Home » Kid-friendly Recipes » Page 62

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.

Pumpkin Pancakes

Last night for dinner I tried a recipe from Heavenly Homemakers for pumpkin pancakes. One more pumpkin recipe to try 🙂 These were ok. But the like/dislike had nothing to do with the pumpkin. It was just a kind of weird pancake recipe. I think it was largely due to the butter in the recipe. The batter didn’t pour and spread out like a normal pancake. It just sat in a big lump. I tried spreading them out a bit, but they just kind of slid around on the pan. And then they didn’t seem to cook all the way through. The flavor was fine. Just not the light, fluffy pancake we’re used to. I did add a little sugar to the recipe to give it a little sweetness (about 3 Tbsp.). I used less butter than the recipe called for (if I try them again I’ll cut it out completely). And I tried soaking my flour (never tried that before). I don’t really know how to do that. I just mixed the flour and buttermilk and put it in the fridge until it was time to make dinner. Maybe that made a difference. Maybe I didn’t do that correctly. Anyway, I served them with homemade strawberry topping, whipped topping (for Justin) and walnuts. With all that yummy stuff on top they tasted just fine 🙂 Justin and I both thought they were fine, but nothing amazing. I did make a double batch, so now we have some pancakes in the freezer again. I debated between this recipe and one from Two Peas and Their Pod. I’ll have to try that one sometime with the cinnamon syrup. I bet they are really good!

*Edited 7/10/10 – Just realized I never updated this the last time I tried these. I made these a while back (a big batch to freeze), soaking them first. They turned out pretty good. I think I skipped the butter, which helped a lot. Just be sure to spread the batter well and don’t make them too thick.

Pumpkin Pancakes

1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. cloves
1/4 tsp. ginger
1 egg
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
3/4 cup buttermilk
3 Tbsp. melted butter (I used 2 Tbsp…I’ll cut it out all together next time)
Butter for skillet or griddle
*I added about 3 Tbsp. sugar to a double batch
Whisk all ingredients together thoroughly. Heat skillet or griddle. Melt and spread butter over the surface to prevent pancakes from sticking. Pour 1/3 c. batter onto skillet for each pancake. Once bubbles begin to form, turn pancake over. Cook until golden brown. Makes about 8 pancakes. For my family of 6, I usually triple this recipe.

To soak grains:

Soak the flour in the buttermilk (or yogurt or kefir) overnight, then add the remaining ingredients the following morning before cooking.

Southwest White Chili

Last night Justin and I went out for dinner. But I still made dinner for the baby-sitters 🙂 This is another old recipe I got from an IBS message board. I modified it a bit for last night and made it in the crockpot…and a much larger quantity. I’ll post the original recipe and my version. This is really good. And super easy. Plus it’s easily adaptable to any tastes. You can add as much or as little spice as you like. And you can add any veggies you like.

Southwest White Chili

Chicken breasts, cut in chunks
1/4 cup onion, chopped
1 cup chicken broth
1 can (4 oz.) chopped green chilies
1 can (19 oz.) canellini beans, drained
2 green onions

southwest blend:
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. cilantro
1/8 tsp. ground red pepper

Cook chicken and onions in large sauce pan 4-5 min. Stir in broth, chilies and spices. Simmer 15 min. Add beans. Simmer 5 min.

Southwest White Chili in the Crockpot

2 chicken breasts, fat removed
1/2 cup onion, chopped
6 cups chicken broth
2 cans white beans (I used northern)
1 cup frozen corn
1 cup bell pepper, chopped
2 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. black pepper
2 tsp. chili powder

Combine all ingredient in the crockpot. Cook on high 4-10 hours or low 6-12 hours. At least a half hour before serving shred chicken. Serve with shredded cheese, avocado, sour cream, etc.

Pork Chops and Apples

For dinner last night I pulled out an old recipe. I’ve been making this since before Justin and I got married. But I haven’t made it in a while. I don’t remember where I got the recipe…I think it’s Betty Crocker or Kraft. Very easy. And good. I’m not a huge pork fan. We never ate pork growing up (aside from ham or hot dogs once in a while). And it’s hard on my stomach. So I don’t make pork chops often. But Justin loves them. So I try to give him a treat once in a while. I serve this over rice. The apples/syrup in the bottom of the pan are really good on rice. And I like that it only takes 5-10 min. to prep. And doesn’t make a huge mess. This is for 2 servings. You could easily double or triple the recipe. You’d just need a bigger casserole dish. I always add extra apple, cinnamon and sugar so there is enough to put over the rice.

Pork Chops and Apples

1 medium unpeeld cooking apple, sliced (I use at least 2)
2 Tbsp. packed brown sugar (I adjust this depending on how many apples I use)
1/4 tsp. cinnamon (I adjust this depending on how many apples I use)
2 pork chops (I used center cut…any cut would work)

Heat oven to 350. Remove fat from pork. Coat skillet with cooking spray olive oil. Brown pork chops in skillet…about 2-3 min. per side. While pork is cooking slice apples. Place in the bottom of a 1 1/2 qt. round or oval casserole. Sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon. Place the pork chops in a single layer on top of the apples. Cover and bake about 45 min.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

As usual after Rebecca’s nap yesterday the first thing she wanted to do was bake 🙂 She goes to the kitchen and says “pour, pour…table, table.” So I bring her little table into the kitchen and put on her apron. I didn’t have any recipes planned, so I did a quick search in my recipe box. And I found a pumpkin chocolate chip muffin recipe. I don’t know where I got it. And I don’t remember if I’ve ever made it before. But I had just enough pumpkin left for it. And Rebecca loves chocolate chips. Plus she likes to put the muffin cups in the muffin pan. So I gave it a try. These were super easy to make. And they taste great!! Definitely a keeper. I’m starting to wish I had given pumpkin a chance a long time ago. I guess in reality I just don’t like pumpkin pie. And I’m not a fan of the taste of plain pumpkin. But I do like things with pumpkin in them 🙂 I modified the recipe a bit and did 2-1 white flour to whole wheat flour. And I used a mix of semi-sweet and white chocolate chips. I think the white chips go well with pumpkin. That’s one more thing that’s growing on me…white chocolate. I used to not like it at all. But since I’ve been using it quite a bit lately I’m realizing that now I do. Funny how your tastes change as you get older. This recipe made 12 muffins.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

3/4 cup sugar (I did half white and half light brown)
1/4 cup oil (I used canola)
2 eggs
3/4 cup pumpkin
1/4 cup water
1 1/2 cups flour (I used 1 cup all purpose and 1/2 cup whole wheat)
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. cloves
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 cup chocolate chips (I used semi-sweet and white)

Heat oven to 400. Line muffin pan with baking cups or grease. Mix sugar, oil and eggs w/ whisk. Add pumpkin and water. Mix well. In a large bowl mix flour and spices. Add wet mixture to dry mixture. Stir in chocolate chips. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake 20-25 min.

Pizza Dough and Sauce

I realized yesterday when I was looking for my pizza dough recipe on my blog that I’ve never posted it! I just posted the link to my cousin’s wife’s blog…I got both the dough and sauce recipes from her. So easy and so yummy!!

Pizza Dough

1 Tbsp. yeast
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 1/2 cups warm water

2 Tbsp. sugar
3 Tbsp. oil
1/2 Tbsp. salt
4 cups flour

Sprinkle yeast and 1 Tbsp. sugar over water. Let bubble (about 5 min.). Add 2 more Tbsp. sugar, oil, salt and flour. Let rise about an hour. Spread on pizza pan. Add toppings. Bake at 450 for 15-20 min.

This makes enough for 2 pizzas or 1 pizza and breadsticks. You can use some whole wheat flour in place of the all purpose flour.

Pizza Sauce

1/2 medium onion, diced
2-4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 Tbsp. EVOO
1 large can crushed tomatoes
1 Tbsp. basil
1/2 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. parsley
(or any seasoning you like)

Sautee onion in oil in a pot. Add the garlic. Cook a couple more minutes. Add tomatoes and seasoning. Cover and simmer over low heat 5-6 min.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

Rebecca and I also made a batch of pumpkin cookies yesterday. Another easy pumpkin recipe from Two Peas and Their Pod. These are more cakey than most cookies. But still very good. They got 2 thumbs up from the 3 of us. And great reviews from my parents as well! Plus I like that they are a little healthier than a lot of cookies…whole wheat, oats, applesauce, pumpkin…not bad. So far so good with my pumpkin experiments. I haven’t made anything I don’t like yet. These were very easy to make. I used half semi-sweet and half white chocolate chips. And I had to bake mine a little longer. Just depends how big you make the cookies and what kind of pan you use. Some took about 12 min. Some took more like 15 min. I didn’t use silpat or parchment paper (I forgot) and they came off the pan no problem at all. I got 32 cookies out of this batch.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ cup brown sugar
1/3 cup white sugar
1/4 cup applesauce
¾ cup pumpkin
1 egg
1 ½ tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
¼ tsp. nutmeg
¼ tsp. all spice
¾ cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/4 cup oats
1 cup chocolate chips
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cream the butter with the sugars until soft and creamy, using a mixer.
3. Add in applesauce, pumpkin, egg and vanilla.
4. In a separate bowl combine the salt, baking powder, soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, all spice, and flour. Whisk the ingredients together.
5. Add flour mixture to wet ingredients, with the mixer on low. Mix until blended.
6. Add the oats and briefly mix. Stir inthe chocolate chips.
7. Scoop tablespoons of dough onto a baking sheet that has a Silpat or parchment paper. 8. Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes! Let cool on a rack.

Pumpkin Graham Crackers

Yesterday Rebecca and I were in a baking mood. And I still have pumpkin to use. I thought I’d experminet a little and try something new…pumpkin graham crackers! I just used my usual graham cracker recipe, but replaced some of the butter and water with pumpkin. It worked great! You really can’t taste the pumpkin. And the grahams turned out as good as ever. So I took out some of the fat and added in a few extra vitamins. Sounds good to me 🙂 The grahams have an ever so slight orange tint…not quite the same color as usual. But you’d never guess if nobody told you what was in them. Maybe I’ll make them this way more often. I’ll have to experiment with other fruit/veggie purees.

Pumpkin Graham Crackers

2 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup rapadura (dehydrated cane sugar)
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
4 Tbsp. honey
1/8 cup water
1 tsp. vanilla
6 Tbsp. butter, melted
1/2 cup pure pumpkin

Heat oven to 350. Melt butter in sauce pan or microwave. Stir in the pumpkin. Set aside. In a mixing bowl, stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Add the liquids: honey, water, vanilla, butter, pumpkin. Stir well until a nice ball of dough is formed. Divide into two balls. Cut 2 pieces of parchment paper the size of a cookie sheet. Put one piece on the cookie sheet. Put ball of dough on the paper. Lay the other piece of parchment on top of dough. Squish the dough down a little with your hand. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough between the parchment paper. Roll until the dough covers the whole cookie sheet. Remove the top piece of parchment paper. Repeat with 2nd ball of dough. Cut into squares or shapes. Separate the dough a bit if you’re cutting out shapes. Bake for 13 minutes. Turn off oven, but leave crackers in to get crisp. Remove after 30 min. Break crackers apart (if you just cut the squares and left them close together). Store in airtight container.

Pumpkin Pie Muffins

Yesterday afternoon Rebecca and I made some pumpkin pie muffins. I had pumpkin and buttermilk to use up after making the pumpkin scones. And I’ve been wanting to make these for a while. I found the recipe a couple months ago when I read through my Ellie Crieger cookbook. Plus it’s one more attempt at pumpkin. These are very easy to make. And they taste great! Since Rebecca thinks everything tastes better with “coca chips” I let her sprinkle some mini chips on a few of the muffins 🙂 They are good with the chocolate added. Some dried fruit or chopped nuts would be good too. The recipe says it makes 12 muffins. I made 16. And they took a little longer than 20 min. to bake for me. And I didn’t add the pumpkin seeds.

Pumpkin Pie Muffins

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole-grain pastry flour or whole wheat flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar (I used light brown…that’s all I had)
3 Tbsp. unsulphered molasses
1/4 cup canola oil
2 large eggs
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3/4 cup lowfat buttermilk
1/4 cup raw, unsalted pumpkin seeds

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Coat a 12-cup muffin pan with cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose and whole-wheat flours, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg.

In a large bowl, whisk the sugar, molasses, oil and 1 egg until combined. Add the other egg and whisk well. Whisk in the pumpkin and vanilla. Whisk in the flour mixture in 2 batches, alternating with the buttermilk. Whisk just until combined.
Pour the batter into the prepared muffin pan and sprinkle with the pumpkin seeds. Tap the pan on the counter a few times to remove any air bubbles. Bake for 20 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center of 1 of the muffins comes out clean.
Let cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Run a knife around the muffins to loosen them and unmold. Cool completely on the rack

Pumpkin White Chocolate Scones

Last night for dinner I made quiche. And I always like to make scones when I make quiche. I saw a recipe for pumpkin white chocolate scones recently on Two Peas and Their Pod, and I knew I had to try them! These were so good!!! All 3 of us loved them. Simple to make, like most scones. I love that. Plus I had some buttermilk to use up. I didn’t add the glaze last night. I might try that tonight or if we have them for breakfast some day this week (**Update…the glaze is awesome!!! I didn’t think they could get any better…but they did 🙂. I got 8 scones out of the dough. I baked 3 and froze 5. I’ll bake another 3 with dinner tonight and save 2 for a breakfast. Some dried cherries might be good in these, but definitely not necessary. The chocolate chips added just the right amount of sweetness. There aren’t enough to make them super chocolatey. But you get a little hint of chocolate in most bites. I bet milk chocolate would be good too in place of the white. Definitely a keeper recipe. And that’s one positive pumpkin experience for me. Hopefully there will be many more this month 🙂
Pumpkin White Chocolate Scones

Scone Dough:

2 cups all purpose flour
1/3 cup light brown sugar
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/3 cup white chocolate chips
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
1 tsp. pure vanilla
1 Tbsp. cream
Turbinado sugar for sprinkling on top

Spice glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. cloves
sprinkle of nutmeg
milk
Add as much milk until desired consistency. Drizzle or spread over cooled scones.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and place rack in middle of oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or Silpat.In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, spices, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Cut the butter into small pieces and blend into the flour mixture with a pastry blender or two knives. I use my hands! The mixture should look like coarse crumbs. Stir in the white chocolate.

In a separate bowl mix together the buttermilk, pumpkin puree and vanilla and then add the buttermilk mixture to the flour mixture. Mix just until the dough comes together. Do not over mix the dough.Transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead dough gently four or five times and then pat the dough into a circle that is about 7 inches (18 cm) round and about 11/2 inches (3.75 cm) thick. Cut this circle in half, then cut each half into 3 pie-shaped wedges (triangles) (I cut it into 8 triangles). Place the scones on the baking sheet. Brush the tops of the scones with the cream and sprinkle a little Turbinado sugar on top.Place the baking sheet inside another baking sheet to prevent the bottoms of the scones from over browning. Bake for about 20 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack to cool and drizzle scones with the glaze.

Beer Bread

I guess I’ve never actually posted the recipe for beer bread even though I make it all the time. I posted the link a long time ago…I got it from my cousin’s wife, Melissa. This is about as easy as it gets. Always a good option when you want fresh bread but don’t have time to deal with yeast, rising, etc. Rebecca could even help me make it 🙂

Beer Bread

3 cups self-rising flour
3 Tbsp. sugar
1 (12 oz) bottle or can of beer

Mix all ingredients. Put in large bread pan. Bake at 350 for 45-50 min.

*I ususally sprinkle some coarse salt over the top before baking. Gives it a nice flavor.