12 Dinners Kids Can Make

Hello! This week each of my children (that are home this school year) are showing you their 2 favorite dinners they make. Since I have 6 kids home this school year, each child has a dinner night.

• Monday-Kaitlyn
• Tuesday-Talea
• Wednesday-Makenna
• Thursday-Samuel
• Friday-Anderson
• Saturday-Thomas
• Sunday-me

Family Council and Planning Dinners

Sunday nights we have “family council” where we go over the schedule for the week: the activities, the family projects, and any personal goals the kids want to accomplish. We also go over the meals and write them on the calendar. I have a list of meal ideas that I will write down throughout the week as I think of them. I’ll notice we have a lot of bread that may go bad so I’ll write down grilled cheese. Or we’re accumulating a lot of eggs so I’ll write down quiche. During family council I’ll go around and ask each child what they want to make for dinner this week. They look at the list and usually pick something off of it. Or if they have their own idea, great! One might say, “I want Hawaiian haystacks. We haven’t had that in a long time.” So I’ll add it to the list.

Benefits of Cooking With Your Kids

I usually cook the dinner with them and we have a great time. I love having that one-on-one time with the child to ask about their day, what books they’re reading, what’s the best thing that happened this week, etc. It is very precious time. I love teaching them cooking skills at the same time. I share tips and tricks I learned from my own mother, which she likely learned from hers, and this way children feel connected to something bigger than themselves. Sharing family stories –whether from generations ago, or just when they were little and stuck their fingers all over a pumpkin pie for a funeral–makes us laugh and cherish the fact that we’re making more memories they can share with their children.

Needing Kids to Cook

Once in awhile, however, we will be outside working and notice it’s almost time to leave for rehearsal (we need to leave around 5-5:15 so we have to eat an early dinner those nights and sometimes the afternoon gets away from us if we’re all outside hauling and stacking firewood.) In this case I may send the dinner night person in to make one of their “go-to” meals of their choosing. This is where it’s handy having a list of meals kids can cook all by themselves. I love staying outside and finishing the project then coming in to a completely made dinner. Since I’ve been the cook the past 24 years, it’s a treat to come in to a meal already made.

Benefits of Kids Cooking Meals By Themselves

• Sense of pride and accomplishment.
• More likely to eat what they’ve fixed than what’s put in front of them.
• Less picky eaters as they realize they made mistakes, but don’t want to admit it (maybe way too much salt in the guacamole) and eat it anyway. Then realize other cooks are similar–probably made mistakes and they should eat it anyway too.
• Self-sufficiency skills. Everyone needs to eat so everyone needs to know how to cook.
• They learn about other cultures and customs cooking food from other countries.
• Time management skills.
• Organizational skills: knowing where things are and how they are stored in groups in the kitchen.
• Fine motor skills: cutting, grating, opening cans and jars, etc.
• Attuning their sense of taste and smell as they cook various meals, especially things like pizza or spaghetti sauces where they add various spices and no one is there to say if it’s right.
• Learn to cook with herbs and spices and figuring out by trial and error if it’s too much or too little.
• Figuring out appropriate substitutions if they start making something and don’t have an ingredient.
• Excellent math skills, measuring and counting, doubling and halving.
• And again, a great sense of pride, accomplishment, and self confidence that they can cook for themselves and their family. Providing a delicious meal and filling people’s tummies is a terrific way to show love, give service, and feel good about oneself.

12 Dinners Kids Can Make

These are the 12 dinners my children made this week and posted on YouTube. Rather than posting all 6 videos here, here is the playlist link to the kids cooking video series.

And 12 More Dinners Kids Can Make!

Here are 12 more dinners kids can make and the brief directions of how to make them.

1. Baked potatoes and chili (Wash potatoes, prick with fork, cook in microwave for 3 minutes per potato. Open canned Hormel chili, pour in bowl and heat in microwave. Put frozen broccoli bag in microwave for 5 minutes. Pour into glass bowl and sprinkle salt and cheese on the top if desired.)
2. Spaghetti (Boil water in pot on stovetop. Add noodles and frozen meatballs. Cook for 10 minutes. Drain water off. Add jarred sauce. Serve with a green veggie: salad, green beans, peas, asparagus, etc.)
3. Nachos (make 2 big plates with chips, cheese, canned refried beans, any toppings your family likes. Warm in microwave. Add more toppings like sour cream and salsa. Everyone shares the 2 plates.)
4. French toast (crack and whisk eggs into a glass pie dish. Add a little milk and whisk. Dip bread into egg mixture and put on griddle. Flip when the pieces are brown. Serve with peanut butter and powdered sugar or butter and syrup or berries.)
5. Frozen lasagna (ok, so this is already made, but still, having them on hand is great for your child to have dinner on the table without you. Cook according to directions. Serve with nice Italian salad and French bread or bread toasted and spread with butter and garlic.)
6. Chicken sandwiches (another frozen meal idea. Cook chicken patties on plate int he microwave. Toast buns if desired. Spread with mayo or bbq sauce. Add warm patty. Add lettuce and tomatoes. Serve with homemade french fries or frozen ones, deviled eggs, chips, carrots, or fruit salad. Lots here to still make from scratch even if the sandwiches aren’t.)
7. Stir-fry. Cook wild rice in a pot on the stove. Cook frozen stir-fry veggies and frozen chicken strips in a fry pan with stir fry sauce. Fry pot stickers in oil or warm egg rolls in microwave or oven for a side.
8. Chili dogs. Put hot dogs in buns on a large plate. Spoon chili on top. Sprinkle with cheese. Warm in microwave. Serve with deviled eggs, carrot and celery slices, watermelon, etc.
9. Meatloaf. Using your favorite meatloaf recipe, mix all ingredients together with your hands. Put in crock pot and cook on low for 7 hours or on high for 3-4. Or put in loaf pan in oven. Serve with a green veggie, rolls (or toasted bread), and colorful fruit salad.
10. Strawberry salad. Make a big green salad with lettuce, arugula, spinach, etc. Toss with sliced strawberries, almonds, chopped cashews, Romano cheese, and raisins. Great for a quick summer supper.
11. Quesadillas. Make quesadillas on the stove by filling tortillas (whole wheat or corn) with cheese and cooking on each side.
12. Fried burritos. Fill whole wheat flour tortillas with refried beans and cheese. Roll up tightly. Fry in a small amount of hot oil until brown on all sides. Serve with salsa, sour cream, and a side salad.

There Ya Go! 24 Meal Ideas!

Write these down and put on your fridge for your child to choose from if you’re coming home too late to help or you’re like me and still cutting up firewood when it’s time to start dinner. Keeping frozen and canned foods on hand will help in a pinch like this. Also teaching your child basic recipes like a roux or white sauce will help tremendously. Then they can even make a meal from scratch. But to start, frozen meals are fine and they’ll feel so proud of themselves for making the salad and garlic toast to go with the lasagna.

Enjoy your family dinner!