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!

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!

Michelle over at the ‘What’s Cooking Blog‘ has started a blog series called ‘What’s Cooking with YOUR Kids‘. This series’ goal is to show everyone that it IS simple to cook with your kids AND everyone should try it. Since Alex, Soph and I strive to encourage families to cook and eat together, we want to spread the word; And we’ll be submitting one of our stories too!

Which story you ask? Well, one of my favorites is when we were making our Spider Cookie recipe for Halloween. Cookies area always fun to make with the kids. All the measuring and mixing ensures everyone will get to do something. On this occasion, Alex was in charge of pouring in the flour and then the vanilla. As he poured the vanilla onto the flour, the vanilla sort of rolled off the flour rather than penetrating and soaking into it. Alex found this amazing. As he watched, he muttered these words:

“Wow! Flour has repellent properties…that could be useful…mental note.”

The way he says it is hilarious…If you watch the Spider Cookie episode you can witness it as it happened.

I hope you check out ‘What’s Cooking with YOUR Kids’, but most of all, I encourage all of you to get in the kitchen together as a family. It’s easy and fun (our show is evidence of that )

Now, go cook together!

Alex and Soph are shrimpaholics and this is their absolute favorite way to eat it. It’ kind of like scampi, but all the fat is replaced with reduced low-sodium broth and lemon juice!

This high in lean protein, low in fat meal is super tasty and fun to make with the kids!

It’s New Year’s Eve and it’s time to party! Every party needs hors d’oeuvres. Soo, as promised, Alex and Soph, along with their friend Carter, demonstrate three tasty treats to share with your New Year’s guests.

Enjoy the show and we wish you a Happy New Year filled with lots of time cooking, eating and sharing together as a family

For details on the recipes demonstrated, check out the New Years Hors D’oeuvres recipes here.

You can’t have a New Years Party without hors d’oeurves for snacking on throughout the evening, right? Sooo, Alex, Soph and I came up with three 2 Kids hors d’oeurves recipes: Lemony-Garlic Shrimp Skewers, Bacon-Wrapped Asparagus, and Mini-Wrapped Hot Dogs. These recipes are great for kids to help with and they taste great too!

Lemony-Garlic Shrip Skewers:
Shrimp, peeled and deveined
3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp Italian seasoning
2 garlic cloves, pressed
skewers

In a glass container, mix the olive oil, lemon juice, salt, Italian season, and garlic cloves. Next stir in the shrimp, making sure they are all covered with the marinade. Let the shrimp marinade in the fridge for about 20 to 30 minutes.

After marinading, it’s time to place the shrimp on the skewers. I soak the skewers in water for a few minutes first so the don’t burn in the oven, then I put 4 shrimp on each skewer.

Place the skewered shrimp on a broiler pan or covered baking sheet and broil for about 2 minutes per side.

Bacon-Wrapped Asparagus:
1/2 lb bacon
1 bunch asparagus (1 lb)
Sea Salt
2 Tablespoons Butter
toothpicks

First, prep the asparagus by cutting each piece to about 4 or so inches long.

Next heat a saute pan, melting the  2 tablespoons of butter. Once the butter is melted, add the asparagus and sprinkle in some sea salt. Saute the asparagus for about 5 minutes and then remove from heat.

Prepare your bacon by cutting the strips in half. Take 4 pieces of asparagus and wrap a half a slice of bacon around the bunch, securing with a toothpick. Place the bunches on a covered backing sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for about 6 to 8 minutes per side to crisp up the bacon.

Mini-Wrapped Hot Dogs:
1 package mini hot dogs
1 tube Pillsbury cresent sheets

Unroll the Pillsbury cresent sheet and then cut into 4 inch wide strips. Next, cut each strip into about 4 squares. Then cut each square in half diagonally so you end up with a bunch of triagles.

Next, take one of the triangles and place a mini hotdot in one corner of the triangle, rolling the hotdog up in the dough. Wrap as many hot dogs as you have triangles, placing them on a foil covered baking sheet. When they’re all wrapped, bake them at 350 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes, until the dough is golden brown.

Alex, Soph and their friend Carter will demonstrate these recipes on an early-release episode of 2 kids, scheduled to air on December 31–check back then so you don’t miss their secret techniques ;D

We wish you all a happy, healthy and family cooking filled 2010!

This week, Alex, Sophia and I just want thank all of our viewers and wish them a fun, family-filled holiday season.

We wish you all a great 2010 with lots of memories being made together in the kitchen

Happy Holidays!

Sandwiches shaped like angels and holly leaves and sleighs, well they are Christmas sandwiches. And, Soph and Alex have a great time making ‘em–plus, they say the Angel sandwiches taste heavenly. We hope you enjoy watching them as they share their flare for making these fun holiday- sandwiches!

If you get the urge to cut-out some of these festive sandwiches yourself, check out the Christmas sandwich recipe here.

Merry Christmas everyone, and we thank you for watching. Make sure you don’t miss a show by signing up for our show list (plus you’ll get six days of family friendly menu-planning ideas for free!)

I love hanging out with my kids. I suppose that’s something that shouldn’t need to be said, but I say it because my kids make me feel like the luckiest mom in the world. We have lots of fun together cooking, playing games and even just watching movies. Plus, my kids are hilarious…sometimes at meals we spend more time laughing than eating. I don’t know if it’s the season or what, but I”m feeling extra blessed to have such great kids.

Last Friday, Soph and I went to Disney Princesses on Ice with her girl scout troop. I’m not a huge fan of the princess movies and all that prince-charming-will-make-me-happy-love-at-first-site stuff; BUT, I love the tiara’s and dresses and so does Soph. She wore her Snow White dress and tiara and I dressed normal, but I think I was the only mother in the place with a cinderella tiara on–Soph wanted me to wear it and she thought it was cool that I was the only mom wearing one Despite the over-priced wand and popcorn in a princess bucket, we had a great time. Soph said her favorite part was all of it. My favorite part was sharing the experience with her.

When we arrived home from our princess extravaganza, Alex and Aunt Dani were waiting for us with a surprise. Alex had hung our newly acquired disco ball in the ceiling above Soph’s bed. We got the disco ball from a neighbor down the hall and the kids were both excited about having their very own mirrored globe to bounce sparkly lights around the bedroom. When Soph saw the sparkliness her brother had installed right above her bed, the first words out of her mouth were, ‘Mom, can we have a disco party in here?’

And so, the next day, we did. We listened to disco music and ate some Snickety Snacks and other treats. Soph danced and Alex did some jumping between our beds. We even had a cake.

Sophia love our disco party and I’m sure has our next one already planned out. Alex loves whenever jumping on the bed is a part of the planned festivities. And, Mom, she just likes having fun with her kiddies!

Christmas time is a time for tradition, and part of our family tradition includes making perogies. Alex and Soph are 1/2 Polish on their dad’s side, and one of our favorite Polish dishes is perogies. Since  I’m mostly German, so I have a strong appreciation for Slavic food; so when I had the opportunity, I learned how to make this family recipe straight from the kid’s Grandma. Each year, along with lots of sausage, herring, and lefse, we always have some perogies at our Christmas meal.

This week, Alex and Soph share with you our family recipe for perogies, we hope you enjoy watching. And, if you feel the urge to make your own, find Alex and Soph’s recipe here.

Thanks for watching! We hope you are having a peaceful and joyful holiday season. Make sure you don’t miss a show by signing up for our show list (plus you’ll get six days of family friendly menu-planning ideas for free!)