spend the entire meal finishing cooking someone’s special order.

This menu serves as more of a guide than anything else. We do put a full meal on each day, but if Tuesday is supposed to be Alex’s Garlic Burgers, be we decide we want Personal Mini-Meatloaves instead, we go with the Meatloaves. The decision making usually occurs in the morning while chilling out before leaving for the bus. That way, I can take anything that is frozen out of the freezer. It also allows me the freedom to not have to think about what we’re gonna eat and the group decision ensures an ‘I don’t like this’ -free meal.

There are weeks when the menu planning gets overlooked due to lazy-mom syndrome, but it usually ends up costing me more stress in the long run. This 15 minute family meal chat does two things that I love: 1) It ensures we’ll ALL eat and like at least part of every meal; and 2) It ensures some relaxing family time, cooking and eating (rather than trying to figure out what’s for dinner).