It’s the September school holidays and for those of you who are staying put at home, the biggest daily challenge you face is: how do I keep my kids busy? One activity which will appeal to your child’s love of fun is letting them loose in your kitchen. All kids love to eat, but they love to create even more, so getting them cooking in the next couple of weeks will provide lots of enjoyment for everyone. There are some really simple and delicious recipes for kids to try, however, the easiest course of action is to have plenty of ingredients on hand, so that the kids can ‘build’ their own meals. This way, each individual little person can create a meal that is unique to them; the flavours and the colours they like as well as the taste. The only proviso here is that they must eat what they cook! Some examples of food building:
- Mini Pizzas: start with a base of one tortilla wrap. Spread with tomato paste or ready made chunky spaghetti sauce. Have lots of ingredients handy to build. The kids can help prepare by chopping and slicing and dicing and putting in bowls. Choose as few or as many as you like: ham, luncheon meats, bbq chicken pieces, avocado, tomato slices, chopped olives, mushrooms, onions, red beans, capers, carrots, in fact any veg you have in the fridge. Grated cheese, or ricotta, to top it off and into the oven!
- Fajitas: again, tortilla wrap base. Building ingredients are bite sized pieces of either chicken, fish, or beef; you can help the kids chop and sauté. An easy salsa of chopped tomatoes, lime juice, apple and roasted peppers in a bowl ready to spoon on their fajitas nearby in a bowl, then chopped avocados and lime juice on top. Add sour cream for the finishing touch. Roll up and eat!
- Mini quiche pies: These can be built in small ramekins - fill with bite sized chicken pieces, peas, ham or bacon, chopped veges, mushrooms, any leftover bits and pieces. Have a large bowl of whisked eggs with some milk and a ladle for the kids to pour on top of their pie creation. Some grated cheese and chopped parsley sprinkled on top and they’re ready to go in the oven!