Busy Mommy Media » Cooking for Kids

Beans on Toast – Simple, Kid-Friendly Meal

Rachel — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 15:42:47 +0000

I love to cook – most of the time – but my kids seem to want to eat every day so I’m constantly trying to put together new kid-friendly meals. I grew up eating beans on toast so I thought it was standard lunch fare. I was shocked when none of my friends had ever heard of it, but my mom is British and it took me a while to figure out that beans on toast is standard lunch fare – in England. My kids love it though and it’s simple to make, see you take beans and you put them . . . on toast. Not overly complicated but pretty tasty. We usually have it for lunch but it will do for a quick dinner (or a snack if one of the kids is going through a particularly strenuous growth spurt). The traditional British version uses Heinz baked beans, which are usually hard to find, but like so many things from my childhood, I got used to the adulterated American version and I prefer pork and beans for this.

Ingredients

Wheat Bread

Can of Pork and Beans

Preparation

Toast the bread slightly more than you would for regular toast. Because you are putting beans on top, it can get soggy if it isn’t toasted enough.

Heat the pork and beans over the stove until they bubble. I usually pull out some beans for my kids and then let mine cook a few minutes longer.

Spoon the pork and beans over toast and serve.

Variations

You could serve this with cheese on top or with a fried egg.

Scientific Explorer Pizza Science Kit Giveaway

Rachel — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 00:09:34 +0000

Dinner time always requires a bit of creativity if kids are involved. I don’t have overly picky eaters but I do have kids who will flat out refuse to eat something if it is repeated more than twice a month. While I love the fact that they want variety in their lives, it certainly complicates my menu planning. We decided to try something new to help the kids be more involved in our dinner process and to help me simplify my life. Each child “owns” a night of the week that they can choose what we have for dinner. They love it. My two oldest sons are constantly on the lookout for fun things they want to try for their dinner night so they were thrilled to test out the Pizza Science Kit from Scientific Explorer. This fun kit provides nearly everything you need to make a pizza dinner (thin, pan, and regular crust) as well as fun activities that turn the process of cooking dinner into a food adventure.

What Does Yeast Do?

I regularly make my own bread so my children know what the process looks like but since they generally only help me with the final kneading, I found that they didn’t understand what yeast was or what it did. The Pizza Activity Kit from Scientific Explorer started with a great little activity that visually demonstrate what yeast does in bread and pizza dough.

You can tell it was a big hit. My kids were so amazed that yeast had the ability to blow up a balloon that they refused to let it be thrown away for days. The balloon stayed blown up until the very end. The yeast experiment was a great way to start off our pizza making adventure and really made my kids think about the science that was involved in making one of their favorite foods.

Our Yeast in Action:

Turning Dinner Time into a Pretend Play Activity

The Pizza Science Kit contains a variety of activities but it goes beyond science by including pretend play activities. This makes it appealing for a huge variety of ages. My 2 year old, 4 year old, and 6 year old were all kept busy opening their own pizzaria. If you are ever in town and need a good pizza place, my 6 year old makes a mean taco, BBQ sauce, and pepperoni pizza. The pretend play activities really brought an element of fun to our meal preparation and balanced out the science kit nicely.

Bring Kids into the Kitchen

We all know how important it is to bring kids into the kitchen but life gets busy and the sad fact is, it’s hard to slow down sometimes and take the time to include kids in meal preparation. I loved how easy the Pizza Science Kit made it to include my kids in meal preparation. Truthfully, it made me feel like I was multi-tasking because I knew they were learning some great science concepts at the same time. I have an easier time taking things slow if I feel like I’m getting 2 things done at once.

The kit comes with trays to make 3 different types of pizzas plus another tray for a dessert pizza that we haven’t made yet. It worked out perfectly for us because each of my kids made their own unique pizza combination. My 6 year old helps me in the kitchen quite a bit so he had fun teaching his younger siblings how to wash their hands before cooking and how to build their pizza.

Enter to Win

Enter to win a Pizza Science Kit from Scientific Explorer

This giveaway is open to the U.S. only and will end on June 21, 2010.

Share your favorite pizza toppings with us by commenting on this post to enter.

Please see our site’s Terms and Conditions for a complete list of our contest and giveaway rules.

In compliance with the new FTC Guildlines, please note that this is a sponsored post. I was given a Pizza Science Kit from Scientific Explorer to review free of charge, however, I was not paid for the review and the opinions are my own.

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It’s All in the Cheese

Rachel — Wed, 26 May 2010 02:37:44 +0000

My 4 year old likes to say that you can never have too much cheese. I tend to agree with him. I was proud of myself tonight. I cooked a healthy, kid-friendly dinner that I found in one of the kids cookbooks that’s been sitting on my shelf for years. My 4 year old helped shell fresh peas. My 2 year old helped me measure and stir the dressing. I included all my kids’ current favorites – chicken, broccoli, fresh peas, and noodles. It was guaranteed to be a hit. Except that it wasn’t. Despite the fact that my 2 year old happily sampled every ingredient as I added it to the pot, not a single one of my kids would even touch my carefully prepared dinner once it was in their bowls.

So I did what any responsible, caring mother would do. I finished my dinner, helped myself to cookies, refused to give any to my kids, and then ate my cookies in front of them while they stared at their apparently disgusting dinner.

My 6 year old whined and complained until he realized that I was (a.) not going to cook him another dinner (b.) not going to allow him to eat cereal for dinner and (c.) not going to give him a cookie until he ate his food. After working himself up to a full blown temper tantrum for 10 minutes, he suddenly stopped mid-whine and said “hey, I wonder if we have any cheese?”

He searched through the fridge until he found a bag of shredded asiago cheese (my kids are not picky about their cheese in the slightest) and sprinkled a generous handful of cheese into his bowl and then his brother’s bowls. All three boys proceeded to eat every last noodle in their bowl without another word.

Cheese apparently makes all the difference.

Quick Cucumber Pickles

Courtney — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 03:24:32 +0000

These pickles make a super fast side dish or condiment to all sorts of dishes, but go particularly well with Asian foods. I like to flavor these with a little fresh ginger and a couple of drops of toasted sesame oil, but they are just as good plain. Toss a handful across some noodles or fried rice or have a pile alongside your next sandwich. No matter what you choose to use these for, they’ll add a refreshingly tangy crunch to your meal.

Quick Cucumber Pickles

Ingredients:
2 English cucumbers
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp minced ginger (optional)
1/8 tsp toasted sesame oil (optional)
pinch of red chili flakes (optional)

Directions:
Slice the cucumbers into 1/8 inch thick rounds (a mandoline is perfect for this if you have one). Combine the sugar and salt in a large bowl and toss the cucumber slices with your hands to coat with the sugar/salt mixture. Add any additional spices or flavoring you wish to use and toss to incorporate. Allow cucumbers to sit for at least 20 minutes and taste for seasoning. If they are too strong you can rinse them a bit, if they aren’t strong enough you can add more salt or sugar.

Notes:
-These should keep for a few days in the fridge, but you will want to check from time to time to make sure they aren’t getting too strong for your taste, assuming they last that long.
-You can scale this up as you so desire, just use a mix of 1 part salt to three parts sugar. If the brine is too concentrated you can dilute it with some water or rinse the pickles to take off some of the excess salt.
-Fresh or dried dill, tarragon and mustard seeds are also good flavorings to try.

Baked Kale Chips

Courtney — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 06:07:34 +0000

This method of cooking kale is my new favorite. Kale chips made by baking the leaves with a little olive oil and salt results in an almost potato-chip like treat that is genuinely good for you. You can season them with whatever spices you like or keep them simple and plain. There is no easier way to eat green leafy vegetables, or at least no way more genuinely enjoyable (and that’s coming from a true salad lover). Make a batch of these today and you’ll probably make three more before the end of the weekend. Even my dog begs for these chips, and I’m pretty sure I could convince my dad to try one too. These more than make up for the minimal effort involved in making them.
A note on the type of kale–I’ve been having a hard time finding the best variety of kale for these–flat, or lacinato kale. The batch I made for the picture is from a bunch of curly kale. I think the result is a more evenly crunchy one when you can find the flat kale, but the chewiness of the center rib and thicker middle of the leaf in curly kale is actually kind of appealing, though you’ll need to watch it closely to make sure you don’t burn the frilly edges. Whatever kind you’ve got, wash it thoroughly and dry it very well and you’ll do just fine.

Baked Kale Chips

Ingredients:
1 bunch kale
1 Tablespoon olive oil
salt and/or other spices to taste

Directions:
Wash the kale and spin it dry in a salad spinner if you have one, otherwise drain well and finish with paper towels. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. If useing curly kale, break off the bottom third or so of the stem where there isn’t much actual leaf. Rip the leaves into large pieces. Toss gently in a large bowl with the olive oil to coat lightly with the olive oil, using your hands to make sure you get all the leaves. Line a cookie sheet with parchment and scatter the leaves in a single layer. Sprinkle lightly with salt and whatever other spice you choose and bake for 10-15 minutes until the leaves are crisp but not brown, keeping a close eye on the pan so that the leaves don’t burn. Remove from the oven and allow to cool before tearing into the chips.

Homemade Granola Bars

Lorie — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 11:22:14 +0000

Homemade Granola Bars

My kids love granola bars. Some are actually pretty healthy. The problem I have is the healthier ones seem to be more expensive. When I start feeling like that, it’s time for me to make some homemade. These were very easy to make and not very time consuming either. My kids loved them!

Homemade Granola Bars

1.5 cups rice krispies cereal
1.5 cups old fashioned oats
1/2 cup brown sugar (unpacked)
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup reduced fat peanut butter (that’s what I used you could use regular creamy)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup mini chocolate chips
Line a 13×9 pan with wax paper, they’re chewy and I think it’s
easier to get them out. Put the mini chocolate chips in the freezer
while you’re working, they won’t melt as quickly when you add them
later on. Add oats and rice krispies to a very large mixing bowl.

Heat brown sugar and honey in a saucepan over medium heat until
smooth. Add peanut butter and vanilla and stir until everything is
combined. It will be a thick brown sauce. Don’t let it boil. Remove
from heat and pour over oat/cereal mix. Work quickly and stir to
combine everything. Add the mini chocolate chips at the very end.
Press into baking pan and chill for about 30 minutes until solid. Cut
into 16 bars. (I lifted them right out with the wax paper and cut them
on a cutting board)

Chicken and Cream Cheese Pockets

Rachel — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 23:31:46 +0000

I like to try new recipes but my family has a few favorites that we make on a regular basis because they are either easy or tasty. These chicken and cream cheese pockets are both. This simple recipe can be adapted to fit your family’s food preferences and changed to add variety to your menu plan. This recipe is kid friendly and simple enough that even the youngest cooks can help with preparation.

Ingredients

Refrigerated crescent roll dough

1 8 oz. cream cheese (or more if you prefer them extra cheesy)

Chicken, cooked and shredded (canned chicken works well for this in a pinch)

1 cup of seasoned bread crumbs or crushed dry stuffing

Butter, melted

Optional: sauteed mushrooms, bacon, etc.

Note – I enjoy the taste that these have when coated in the dry stuffing (I use a box of Stove Top stuffing) but they are generally more economical when made with the bread crumbs and I always have those on hand.

Preparation

Cook the chicken and shred it with a fork. These are really tasty when the chicken has been cooked in a crock pot with a mushroom sauce or using cream of mushroom soup but I generally use canned chicken because it is fast or quickly bake a chicken breast. Leftover chicken or rotisserie chicken is wonderful in this too.

Let the cream cheese sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes to soften, then mix with the shredded chicken. If you are adding any additional ingredients such as mushrooms or bacon, add them to the chicken and cheese mixture.

Separate the crescent roll dough into triangles. Scoop a small amount of the chicken and cheese mixture (about 2 T.) into the center of the dough, pull the edges to the center and pinch to seal.

Dip each dough ball into the melted butter then roll in the bread crumbs or crushed stuffing.

Bake at 375° for 14-16 minutes or until the crescent rolls are slightly brown on top and slide easily from the baking sheet.

Serving Suggestions

My favorite way to serve this is over rice with a simple gravy made from cream of mushroom soup and a small amount of milk. My kids like to eat these plain similar to hot pockets.

What flavor combinations can you create?

Blueberry Lemon Frozen Yogurt

Courtney — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 04:45:14 +0000

Frozen yogurt is an easy way to get another serving of dairy and fruit into your diet in the guise of a treat. Making your own allows you to control everything from the fat and sugar content to the flavorings used. Because of this, you can just about get away with calling it a healthy food and eating it for breakfast–a treat if ever there was one. In this version I use low-fat greek yogurt as a base and flavor it with blueberries, lemon and vanilla.
This method is super easy–just stir everything together and freeze. I used sugar to sweeten this batch, but I’ve had good results with honey and agave syrup as well–use whatever you’re comfortable with or have on hand. Keep in mind that the lower the fat content of the yogurt the harder the leftover will freeze, and the higher the sugar content the softer it will be. If you’re making this for a grownup gathering you can also add a small amount of alcohol (a couple of tablespoons) to help impede freezing, but this does change the texture a bit and I wouldn’t recommend it for feeding to kids. I like to pour leftovers into small serving containers to stash in the freezer for later, or popsicle molds for easier snacking. Leaving the container on the counter for a couple of minutes usually softens it up enough to scoop, but I’m not usually that patient when the yogurt is this good. I like frozen yogurt best straight out of the machine, but it’s still pretty stellar after that. If it melts, it’s still just yogurt you can eat with a spoon.

Blueberry Lemon Frozen Yogurt

Ingredients:
3 cups plain yogurt
1/2 cup sugar
juice of one lemon
zest of one lemon, chopped fine (optional, recommended)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
6-8 oz blueberries (frozen work great here and are cheaper out of season)

Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a bowl and stir together. Taste and adjust flavoring/sweetener as desired–you want it sweeter than you’d usually eat it as the chill of the frozen yogurt will dull the taste a bit. Put mixture back in the fridge for at least an hour to chill thoroughly and allow sugar granules to dissolve. Freeze in an ice cream freezer according to manufacturer’s instructions. Makes about 3 1/2 cups.

Kid Approved Meals Review (Closed)

Becky — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 05:38:39 +0000

Congratulations to Beverly Hernandez, winner of the Kid Approved Meals Giveaway!

Kid Approved Meals, written by Christine Steendahl of The Menu Mom, is a 13-week breakfast and lunch menu e-book for families with young children. Each week has five breakfast and five lunch menus intended for use during the typical work or school week but is easily adaptable to your schedule. Each day is made up of simple menus for healthy breakfast and lunch dishes and sides. Where applicable, recipes are included, using ingredients that are apt to be staples you already have in your pantry.

Organized and Healthy

The author includes an organized shopping list for each week, using a letter system that identifies with item goes with which menu of the week. The shopping list is also organized into groups according to the areas of the store where you are more likely to find the foods. Each menu was made up of healthy foods that kids like to eat though several menus are high in carbs/starch and low in protein. However, this is easily remedied with the addition of beans, cheese, peanut butter, cubed meat, etc. Or even a glass of cow, almond or soy milk.

Throughout the ebook you will find old standbys, reinventions of old ideas, and some new ideas. My favorite recipe is the homemade fruit fill pastry that is far better than the popular version at the store.

How My Family Use the Menus

I have four children, ages 6-11, and husband, all with their own ideas of a delicious meal. It is not easy to cook meals that satisfy all six of us and not double our grocery bill.

We were stuck in a rut for breakfast, but none of us could think of alternatives to our usual menu. Kid Approved Meals was a breath of fresh air with recipes for the fruit filled pastries I refuse to buy at the store and breakfast burritos. Many of the recipes can be made ahead and frozen. Now the kids wake up eager to know what’s on the menu for the day.

Since my children are currently attending public school, many of the lunch recipes were not applicable so we used them for dinner–for the pickier eaters in the family. My older son, husband and I generally enjoy a varied, flavorful dishes while my other three children prefer to stick with a few, tried and true dishes thereby increasing the difficulty to please everyone, keep our menu healthy, and avoid a lot of complicated dinner menus.

Kid Approved Meals was the answer to my dilemma. Quite often, whatever I have on the menu for my husband, older son and I includes ingredients for a lunch menu in the book. After planning the weekly dinner menus, I skim through Kid Approved Meals for lunch menus with some or all of the same the ingredient. That way we’re all eating the same foods but prepared in a way we all like, with only a small amount of extra effort on my part.

Organized, simply ingredients, economical, easy recipes, kid-friendly and adaptable. Kid Approved Meals may very well be the menu planner you turn to again and again for your hungry family.

How to Get Your Copy

You can purchase Kid Approved Meals e-book from KidApprovedMeals.com, and for a limited time, along with your purchase you’ll receive the Family Brunch Menu and Fun with Food e-books, also written by Ms. Steendahl. The site offers a sample week, an e-mail newsletter, and testimonials from happy customers.

Enter to win

Busy Mommy Media is so excited to offer one of our readers the chance to win the Kid Approved Meals Ebook. This giveaway is open to the U.S. and Canada and will end on December 11, 2009.

Enter the giveaway by making a commenting on this post about how you simplify family meals.

Please see our site’s Terms and Conditions for a complete list of our contest and giveaway rules.

In compliance with the new FTC Guild lines, please note that this is a sponsored post. I was given a copy of the Kid Approved Meals Ebook to test and review free of charge. However, I was not paid for the review and the opinions are my own.

Additional Entries

After having commented on this post, you can earn additional entries by doing any of the following. Make a separate comment on this post for each extra entry you qualify for.

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Busy Christmas Giveaway Event

The Annual Busy Christmas Giveaway Event is featuring so many great products this year that we had to start it early!

Visit the Busy Christmas Giveaway Event page to see all of the giveaways and find out how you can earn extra entries into this giveaway, and every other giveaway during the Busy Christmas Giveaway Event from October 1 – December 11.

The Learning Tower by Little Partners

Rachel — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 23:53:44 +0000

Congratulations to Kirsten!

Kids love to help in the kitchen but that “help” can often be frustrating to a parent who is already busy and trying to put a meal on the table while tripping over a toddler or preschooler. The Learning Tower by Little Partners is an absolute must-have for parents of young children. This product is one of the best that I have seen in a long time because not only does it keep kids safe in the kitchen, but it allows them to participate in endless activities, from cooking to working on an art project, while staying close to mom. I love all of the extra moments I am able to capture now that the Learning Tower provides my kids with a safe place to be in the kitchen, right in the middle of all the action, and I can’t imagine what I ever did without it!

Keeping Kids Safe in the Kitchen

One of the biggest problems with having kids in the kitchen is there are so many safety hazards. Before discovering The Learning Tower, I was constantly tripping over my kids as they tried to stay close to me while I cooked and trying to keep them out of drawers that contained things that were not safe for them to play with. My kids have always insisted on being in the kitchen with me and they often dragged over a chair or stool so they could reach the counter where I was working. While standing on a chair may work fine if the parent is paying complete and total attention to the child, it is generally not a safe option. Kids can easily tip chairs over or fall off and get hurt and it just isn’t realistic for a parent to give a child undivided attention while cooking dinner. The Learning Tower gives kids a safe place to go in the kitchen while keeping them out from under foot and helping them to feel like they are part of the action.

Cooking with Kids

My kids love to cook but it takes a lot of patience to cook with kids and when you are rushing to cook dinner it can sometimes be hard to come by. Having the Learning Tower in the kitchen makes it easy for my kids to join me in the kitchen without getting in the way and is a great reminder for me to slow down and allow them to participate in meal preparation. It’s hard to say no to a child who is patiently standing in the Learning Tower waiting for a job to do. The Learning Tower has an adjustable floor that allows children to stand at the perfect height to work at the kitchen counter. The sturdy frame does not wobble at all, even with two children in the tower, and the square frame protects a child from falling off in any direction. With kids safely position at the kitchen counter, there are so many kitchen tasks that they can help with that will teach them valuable life skills and allow them to contribute to family meal time.

My kids love to measure ingredients for me, play with play dough (or leftover bread dough), and tear lettuce leaves for salad while standing in the Learning Tower. My 3 year old loves to stand in the Learning Tower next to the kitchen sink and play in the water or help wash the dishes. My 2 year old loves having a place that he can go in the kitchen to get a better view of whatever I am doing.

Learning Tower Accessories for Education

The Learning Tower has some wonderful accessories that make it a versatile tool for education and fun. The Learning Tower comes with a small piece of fabric that covers the top to create a basic fort that kids love and can use for imaginative play. You can extend the creative play options by adding a sheet or using the Playhouse kit that includes a cute curtain, attachable roof, and 4 different signs to create a lemonade stand, doll house, drive-through, or puppet theatre.

We are homeschooling this year and it has been an adjustment trying to figure out how to keep my 2 year old occupied so we can do school. The Art Easel accessory for the Learning Tower features a white board on one side and a chalk board on the other side. During our school day, The Learning Tower is the center of attention. My 2 year old and 3 year old will often stand together in the Learning Tower playing play dough or working on a project at the counter and my 6 year old will use the art easel for his magnetic letter tiles, to practice his spelling words, or to work on math problems. When anyone starts to get antsy, we just have everyone switch positions on the Learning Tower and work on something new.

My kids would much rather stand in the Learning Tower than sit down on a chair or stool and they love the freedom they have to get in and out. My 2 year old has not tolerated a booster seat or high chair for a while now because he hates being contained but he loves the independence the Learning Tower gives him to get up and down as he wants to.

Enter to Win

This giveaway is now closed.

Please see our site’s Terms and Conditions for a complete list of our contest and giveaway rules.

In compliance with the new FTC Guild lines, please note that this is a sponsored post. I was given a Learning Tower to test and review free of charge. However, I was not paid for the review and the opinions are my own.

Additional Entries

After have commented on this post, you can earn additional entries by doing any of the following. Make a separate comment on this post for each extra entry you qualify for.

Sign up to receive the Busy Mommy Media Newsletter
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Blog about this giveaway and link back to the giveaway post (5 entries, make 5 comments)
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