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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.

7 Layer Dinner

I made a casserole in the crockpot last night. It’s a recipe from my mom. Very easy. And the crockpot makes it even easier. 

7 Layer Dinner

4 cups sliced potatoes (I used 2 medium red potatoes)
1 large onion, chopped (adjust to your taste…we don’t use this much)
3 cups carrots, sliced
1/3 cup rice (I skipped the rice this time…rice and potatoes is too much starch for me)
1 can peas and juice (I just put in some frozen peas)
1 lb. hamburger (could use 1 1/2 lbs.)
1 can tomato soup (I use homemade)
1 can water

Place all ingredients in greased casserole in order listed. Season with salt and pepper as you layer. Cover. Bake at 350 for about 1 1/2 hours.

*You may need to remove the cover 1/2 way through to get rid of some of the liquid. You can also cut down on the water…I find it’s a little liquidy with that much. And you should reduce the water if you skip the rice.

*I put it all in the crockpot. I added some peppers and frozen corn after the carrots. I cooked it on low for about 9 hours. It could have been done after 6 hours. Or it could have gone longer. I think I’ll skip the water all together the next time I make it in the crockpot. I only did a half can, but it still had plenty of liquid from the veggies and meat as they cooked.

Canned Applesauce

I canned my first batch of applesauce of the season last night. I finally got to try out my apple peeler. All I can say is WOW! What a time saver. If you want to do any significant amount of canning and/or baking with apples I highly recommend getting one. It only takes a few minutes to peel, core and slice enough apples for a whole batch of sauce (15-17 LARGE apples) instead of like a half hour doing it by hand. I wish I had gotten one years ago.

Since I didn’t have a ton of time last night I did a batch of chunky applesauce. I added sugar to this batch…it will be for Justin and me (or Rebecca when she’s older). I cooked another batch this morning before breakfast (that’s how fast it goes with the peeler:). I’ll run that through the food mill and can it later today. I didn’t add sugar to this batch. Hopefully it’s sweet enough. Some of the apples are kind of tart this year.

I’ve still got lots of apples, so I’m hoping to do several more batches of sauce…especially since it’s so fast now. I want to freeze some sliced apples. And I’m hoping to try apple butter tomorrow. I got Justin’s mom’s recipe. Looks like it takes a while, but it’s soooo good (I’ve had hers). So we’ll see how it goes. I’ll post that recipe after I make it. Here is the basic applesauce recipe…also from Justin’s mom

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Canned Applesauce
4 1/2 qts. apples, peeled, cored and roughly chopped into big chunks
1 qt. water
1 cups sugar (optional)
 
Boil water with sugar.
Add apples. Bring to a boil.
Boil 5 min.
Can in boiling water for 20 min. Makes 7 pts. (Can in boiling water for 25 min. if using quarts).
 
*This is the original recipe. From experience here is what I’ve come up with that works for me:
30 med – large apples
3 cups water
 
*After cooking the apples for a few minutes I mash them with a potato masher to break them up a bit more.

** I puree the apples in my Vitamix for smooth applesauce. When using this method you don’t have to peel the apples. The peels blend right in.

Apple Crisp

Last night I made our first apple dessert of the season 🙂 I LOVE apple crisp. This recipe came from my mom. I think she got it from one of my grandmothers. It’s simple and so so good. I added a few sliced pears since I had a few to use up. We had it warm with ice cream last night. YUM!!!!!! I’m excited for more tonight 🙂

Apple Crisp

 
 
6 – 7 medium sized apples
1/2 cup organic cane sugar, sucanat or coconut sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
 
 

 

1/2 cup butter
1 cup organic brown cane sugar, sucanat or coconut sugar
1 cup flour (whole wheat, all purpose or 1/2 tapioca, 1/2 white rice) (you can also use oats in place of half the flour)
 
 
Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 7×11 pan.

Pare, core and slice apples. Put the apples in the prepared pan. Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon. Mix to coat.

Combine butter, sugar and flour (with hands or pastry blender) until well mixed and crumbly. Spread over the apples. Bake 30 min., or until brown on top.

Applesauce Pancakes, Applesauce Chicken and Southwestern Sweet Potatoes

I made pancakes last Friday. Figured I’d post the recipe. It’s from Justin’s mom.

Applesauce Pancakes (I made them into blueberry applesauce pancakes)

1 egg
1/2 cup buttermilk (I just make sour milk…milk + vinegar)
1/2 cup applesauce
2 Tbsp. oil (I just use a little extra applesauce and leave this out)
1 cup flour (I used 1/2 white and 1/2 whole wheat)
1 Tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt

Beat egg. Add remaining ingredients and beat. Cook on hot griddle. Makes 6-7 pancakes.

*I folded in blueberries after mixing the batter.

Here is what we had for lunch today. Of course I forgot a picture as usual. I’m so bad about that lately. Rebecca is a big distraction :p They are both from A Year of Crockpotting. I made them in the same crockpot. I put the sweet potatoes in a tinfoil packet next to the chicken. It worked perfectly! It’s nice to know I can make 2 dishes at once in my crockpot now and don’t always have to do an all-in-one. I can do a separate meat and side dish.

Crockpot Applesauce Chicken

4 chicken breasts or thighs
1 1/2 cups applesauce
1 onion, chopped finely
1 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes (I left these out)

Put chicken in crockpot. Add onion. In small bowl mix applesauce, vinegar and spices. Pour on chicken. Cook on low 5-7 hours or high 3-4 hours.

Southwestern Crockpot Sweet Potato and Corn Medley

3 medium sweet potatoes (first ones from the garden today!!)
1 can corn, drained (I just put in some frozen corn)
1/4 cup chopped onion
2 limes, juiced (I used bottled lime juice)
1 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. salt
3 Tbsp. chopped fresh basil (I used dried…about a tsp.)

Peel and cube potatoes into 1″ chunks. Put in crockpot. Add onion, corn and basil. Sprinkle on chili powder and salt. Squeeze limes over top. Toss. Cook on low 5 hours or high 3-4 hours.

Pork Chop and Potato Skillet

I made another Voogt family recipe last night. Normally it’s done in the oven. But I tried it in the crockpot so I could get it going earlier in the day when I had time. I think it works a little better in the oven since some of the liquid evaporates that way. But it was still good in the crockpot. Justin still liked it 🙂 (I didn’t have any…I had dinner at MOPS). And since I was in a rush trying to get ready for MOPS and making sure Justin was all set to watch Rebecca, I forgot to take a picture.

Pork Chop and Potato Skillet

6 pork chops (I use center cut…normally only make 2 since it’s all we need)
8 cups thin potato slices (I cut back on this with fewer chops, maybe 2 potatoes)
1 1/2 cups onion slices (adjust to your taste)
3 Tbsp. flour (reduce a bit if using fewer potatoes)
2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 can cheddar cheese soup
1 1/4 cups milk

Brown pork chops in skillet. Combine potatoes, most of the onions (reserve a few), flour and seasoning. Toss lightly. Place in buttered (or sprayed) 2 qt. casserole. Place chops on top of potatoes. Top with reserved onion slices. Add soup and milk to skillet with meat drippings. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Pour over potatoes and chops. Cover. Bake @ 350 for 1 hr. 10 min., until potatoes are tender.

To make it in the crockpot I sprayed the crockpot, tossed the potatoes, onions, flour and seasoning together in the crockpot. Put the chops on top (I didn’t brown them…but it might work a little better to do that if you have time to cut back on some of the grease in the crockpot). Top with a little onion. Whisk the soup and milk and pour over top. I cooked it for about 6 hours, on high part of the time and low part of the time.

Sweet Potato Fries and Hobo Dinners

Friday we had chicken nuggets (just cut up some chicken breasts, coat w/ breadcrumbs and bake) and sweet potato fries. I got the fry recipe from the Biggest Loser cookbook (snagged a few recipes before giving it to Sara:). I have sweet potatoes in the freezer that I’ve already cut in fry shape and partially boiled. So the fries are super easy. Last night we had hobo dinners. Most people probably already know how to make them, but we never had them growing up. So I’ll post the “recipe” anyway. We always make these when we go camping, but I like to make them at home once in a while too (especially since we didn’t go camping this year). They are great for prep ahead meals. Then just toss them into the oven about an hour before you want to eat.

Parmesan Pepper Sweet Potato Fries

1/2 lb. sweet potatoes, cut in 1/4″ thick sticks
1 Tbsp. grated parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp. EVOO
1/8 tsp. garlic powder
1/8 tsp. paprika
pinch of cayenne, salt and pepper

Heat oven to 450. In medium bowl toss all ingredients. Place in single layer on non-stick baking sheet (I always spray mine). Bake 8 min. Flip potatoes. Bake 10-12 min. more, until tender and browned.

*I use pre-cooked potatoes so that I’m just crisping them in the oven and don’t have to worry about them getting cooked all the way through. I usually bake mine for about 30 min.

Hobo Dinners

ground beef
potatoes, sliced
carrots, sliced
onion, sliced
salt
pepper

You can use whatever quantity you like of all the ingredients for each hobo dinner (1 per person). Form a patty with the beef. Lay it on a piece of tinfoil. Add layers of potatoes, carrots and onion. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Make a foil packet around the food. Bake for about 1 hour at 375-400. This is kind of the traditional hobo dinner. But you can really put anything you want in it. I’ve used ground turkey and chicken chunks before. And I usually add more veggies to mine…whatever I have on hand. It’s nice to be able to make each dinner the way each person likes it. Serve it with lots of ketchup 🙂

*To make them over a camp fire use heavy duty tinfoil and use 2 layers. Place the packets into the fire. Cook for 30 min., flipping after 15 min.

Pesto Pork and Hot Taco Rice

Yesterday we had sun-dried tomato pesto stuffed pork. It was something I had in the freezer, so I didn’t make it from scratch yesterday. But I figured I’d still post the recipe. It’s a Robin Miller recipe. Tonight we’re having hot taco rice. I got the recipe from my mom. Can’t remember where she got it, maybe a minute rice box. Very easy and yummy.

Sun-dried Tomato Pesto Stuffed Pork

2 1/2 lb. pork tenderloin
1 cup sun-dried tomato pesto
salt and pepper
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp. honey mustard
2 Tbsp. chopped, fresh thyme

Heat oven to 400. Spray shallow roasting pan with cooking spray. Cut pork lengthwise (open like a book) 3/4 through. Place in pan and spread pesto in middle. Fold pork back. Close seam with a metal or wooden skewer. Season with salt and pepper. Combine vinegar, honey mustard and thyme. Spoon over pork. Roast 1 – 2 hours (until internal temp is 155). Let rest 10 min.

Hot Taco Rice

1 lb. ground beef
1 1/2 cups salsa (however hot or mild you like)
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 can (8 oz.) tomato sauce
1 1/2 cups rice

Garnishes: chopped tomatoes, sour cream, shredded cheese, avocado, salsa, olives, peppers, onions, tortilla chips (anything you would put on nachos or tacos)

Brown beef in skillet (sometimes I cook peppers and onions with it to add in some extra veggies). Drain. Add salsa, tomato sauce and broth. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer about 10 min. Prepare rice (be sure to soak the rice in advance if using brown rice). Serve the beef mixture on top of rice. Top with garnishes. Scoop and eat with tortilla chips.

Meatloaf and Spaghetti Sauce

Yesterday was fairly productive. I made another batch of granola in the morning. Later in the day I baked cookies, made meatloaf for dinner and made and canned a batch of spaghetti sauce. I made more sauce than I could can in one batch. The extra will probably go in the freezer. And I still have enough tomatoes for 3 more batches…or to make something else. I just got those in the freezer to help keep them longer. The spaghetti sauce recipe is from Justin’s mom. So yummy. I like to have lots of that on hand. The meatloaf recipe is from my mom. I made rosemary red skin potatoes and roasted veggies with the meatloaf…almost all stuff from our garden. I don’t think I’ll have time for any more canning this week. Hopefully next week I can do more with the tomatoes.

 
Meatloaf
1 1/2 lb. ground beef
3/4 cup oatmeal
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 egg, slightly beaten
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup diced onion
 
1/3 cup ketchup
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 Tbsp. mustard
Mix beef, oatmeal, salt, pepper, egg, milk and onion. Put in large loaf pan. Mix ketchup, brown sugar and mustard. Put on top of meatloaf. Bake at 350 for 1 – 1 1/2 hours.

Spaghetti Sauce
Makes 5-7 pints
1 green pepper, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1 1/2 tsp. minced garlic (a/b 3 cloves)
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil or coconut oil
I sometimes add other veggies, like zucchini
12 large tomatoes, peeled and chopped
1/2 cup water
2 tsp. basil
2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. garlic salt
1/2 tsp. oregano
1 can (12 oz.) tomato paste
1/2 cup brown cane sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. cloves
Saute pepper, onion, garlic and oil (and any other veggies you like). Stir in tomatoes and cook 5 min. Add remaining ingredients. Simmer until desired consistency (1 hour – 3 hours). Can in boiling bath for 35 min.

Pizza Bugers

Last night was another Voogt family favorite – pizza burgers. Not really sure why they are called burgers. It’s a recipe from Justin’s mom, something he grew up eating. There are two recipes, but I kind of combined them into one last night to use the ingredients I had on hand. I’ll post both recipes.

Hamburger Pizza Burgers

1 lb. hamburger
1 can tomato soup
1/4 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
1 loaf french bread, sliced

Brown hamburger. Drain. Add rest of ingredients except cheese. Heat until bubbling. Add cheese. Put spoonful on each slice of french bread. Broil 3-5 min.

Pepperoni Pizza Burgers

1 lb. hamburger
spaghetti sauce (or pizza sauce)
oregano
pepperoni
mozzarella cheese
1 loaf french bread, sliced

Brown hamburger. Drain. Top each slice of bread with spaghetti sauce. Sprinkle with oregano. Lay pepperoni on each slice. Put hamburger on top. Top with mozzarella cheese. Broil 2-3 min.

Last night I made the burger/tomato soup/cheese mixture and put that on french bread in addition to pepperoni. I only made a half recipe (1/2 loaf of bread…a/b 9 burgers). There are a few left over for another meal for Justin this week. And there is enough casserole for another meal. So my plans have changed a bit. Mostly just odds and ends or salad for me. I’ll still do chili tomorrow.

Hamburger Corn Bake

Last night I made an old favorite (of Justin’s). It’s a recipe from Justin’s mom. They grew up calling it 2nd favorite casserole (I’ll have to post favorite casserole the next time I make that:). I prepped it before breakfast yesterday and then it was ready to put in the oven in the evening. I forgot to take a picture until after dinner and after I had taken some out for Justin’s lunch.

Hamburger Corn Bake
1 lb. hamburger (I only use 1/2 lb. and it seems like plenty)
chopped onion (however much you like)
1 pkg. corn, cooked (I just throw it in frozen and it thaws quickly and cooks when it bakes)
1/2 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 can cheddar cheese soup (I replace all of the soups with homemade cheese sauce or white sauce)
2 Tbsp. chopped pimento (I’ve never added this)
1 1/2 cups medium egg noodles (I add anywhere from 1 1/2 – 2 1/2 cups, depending on how much I want to make)
1/2 cup bread chunks (just rip up a slice of bread)
1 Tbsp. butter, melted
Salt and pepper to taste if you like
Cook noodles and corn. Brown meat with onion. Drain. Stir in corn, soups and pimento. Mix well. Stir in noodles and seasoning. Put in 2 qt. casserole dish. Mix bread and butter. Sprinkle on top. Bake at 350 for 45 min. – 1 hr., until hot and bubbly (I usually bake it with the casserole lid on for about 3/4 of the baking time and then remove it at the end to let the bread crisp up a bit).