Cooking with kids

Tammy inspired this post with her pod cast (see here)Teaching my children is one of my greatest joys, as they get bigger we enjoy time together in the kitchen. We started with cookies using pre-made cookie dough, now I have them measure and scoop and even pour ingredients. Sometimes we combine crafts and snack time. Below is a collection of kid fun recipes I have collected so as they grow and can do more with me- I will be able to pull form my stash- enjoy!
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OCTOPUS HOT DOGS

Ingredients:
Hot dogs
Water
Prepared yellow mustard
1 pkg. (3 oz.) beef ramen noodles
Green food coloring

Octopus Instructions:
1. Fill a large saucepan up with water. _2. Bring water to a boil. _3. Cut each hot dog lengthwise into eight strips to within 2 inches of one end. _4. Drop the cut hotdog into boiling water. _5. Cook until heated through. _6. Remove from water. _7. Stand on a plate. With dabs of mustard add eyes and a mouth.
Seaweed Instructions:
1. In a saucepan, bring 1-1/2 cups water to a boil. Stir in the noodles and the contents of the seasoning packet. Boil for 3-4 minutes or until noodles are tender. _2. Add green food coloring to noodles and stir until well blended. _3. Drain, if there is too much liquid left. _4. Place noodles (seaweed) on a serving plate and top with the hotdogs (octopus).


Oreo Rocket Ship

13 Double Stuff Oreos_1/4 c. canned chocolate or vanilla frosting_blue food coloring_1 Oreo chocolate ice cream cone 9you can also use plain cones_cinnamon red hots_red cake decorator gel for decorating_4 sticks fruit stripe bubble gum
1. Stack cookies together, securing with frosting in between each cookie. Let dry completely._2. Tint remaining frosting blue. Spread cone with blue frosting. Press red hots into frosting around open end of cone. Let dry. Write USA on cone with red decorating gel._3. Trim ends of gum diagonally; secure with gel round base of rocket. Secure cone with frosting to top of rocket. Decorate rocket with red hots._If you like, surround rocket ship with mounds of pressured whipped topping for clouds and red candy curls for blast off trails. To make red candy curls, pipe a small amount of melted red candy coating in spiral shapes onto waxed paper. Refrigerate till set. Carefully peel off paper._Makes 1 rocket ship.





Worms in Dirt

1 16-ounce package Oreo type cookies
2 cups cold milk
1 pkg.small JELL-O Chocolate Instant Pudding
1 tub (8 oz.) COOL WHIP Whipped Topping , thawed slightly
individual serving cups

1 tub (8 oz.) COOL WHIP Whipped Topping , thawed slightly
individual serving cups
Gummy worms
1.CRUSH cookies in zipper-style plastic bag with rolling pin or in food processor.
2.POUR cold milk into large bowl. Add pudding mix. Beat with wire whisk 2 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes. Stir in whipped topping and 1/2 of the crushed cookies.
3.PLACE about 1 tablespoon crushed cookies into each cup. Fill cups about 3/4 full with pudding mixture. Top with remaining crushed cookies.
4.REFRIGERATE until ready to serve. Garnish with gummy worms just before serving. Yields about 8 servings


Make Butter
1 cup of whipping cream, salt, baby food jars (one for each child), crackers.
Pour whipping cream into jars with 1 drop of food coloring. Add a pinch of salt. Close tightly and give to the children to shake. Butter will form soon. Pour off extra liquid. Spread on crackers and it's ready to eat.

Cow Milk Shakes
Milk
Ice Cream
Chocolate or Strawberry Syrup

Haystack Cookies
Ingredients
Graham Crackers
Small Chocolate Squares
Marshmallows
Chow Mien Noodles
On top of a graham cracker have the children place a chocolate square, half marshmallow and chow mien. Microwave for 16 sec.

Chicken Coop Nest
Chow Mien Noodles
Hard Shell Topping
Marshmallows (eggs)
Children spread their chow mien noodles at the bottom of a paper bowl. Squeeze the hard shell over your noodles and put into refrigerator until stiff. Add marshmallow (eggs) and enjoy!

Make Mud Pudding
Borrowed from Maureen Ford & Stacy Wingfield
1 large box of instant chocolate pudding
3 cups of cold milk
chocolate cookie crumbs
Mix the chocolate pudding with the milk. Pour into a large jar and shake. The pudding will soon form. Spoon the pudding into 6 small bowls. Crumble 1 chocolate cookie into each bowl. (This makes 6 servings.)



Edible Fire Trucks
Adapted from Enchanted Learning for the Texas Department of Agriculture Food Ban Guidelines

You will need:
1 1/2 graham crackers per fire truck
tiny Oreos for wheels
stick pretzels
1 can of vanilla frosting
red food coloring
1 jar of cherries

Mix a few drops of food coloring into a can of vanilla frosting. Place 1 whole graham cracker onto a paper plate. Put a spoonful of frosting on the graham cracker. Let your students spread the frosting on the graham cracker. Put half a graham cracker on top of the frosting. This is the cab of the truck. Using a small amount of red frosting, "glue" the cherry on top of the cab. This is the fire truck's red light. Using more frosting, "glue" on four tiny Oreos to the sides of the graham crackers. These are the wheels. On the back of the truck, "glue" two pretzels parallel to each other. Then, "glue" in broken pieces to make the ladder.


Dalmatian Cookies
Use refrigerator-type sugar cookie dough. Roll out and press with dog-shaped cookie cutter. Add chocolate chips for the dots. Bake according to package directions.

Valentines Creamy Jigglers from Kraft

Ingredients
2-1/2 cups boiling water
2 pkg. (8-serving size each) JELL-O Brand Gelatin, any red flavor
1 cup cold 2% reduced fat milk
1 pkg. (4-serving size) JELL-O Vanilla Flavor Instant Pudding & Pie Filling

Preparation
Stir boiling water into gelatin in large bowl at least 3 minutes until completely dissolved. Cool 30 minutes at room temperature.

Pour milk into medium bowl. Add pudding mix. Beat with wire whisk 1 minute. Quickly pour into gelatin. Stir with wire whisk until well blended. Pour into 13x9-inch pan.

Refrigerate 3 hours or until firm. Dip bottom of pan in warm water about 15 seconds. Cut into decorative shapes with heart-shaped cookie cutters all the way through gelatin. Lift from pan.


Ants on a Log
To make the log, fill celery sticks with peanut better. Place four raisin ants along the log.

Lady Bug Snack
Slice an apple in half lengthwise, and lay with cut side down on a plate. The ladybugs' spots are raisins, put on with a dot of peanut butter. The head is a grape attached with a toothpick.

Celery and Pretzel Butterflies
Cut celery into 3 inch pieces, spread on cream cheese, add raisins down the middle, add 2 pretzels with the two loops outward, put 2 pretzel pieces at one end for antennae.

Edible Caterpillar
From Copycat May/June 1993
Give each child a licorice lace and a handful of colorful ring shaped cereal. Knot one end of the licorice and thread the cereal onto the lace until the other end is ready to be knotted.

Tasty Ladybug Cookies
Ice a round sugar cookie with red frosting to make the ladybug's body. Press chocolate chips into the frosting for the ladybug's spots. Attach three pretzel-stick legs on each side of the cookie for the ladybug's legs.



Chicka chicka boom boom snack

I saw this somewhere but now can't remember where!! Give each child a piece of celery and a few leaves from the celery stalk. Stuff the celery with peanut butter, add the leaves to the top to make the 'Palm Tree' and add alphabits cereal to the peanut butter to make the letters climbing up the tree. I wish I had a picture. What a cute snack!


Penguin Treat

You will need: 2 oreos, 3 candy corn, 2 mini m&m's, white icing (small tube) for "glue"

1. Twist cookie apart.

2. Attach the head at the top.

3. Add candy corn for feet.

4. Add m&m eyes and candy corn beak.

5. Split other oreo in half to mak penguin wings.

Cupa Cupa Egg Peanut Butter Cookies (from:http://www.weekiwis.com)


Print this recipe

These are the easiest cookies in the world!

What you will need:

1 cup sugar
1 cup smooth peanut butter (you can use crunchy if you like)
1 egg
a bag of chocolate stars or Hershey's kisses
Directions:

1. Mix the sugar, peanut butter, and egg together in a bowl.

2. Roll dough into walnut size balls. Place on a cookie sheet and with your thumb make a well in the center of each and place a chocolate star.

3. Bake at 350° for 12 minutes and let them cool.

GRAMPA'S DUMP CAKE
From:(http://www.weekiwis.com)

1 can cherry pie filling
1 can crushed pineapple with juice
1 box yellow cake mix
1 cube of butter
1 cup pecan pieces
You'll need a 9X13 pan.

Pour in the cherry pie filling and the pineapple to cover the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle the cake mix over the entire pan. Cut the butter in little cubes and place evenly over the cake mix and then sprinkle with the pecan pieces. Bake at 350° for approximateely 50 minutes.

Isn't that easy!!!! We serve it with vanilla ice cream and sing "Happy Birthday" to Grampa even if it's not his birthday! He really likes this cake and so do we....

For more cute ideas visit here:

http://www.thatsmyhome.com/recipes-for-kids/index.htm