Kid Friendly Recipes

Encouraged by Carrie (how did you get that post done so fast?) here are a few kid-friendly recipes that are a hit around our house.

Pumpkin Butter - This I tried for the first time around Thanksgiving when I made my own pumpkin puree. You don't have to that, but this sure is delicious! I got this from the Pioneer Woman site and my kids loved it.

1 cup pumpkin puree (loaded in beta carotene, zinc, potassium, and fiber)
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 cup plain yogurt

Just mix together, adjusting any sugar and/or spice to your taste, and enjoy! Be sure to refrigerate the remaining amount and it should last around a week. This might seem like a lot for just a week, which I kind of found to be true, but it is easy to halve the recipe or (and I haven't tried this, but I should) maybe the other half could be frozen? My kids really enjoyed this on a piece of toast (me too! so yummy!), and I'm sure you could put this in a sandwich (I'll have to experiment). Also, if you don't care for the tang of the plain yogurt you could substitute vanilla flavored.

Quick and Easy Pizza Crust

Pizza is a pretty big hit around here, but to order from a restaurant usually contains a lot of grease and fat. This is one way to enjoy pizza yet control what goes on it. (like lots of veggies!) You could also up the nutrition factor by replacing 1/2 the white flour with whole wheat flour (or all the flour, if you want). What I like most about this is that it takes roughly 30 minutes to prepare the dough and then you are ready to put on whatever ingredients you like!

1 pkg. active dry yeast
1 tsp. white sugar
1 cup warm water
2 1/2 cups bread flour (I have used both bread flour and all-purpose and they both work fine. Just use what you have!)
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 450. In a bowl dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes. (These little rest times are when I cut up any ingredients and shred the cheese)
Stir in flour, salt and oil. Beat until smooth. (I usually do this by hand) Let rest for 5 minutes.
Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and pat or roll into a round. (I usually just skip that part) Transfer crust to a lightly greased pizza pan or bakers pan dusted with cornmeal (I usually use my Pampered Chef's round baking stone, pat into a round on the stone and then press out to edges, but I'm sure that a baking sheet would work just fine, and I don't even dust it with cornmeal). Spread with all of those good toppings and bake in the preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes.

This recipe has come out great every time I have made it. This is our favorite pizza!

Green Muffins
These are delicious!

3 cups flour
1 tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
2 eggs
1/2 cup low-fat milk
1/2 cup canola oil
1 cup sugar, plus more for sprinkling
2 cups shredded zucchini (lots of Vit. C and lutein for your eyes)

Preheat oven to 375 and place paper liners in muffin tins.
In a large bowl stir together the flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg.
In a bowl beat eggs with electric mixer for 1 minute. (I find that using the electric mixer for 1 minute of egg beating uses too many things so I usually beat it for around 2 minutes by hand.) Beat in milk, oil and sugar. Stir in zucchini until well blended. Add flour mixture to batter a little at a time and stir to mix-should be lumpy. Spoon batter into muffin tins. Sprinkle muffins with sugar. Bake for 20 minutes, or until muffin tops are golden brown.

For my little changes: You can up the nutrition factor by replacing half the flour with whole wheat flour (or all if you want). I am also going to experiment with replacing half the flour with equal parts whole wheat flour and wheat germ, which is especially nutritious. I'll let you know how it goes. I also bake these as mini muffins because they are so easy to take on the go. Mini muffins bake around 12 minutes.

Spaghetti with Uncooked tomato sauce:

This is an excellent way to use some fresh tomatoes. In fact it's making me hungry for some! This really just tastes like fresh tomatoes, so if you're not a fan, don't make this! Also this is a make ahead because it has to sit for at least 8 hours, so you can start it in the morning for that nights dinner.

6-8 tomatoes
4 large garlic cloves
10 large basil leaves
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1 lb. whole wheat spaghetti
grated parmesan (optional)

Core and peel the tomatoes (if the skins don't loosen easily, leave them on. Plunging tomatoes in boiling water will dull their flavor) Chop the tomatoes coarsely and put them in a non-metallic bowl. Smash the garlic cloves with the flat side of a knife and add them to the tomatoes along with the basil. Stir in the olive oil coating the tomatoes well. Cover with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature for 8 hours. At dinner, season the tomatoes with salt and pepper and remove the garlic. Cook spaghetti according to package directions.

This is a nice dish, especially on hot summer days where you don't want to do a lot of cooking.

Well I hope that gives a few ideas! Enjoy!