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Category: Kid-friendly Recipes

It is so important to cook homemade, healthy food. But it’s not always easy to find kid-friendly recipes.

That’s where I come in. I’ve got hundreds of kid-tested and approved recipes that won’t keep you in the kitchen for hours or stretch your budget too thin.

I focus on allergy-friendly, whole foods. But I always cook with kids in mind. I take all sorts of feeding challenges into account too.

We’ve dealt with every allergy possible, so I’ve created recipes that are gluten free, nut free, dairy free, egg free, soy free, corn free, coconut free and more!

Kid-friendly recipes don’t have to be boring. And they are certainly not limited to chicken nuggets and pizza every night.

A nourished child will enjoy a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, proteins, carbohydrates and fats. Get your kids in the kitchen with you and start cooking! Have fun with food and your kids will learn to love eating.

Whole Grain Wheat Bread

I finally tried my stand mixer yesterday!! I have to say, I felt like I was cheating, like I wasn’t really baking. I didn’t have to do any work 😛  At the same time it was nice for it to be easy for once. I made a loaf of whole grain wheat bread. It’s a recipe that came with my mixer. Pretty simple. And very good. I realized yesterday morning that I didn’t have enough whole wheat flour in the house for it. But I had a whole bag of white whole wheat flour. So I used that instead. Still turned out fine. And I followed their instructions for shaping a loaf of bread. I had never done that before (roll out the dough, roll it up, tuck in ends). That worked well too. And I got to try my new french rolling pin. Love it! And Rebecca had fun helping with it too. I only made a half recipe (1 loaf).

Whole Grain Wheat Bread

1/3 cup + 1 Tbsp. brown sugar, divided
2 cups warm water (105 – 115 deg. F)
2 pkgs. active dry yeast (4 1/2 tsp.)
5 to 6 cups whole wheat flour (I used white whole wheat)
3/4 cup powdered milk
2 tsp. salt
1/3 cup oil (I used canola)

Dissole 1 Tbsp. brown sugar in water in small bowl. Add yeast and let mixture stand.

Place 4 cups flour, powdered milk, 1/3 cup brown sugar, and salt in mixer bowl. Attach bowl and dough hook to mixer. Turn to Speed 2 and mix about 15 seconds. Continuing on Speed 2, gradually add yeast mixture and oil to flour mixture and mix about 1 1/2 min. longer. Stop and scrape bowl if necessary.

Continuing on Speed 2, add remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, and mix until dough clings to hook and cleans sides of bowl, about 2 min. Knead on Speed 2 about 2 min. longer.

Place dough in greased bowl, turning to grease top. Cover. Let rise in warm place, about 1 hour, until doubled in bulk.

Punch dough down and divide in half. Shape each half into a loaf. Place in greased 8 1/2×4 1/2×2 1/2 in loaf pans. Cover. Let rise in warm place, about 1 hour, or until doubled in bulk.

Bake at 400 deg. F for 15 min. Reduce oven temp to 350 deg. F and bake 30 min. longer. Remove from pans immediately and cool on wire racks.

Homemade Whole Wheat Vanilla Wafers

In my ongoing efforts to make the  majority of our food (including snacks) from scratch I tried a new recipe yesterday for whole wheat vanilla wafers. I got the recipe from Heavenly Homemakers. I used to eat just about as many vanilla wafers as I did graham crackers 😛  I lived on them for a while. Then realized how much junk was in them and haven’t had any in a long time. So I was excited to find this recipe.


These are super easy to make! Very quick prep. And they are very good. They don’t taste exactly like a vanilla wafer…a little on the buttery side. But they are good.

Whole Wheat Vanilla Wafers
makes ~55 cookies

1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup sucanat or brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 tsp. sea salt
1/2 tsp. baking powder

Cream butter and sucanat together. Beat in egg and vanilla extract. Stir in flour, salt and baking powder.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Put nickel size mounds on the parchment paper. I just used a cookie scoop and made little mounds.

Bake at 325° for fifteen minutes. Turn off the oven and let the cookies sit inside for a half hour or so to crisp.

Pumpkin Pasta

I tried a new recipe last night for our New Year’s dinner. I’ve been  meaning to try this pasta for a long time. I was hesitant since it’s a pumpkin recipe…and meatless. But no worries now, it was great!! All 3 of us loved it. I was surprised by how much I liked it. Quite a mix of spices, but they really work well together. Definitely a keeper recipe.

I got the recipe from Katelyn’s Food. The original recipe calls for cauliflower added to the pasta. I don’t have any cauliflower right now. So I just made the pasta and served a mix of home grown veggies on the side (beans, corn, zucchini). It still worked great. I served it with a mix of nuts to sprinkle on top for some crunch and protein(cashews, walnuts and pecans). Yum!!

Pumpkin Pasta

8 oz whole wheat pasta
1/2 cup pumpkin puree (I used a little more than this…and could have even added more)
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1 cup Chicken broth or liquid of choice
1 head of cauliflower cut into florets, or 1 16 oz bag of frozen cauliflower, thawed
2 tsp. sage (I didn’t add this since I don’t have any, and I don’t see it in the directions :P)
1/2 tsp. rosemary
1 tsp. thyme
1 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. cinnamon
salt and pepper to taste
3 cloves garlic
2 tsp. extra virgin olive oil

Bring water a to a boil. Cook pasta as directed

While pasta is cooking, heat olive oil in a large skillet on medium high. Add garlic, rosemary, thyme. Cook for about 2 minutes. Add cauliflower. Stir to coat with oil. Add the chicken broth and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce to a simmer and cook until tender, about 10 minutes.

Once pasta is cooked, drain & return to stock pot. The cauliflower should be done soon. Once the cauliflower is done, pour into the pasta. Add pumpkin puree, nutmeg, cinnamon, ground pepper, salt and parmesan. Stir to combine. Serve warm.

Turtle Cheesecake

I am in charge of dessert for my extended family Christmas party this year. One of the things I decided to make is turtle cheesecake. I LOVE cheesecake (chocolate covered is my favorite). This is a recipe I got from a Philadelphia cream cheese box years ago. I’ve made it once before for a work Christmas party for Justin. Let’s just say I don’t think any other dessert was even touched before this was gone 🙂  That’s how good it is. Oreos, cream cheese, caramel, pecans…mmmm. It’s in the oven right now. I’ll add pics later when it’s done.

Ultimate Turtle Cheesecake

2 cups Oreo Chocolate Cookie crumbs (I used my food processor to make the cookies into crumbs…first time trying that…wow, that is so much easier and works so much better than doing it by hand 🙂
6 Tbsp. butter, melted
1 bag (14 oz.) caramels
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup pecan pieces
3 pkgs. (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 Tbsp. vanilla
3 eggs
2 squares semi-sweet baking chocolate (2 oz.)

Mix cookie crumbs and better. Press onto bottom and 2″ up sides of a 9″ springform pan. Place caramels and milk in a small microwavable bowl. Microwave on high 3 min., until caramels are completely melted, stirring after each minute. Pour 1/2 of the caramel mixture into cruts. Refrigerate 10 min. Set remaining caramel aside for later use in topping.

Beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla on medium speed until well blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing on low speed after each addition just until blended. Pour over caramel mixture in crust.

Bake at 325 for 65 min. to 70 min. or until center is almost set.**  Run knife around side of pan to loosen cake. Cool before removing side of pan. Refrigerate 4 hours or over night.

Top with remaining caramel mixture and pecans just before serving. Melt chocolate as directed on package. Drizzle over cheesecake. Store leftover cheesecake in refrigerator. Makes 16 servings.

**Normally when I make cheesecake I put tinfoil underneath the pan and around the outside. Then I put it in a large pan and add water. Since this recipe did not say to do either I didn’t this time. Well, part way through baking I noticed a smell and smoke in the kitchen. Some of the butter from the crust was dripping down in the oven. So, a tip…use the foil or at least a baking pan underneath so you don’t end up with a mess.

Slow Cooker Pork Roast with Fruit


We are having our family Christmas celebration today. I decided to make a pork roast instead of ham since we’ll be eating ham at all of our other parties. This is a Betty Crocker recipe I found shortly after I got married. Every time I make it everyone loves it. Plus it’s super simple! That’s always good. I already put it in the crockpot this morning. It will be so tender by dinner time tonight. I’ll update with pics of the finished product later. For now I have pics of the roast just after putting it in the crockpot.

Slow Cooker Pork Roast with Fruit

1 medium onion, sliced
1 pork boneless loin roast (2 lbs.)
1 pkg. (8 oz.) dried fruit, chopped or 1 1/2 cups raisins (I used a combo of raisins and home dried apples, peaches and pears)
1/2 cup apple juice
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

Put onion in crockpot. Place pork on onion. Top with fruit. Mix remaining ingredients and pour over fruit. Cook on low 7-9 hours (until pork is tender).

Thin Pork Chops

I made another pork chop recipe last night that I got from my MIL. It’s really more of a concept than a recipe. The recipe is for thin pork chops, but you could use any cut. I used center cut. Justin and Rebecca loved it 🙂  I ate leftover beef…needs to be used up, and I wanted enough pork left for Justin’s lunch. I served the pork chops and gravy over brown rice.

Thin Pork Chops
1 Tbsp. EVOO
2-4 pork chops

salt, pepper, seasoning salt to taste
1 cup water

Gravy
2 Tbsp. flour
1/4 cup cold water

Heat EVOO in large skillet. Season chops. Brown chops on both sides – about 5 min. per side. Add 1/2 – 1 cup water to the pan. Cover. Cook over low heat for 1 hour. You may need to add water while it’s cooking if it all evaporates.

Remove chops from pan. Keep warm. Mix flour and cold water. Add a little at a time to the water in the pan, cooking until desired thickness…about 1 minute. Add extra water to thin the gravy/make more. Add extra flour/water mixture to make thicker.

Serve pork chops and gravy over rice or mashed potatoes.

Dutch Apple Pie

Finally, the long awaited homemade dutch apple pie! This is an amazing pie! I’m not much of a pie person, but I’ll eat this any time. It’s like apple pie and apple crisp combined.
 

 I got this recipe from my mom. I think she got it from one of my grandmas. A great recipe handed down through the generations!

If you like apple desserts you will LOVE Dutch apple pie.

Dutch Apple Pie

Filling:
 
5 large tart apples, pared, cored and cut into thin slices
1/2 cup light brown sugar (orgainc cane brown sugar or sucanat)
1 tsp. cinnamon
 
Topping:
 
1/2 cup organic cane sugar or sucanat
3/4 cup flour (all purpose, whole wheat or a combination of tapioca and white rice to make it gluten free)
1/3 cup butter, chilled (or lard, tallow or palm shortening)
 
Single pie crust:
 
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour (or whole wheat)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/3 cup + 1 Tbsp. palm shortening, cold butter, lard or tallow
1/8 cup + 2 Tbsp. water w/ 1/2 tsp. vinegar
 
Pie Crust:
 
Sift the flour and salt. Cut in half of the shortening until it resembles corn meal. Cut in other half until it looks like small peas.
 
Add the water + vinegar and mix well. (You can do this all in a food processor for a very quick dough).
 
Roll out the dough and place in 9″ pie plate.You can use a gluten free pie crust as well.

 
Pie:
Heat oven to 400*F.
 
Arrange the apple slices in the pastry lined 9″ pie pan.
 
Combine the brown sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle over the apples.
 
Combine the white sugar and flour.
 
Cut in the butter until the mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle over the apples.
 
Bake 40-45 min.

Corn Custard Pudding Casserole

This is a recipe that I got from my MIL. It is served at many family gatherings and is always a favorite. I made it with our Thanksgiving dinner. Easy and delicious 🙂

Corn Custard Pudding Casserole

1 pkg. frozen corn, cooked until separated (this refers to a home-frozen pkg…maybe 2 cups or so?, I never cook it. I just let it thaw a bit)
1 cup milk
1 Tbsp. butter, melted (not sure how necessary this is…I should try it without sometime)
2 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
dash pepper
1 egg, beaten

Beat egg in bowl. Add corn, milk, butter, sugar, salt and pepper. Stir to combine well. Pour into greased 1 1/2 qt. casserole. Place in a pan of hot water. Bake for 1 1/4 hours at 350, until set.

*I totally forgot about the pan of hot water yesterday and it worked just fine.
*I baked it at 325 for about 1 1/2 hours (that was the temp for the turkey:).

Pumpkin Soup

I’ve been making a lot of things with pumpkin this month…but all sweet stuff. I decided to be brave and try something savory. I made pumpkin soup for dinner last night. I got the recipe from All Recipes and modified it a bit. I wasn’t sure any of us would like it. But we all did! Even Rebecca loved it. It definitely had good flavor. And it was super easy to make. I prepped it in the morning (cooked and pureed it) and then just simmered it for a bit at dinner time. I love prep ahead meals. And I think it really adds to the flavor to let it sit for a bit. I only made a half batch, and there isn’t much left. Next time I’ll make the full recipe. We had it for our main dish…a light, healthy fall meal…pumpkin soup and homemade bread with homemade apple butter. But it would be good as a first course/part of a meal for guests.

Pumpkin Soup

6 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 tsp. salt
4 cups pumpkin puree
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 tsp. chopped fresh thyme or 1 tsp. dried thyme
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
5 whole black peppercorns
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg

Heat the broth, salt, pumpkin, onion, thyme, garlic, and spices. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 30 minutes uncovered.

Puree the soup with an immersion blender if necessary
Stir in the heavy cream.

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Applesauce Muffins

After prepping yesterday’s dinner I had a little bit of pumpkin left. So Rebecca and I did more baking! I tried another pumpkin muffin recipe from All Recipes. This is a recipe for muffins. I made a few muffins and a couple mini loaves. The muffins turned out great! The loaves weren’t as good…a little dark on the outside, not as done as I would like on the inside. A lower oven temp might help. I’ll definitely be using this recipe for muffins in the future. It is a good recipe. And very healthy. I had a little more applesauce and pumpkin than the recipe called for, so I just skipped the oil. And they still turned out great. A whole wheat muffin with no oil or butter plus fruit and veggies added…sounds good to me! Of course we added a few chocolate chips to the muffins 😉 But they definitely don’t need them. I added some walnuts to one of the mini loaves. This recipe is easy, healthy and kid-friendly. A keeper for sure. And it’s pumpkin…yum!

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Applesauce Muffins

2 cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice (I added some extra cinnamon too since I love cinnamon)
2/3 cup brown  cane sugar, firmly packed (or sucanat)
1/3 cup cane sugar or sucanat
1/4 cup coconut oil or melted butter (I skipped this)
1/2 cup applesauce (I added just over a half cup)
1/2 cup canned pumpkin (I added just over a half cup)
1/3 cup buttermilk
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1/4 cup golden raisins (optional)
1/4 cup chopped pecans (optional)

Preheat an oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease 12 muffin cups, or line the cups with paper muffin liners.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and pumpkin pie spice; set aside. Combine the brown sugar, white sugar, oil, applesauce, pumpkin, buttermilk, and beaten eggs and mix until well blended. Pour the pumpkin mixture into the dry ingredients and stir until combined. Fold in the raisins and pecans, if desired.
Divide the batter evenly in the prepared muffin pan. Bake in the preheated oven until the tops spring back when lightly pressed, 15 to 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool the muffin pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes before removing the muffins from the pan.
*I baked the muffins for about 20 min. I baked the loaves for 35-40 min. I think they would have worked better at a lower temperature.