Cooking with Kids

It was a long standing assertion during my marriage that I never quite made casseroles properly. A real casserole, it seems, is cooked from a mystery list of ingredients and is always "saucier" than my version. No matter how often I tried, I was never able to replicate the various casseroles my ex-husband's mother made legendary. I swore I wouldn't do that to my poor future daughter-in-law.

Surprise your friends and family this spring with a Rainbow Layer Cake. This seemingly plain cake has a secret surprise: at first glance, it seems like any old dessert, but when sliced, you get an explosion of colors kids will love! Make this recipe for a birthday party or as a festive treat at your next family fun event.

Looking for a super quick and simple edible gift to give for Valentine's Day? This is a great treat to make with your kids, and the recipe takes about 15 minutes! What could be better? Try this cute snack for the holiday.

Shortbread cookies are popular in my house year round—we love to make Linzer cookies using different cookie cutters, depending on the season. This is a great cooking with kids project, as little ones love making special shapes and watching them bake up. On Valentine’s Day we make this Linzer Heart-Shaped Cookie recipe. Making this sweet dessert is the perfect winter afternoon activity to get you in the us in the V-day spirit.

These classic cookies are still my very favorite holiday treat. My mom made these for me when we were little and now I love making them with my daughter. I truly can’t think of a Christmas cookie that stands out more for me than this one. Here's my tried and true recipe—try it this Christmas. Don’t forget to get the kids involved, and let them stick the kisses on top of the cookies once they’re baked!

My kids and I love making cut-out cookies, especially for Thanksgiving and the Christmas. Not only does this recipe make a delicious dessert, it super-fun to make with kids. Using your child's hand instead of a cookie-cutter is fun and provides the perfect shape for these Turkey Handprint Cookies, a perfect Thanksgiving treat.

My daughter is a total cupcake fanatic. I love them too, but I try to limit my family's sugar intake, especially around Halloween and the holidays, when treats abound. That's why bite-sized mini-cupcakes are perfect! They're delicious without being overindulgent. Here is my favorite cupcake recipe, and best of all you can make this with your kids.

Need a fun spooky treat for a Halloween party or just as a holiday snack? This Spider Mini Cakes recipe is easy to make, the kids can even help with the final assembly! The best part is, spiders aren’t just for Halloween—they can be a great addition to a creepy crawly birthday party any time of the year.

It's that spooky time of year again, which means it's time for haunted Halloween treats! We love making spider recipes like Spider Brownies and Apple Pumpkin Buttered Toast with Olive Spiders. These tasty Spider Deviled Eggs feature gross green creepy crawlers! This is a great recipe to bring to your kid's classroom Halloween party  (it's a great healthy option before the candy rolls in) or just serve it to your kids as a snack. Try cooking with your kids and let them help prepare this holiday recipe.

Need a fun snack to make for Halloween? Kids love this creepy holiday treat that's easy to assemble. In fact, this is a great cooking with kids project! My daughter is still a preschooler, so we stick with kitchen crafts that are simple and fun like these Marshmallow Rice Bar Ghost Treats! 

If you're looking for a great snack recipe, a classic loaf of Zucchini Bread is always welcome. During the summer, farmer's markets and grocery stores are overflowing with gorgeous, vibrant zucchinis, so it's nice to turn some into asweet treat instead of using it just for savory dishes.

My friend Shaina Olmanson just came out with the coolest cookbook called Desserts in Jars: 50 Sweet Treats that Shine.

I know I've confessed my love of popsicles but I have to stop in with one more simpler than simple recipe.

Before my daughter wrapped up school in May I did a baking project with her class. We baked these cute little loaves of banana bread with the kids.

It's Tuesday so here's your list of the best stuff popping up around the web:

Chocolate and banana are a favorite flavor combination of mine, is it yours too? Kids will love this activity of making chocolate covered frozen banana popsicles which they can decorate anyway they choose. Delicious and fun is a perfect combination for a kids activity!

It's Tuesday, so here's your list of the best stuff popping up around the web

Here's another quick summer snack idea.  Polenta pizzas take less than 3 minutes to make. 

Here's your list of the best stuff popping up around the web:

I made macaroni and cheese the other night. Not the kind out of a blue box with orange powder.

I almost didn’t post this recipe. Not because it isn’t delicious – it is (very)! – but it’s not my usual kind of recipe. See, these Turkey Meatballs come to you via my sitter, Jenny, who approaches cooking very differently than I do.

Start a fun family tradition by gathering the family together for a sit-down breakfast one weekend day a week!

While these look like cookies, they're really a chewy treat that tastes similar to chocolate chip cookie dough.  Yummy!  

We are right in the middle of the holiday season, and I'm cooking more than ever!  What's really fun is that my two boys (4 and 6) want to help me in the kitchen more than ever this time of year and so I love having fun, unique cooking tools on hand to make it even more fun for them. 

I am mostly a tea drinker, but in the winter I love hot chocolate. I like to make my own hot chocolate mix and keep it in my pantry. It tastes better than the store-bought mixes and is less expensive, too.

We carved our pumpkins yesterday and collected some of the seeds to roast.  The best part of roasting your own seeds is you can customize the seasonings to meet the taste of almost any palette.  I like mine savory, but some of the kids like them sweet. 

Preparing a big holiday meal is a wonderful opportunity to get the kids involved with food.  In order to do this, you must (and I do mean must) get in the right frame of mind: take a deep breath, perhaps have a glass of wine off to the side, prepare to make a few culinary compromises, and . . . get ready for a mess!

There are an abundance of apples around our house these days and I am always thinking of new ways to use the. Baked apples are a great comfort food, so one of our favorite things to do is fill their centers with oatmeal and brown sugar and bake them until soft and sweet.

Depending on your crowd you could make one or both of these creations.  This is a sugary treat, but fun to make with the kids and especially for Halloween. 

Get your kids in the kitchen for this one!  Beets are fun! Really!  And if your little ones aren't into cooking, beets make a fantastic coloring tool!  My boys love that you can draw with beets.  They also like helping me arrange the beet slices on the baking sheet and sprinkling the salt.  
 

Here is a fun Halloween Party treat with no sugar and some gruesomeness to it that will make it a hit.  Oh, and it is super simple too!

So many kitchen projects for cooking with kids involve baking sweets. And with good reason. Flour and sugar, measuring and mixing, kneading and scooping are much more more kid-friendly than onions, chopping, sautéing and boiling.