As the summer is near to an end, make the most of it by learning new recipes that you can serve to your kids. It will motivate them for the next school year. Most importantly, it will encourage them to eat more and choose healthier foods. At the end of the day, they may want to make foods with their bare hands themselves.
Remember that you provide foods that are healthy to your kids. Do not just settle or be content with recipes that are both easy and quick to make. You also have to consider the nutritional value. Most of the nutrients that every child needs must be present in the food you are making.
On this article, you are going to learn new or maybe old recipes but you have not yet tried making on your own. You have probably tasted them before, but never attempted to serve to your kids or family. Therefore, here are 10 food and drink recipes that are easy and very simple to make.
Food Recipe 1: Pasta and Meaty Sauce
What to Prepare:
1 pound lean ground beef
1 cup carrots (grated)
1 medium red bell pepper (diced)
1 onion (diced)
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons dried Italian herbs
2 teaspoons kosher salt (divided)
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup of water
How to Cook:
1. Heat a pan and pour olive oil. Sauté onions for 3 minutes and ground beef. Add 1 teaspoon salt and continue sautéing for a few more minutes until the meat is separated and brown.
2. In a crock pot, put the sautéed onions and meat for additional cooking. Let it simmer.
3. While simmering the meat, mix tomato paste in water. Pour into the slow cooker.
4. Add carrots, bell pepper, Italian herbs, onion powder, garlic powder, and 1 teaspoon of kosher salt.
5. Stir all ingredients and cook for 5 to 8 hours. Serve with pasta all over the top.
Food Recipe 2: Chicken Tacos
What to Prepare:
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1/2 cup or 1 can of gGreen chiles (diced)
1 12-ounch jar salsa (mild or spicy to taste)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 onion (chopped)
2 cloves garlic (minced)
taco shells (flour or corn tortillas)
How to Cook:
1. Put the chicken in the slow cooker’s bowl. Add salsa, green chiles, onion, garlic and cumin. Cover and cook for 8 hours maximum.
2. Shred the chicken after cooking and put back to the sauce or juice of salsa mixture.
3. Prepare the taco shells. Spoon chicken into each and every shell as filling, and serve.
Food Recipe 3: Apricot-Orange Chicken
What to Prepare:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 18-ounce jar apricot preserves
1 cup orange juice
1 envelope onion soup mix
How to Cook:
1. Prepare the slow cooker. Put chicken breasts into the bowl.
2. Pour the orange and apricot juice, as well as onion soup mix over the chicken.
3. Cook for around 4 to 5 hours or until the meat is tender.
4. Serve with optional rice or steamed broccoli.
Food Recipe 4: Chicken Wraps
What to Prepare:
1 onion (diced)
1 1/2 to 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 12-ounce bag broccoli coleslaw mix
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup hoisin sauce
2 tablespoons honey
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
flour tortillas
How to Cook:
1. Prepare the slow cooker and put onion into the bowl.
2. Sprinkle salt and pepper over each chicken thigh and place into the bowl topping the onions. Cook for 5 hours maximum.
3. Slice the simmered meat into bits. Set aside.
4. Combine hoisin sauce, ginger and honey in a separate bowl. After thorough mixing, pour into the chicken and onion.
5. Spoon broccoli coleslaw on the tortilla, and then chicken mixture. Make rolls and serve.
Food Recipe 5: Beef Stew
What to Prepare:
1 large onion (halved and thinly sliced)
2 medium carrots (peeled and thinly sliced)
2 potatoes (cut into 1/2-inch chunks)
1 to 1 1/2 cups rutabaga (peeled and diced)
1 cup fresh green beans, in bite-size pieces
1 pound beef stew-meat chunks
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 clove garlic (crushed)
3 cups low-sodium beef stock
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
pepper to taste
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons tomato paste
How to Cook:
1. Except tomato paste and flour, place all ingredients into the bowl of crock pot. Stir well, cover, and let it simmer for around 8 hours under low temperature or 5 hours of high setting.
2. Transfer some broth to a bowl. Add tomato paste and flour to whisk until the mixture becomes smooth.
3. Pour the mixture into the stew and cook for 30 minutes more before serving.
Food Recipe 6: Beef or Pork Bun
What to Prepare:
1 3- to 4-pound pork-butt roast or beef brisket
salt and pepper to taste
2 medium onions, sliced
1 16-ounce jar barbecue sauce
soft rolls/buns
How to Cook:
1. Season meat with salt and pepper.
2. Place onions in the slow cooker. Put meat on top of the onions and a half cup of barbecue sauce. Flip to coat all sides of the meat. Cover and cook for 8 to 10 hours in low setting or 5 to 6 hours in high temperature.
3. Remove and cut the meat into small pieces.
4. Put the meat back into the pot, add more sauce, and cook for another 30 minutes.
5. Drain the meat and fill in the soft buns. Serve with any refreshing drinks.
Food Recipe 7: Meatball Sliders
What to Prepare:
1 egg (beaten)
1/3 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup whole milk
1/4 cup Parmigiano Reggiano (grated)
1/4 cup onion (minced)
1 clove garlic (minced)
1 19.76-ounce package sweet Italian sausage (casings removed)
2 cups spaghetti sauce
slider or soft rolls
How to Cook:
1. Mix egg, garlic, onion, bread crumbs, milk, and Parmigiano Reggiano in a bowl. Add sausage to the mixture and mix again.
2. Scoop from the mixture and make ball shape, which you can do with your clean hands.
3. Place slow cooker liner inside the bowl. Put meatballs with 1/2-inch space from each other. Cook for an hour. Add sauce afterwards and cook for 15 minutes more. Remove lid to let steam to escape.
4. When cooked, spread sauce onto each side of the slider roll and place a meatball, then serve.
The food recipes above are really delicious, but to make the meal complete, add some refreshing drink or hot beverage. Here are three good additions to serve on the table.
Drink Recipe 1: Watermelon Lemonade
What to Prepare:
1 cup warm water
1/2 cup sugar
4 cups chopped seedless watermelon
1/2 to 1 cup lemon juice
2 cups cold water
How to Prepare:
1. Dissolve sugar in warm water. Set aside in the refrigerator.
2. Chop watermelon into small pieces for easy grinding. Place into the blender and blend for 2 to 3 minutes.
3. Add lemon juice into the blender and blend for another minute.
4. Before serving, add sugar water and cold water. You can also add ice cubes to make it much cooler.
Drink Recipe 2: White Hot Chocolate
What to Prepare:
1 1/2 tablespoons white-chocolate-flavor instant pudding mix
1 cup milk
whipped cream
crushed peppermint candies or candy canes
How to Prepare:
1. Combine the milk and pudding mix into a microwavable mug. Heat for a minute under high temperature.
2. Add whipped cream and sprinkle candies, then serve.
Drink Recipe 3: Caramel Ribbon Crunch Frappuccino
What to Prepare:
1 cup of whole milk
2 cups of ice
3 tablespoons of caramel coffee flavor syrup
3 tablespoons of caramel syrup
whipped cream
caramel candy
a resealable plastic bag
mortar and pestle or kitchen mallet
How to Prepare:
1. Crush candies while in the plastic bag using a kitchen mallet or a mortar and pestle.
2. Blend milk, the syrups and ice together. Add more if necessary.
3. Pour the mixture into glasses and top with whipped cream.
4. Sprinkle with candies and serve.
Kids do love to try tasting colorful and delicious looking foods and beverages. They are easily tempted to take a bite or sip if they see good looking foods and drinks on the table. Not to mention mothers like to learn and make new recipes. Before you let your children go back to school, give them some great foods and drinks like the recipes listed above.
These recipes are also easy to make by children. You can encourage them to try learning and making them on their own. Just make sure they know and follow the procedures. Most importantly, they need to be extra careful when cutting or slicing ingredients and using kitchen tools, such as blenders and pots or pans on a stove. You need to be there to supervise whenever they choose to make these great recipes of food and drink on their own.
