My children love to help me cook. But, let's face it, cooking with kids, while educational and fun, is also time-consuming. So, when I cook with my kids I try to make it a fun learning experience. I plan for it to take longer than it would with just me and it becomes a valuable time to spend with my littles.
Our favorite choice for a kid-cook meal is homemade pizza. We do the whole thing from scratch. And it's not as hard as you might think. At the end of the article I will give you the recipe and instructions.
While my kids are making pizza they are also learning chemistry, math and even self-control. First my children help me make the dough by taking turns adding ingredients. The dough needs to rise, so I plan that into our schedule. Because the kids are fascinated by the effect of yeast on dough, we observe it's size before and after rising. The recipe link below uses only whilte flour, but I use 1/2 flour and 1/2 whole wheat to add some extra fiber and nutrients.
Next, each child gets a piece of Reynold's Release nonstick foil and a dough-ball. I have found that particular foil to work the best to keep the pizzas from sticking. The kids then get to smush and pound their dough into a generally round shape. I ladle a little sauce on each pizza and they spread it around with a spoon.
My children are in the pepperoni stage of life, so that is their inevitable topping choice. They like to make faces or designs with it on their pizzas. But, for those of you who would like to avoid pepperoni I got a great idea from Rachel Ray. She made "zucchini-roni" by thinly slicing zucchini and sauteeing it in a little olive oil with some chopped garlic and red pepper flakes. It isn't pepperoni, but it is pepperoni-ish.
Next comes the cheese. I just put a mound in the middle and let them spread it around. I move the foil and pizza directly onto a cookie sheet. Then we just bake, slice and eat.
And this is a bargain too! It does cost less than buying pizza. But, also, it turns out that a homemade pizza party can be quite expensive. When I was doing research to set my prices for Kindermusik Birthday Parties, I found a company who will do exactly what I just described for a birthday party - but they charge $275!
Below are the recipes that I use. I hope that you and your family will enjoy!
Pizza dough recipe
Pizza Sauce
1 28-oz can crushed tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 Tablespoon Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
Combine all ingredients and heat through. I like to let it simmer for a while, but then it needs to cool a bit before the kids use it.
Our favorite choice for a kid-cook meal is homemade pizza. We do the whole thing from scratch. And it's not as hard as you might think. At the end of the article I will give you the recipe and instructions.
While my kids are making pizza they are also learning chemistry, math and even self-control. First my children help me make the dough by taking turns adding ingredients. The dough needs to rise, so I plan that into our schedule. Because the kids are fascinated by the effect of yeast on dough, we observe it's size before and after rising. The recipe link below uses only whilte flour, but I use 1/2 flour and 1/2 whole wheat to add some extra fiber and nutrients.
Next, each child gets a piece of Reynold's Release nonstick foil and a dough-ball. I have found that particular foil to work the best to keep the pizzas from sticking. The kids then get to smush and pound their dough into a generally round shape. I ladle a little sauce on each pizza and they spread it around with a spoon.
My children are in the pepperoni stage of life, so that is their inevitable topping choice. They like to make faces or designs with it on their pizzas. But, for those of you who would like to avoid pepperoni I got a great idea from Rachel Ray. She made "zucchini-roni" by thinly slicing zucchini and sauteeing it in a little olive oil with some chopped garlic and red pepper flakes. It isn't pepperoni, but it is pepperoni-ish.
Next comes the cheese. I just put a mound in the middle and let them spread it around. I move the foil and pizza directly onto a cookie sheet. Then we just bake, slice and eat.
And this is a bargain too! It does cost less than buying pizza. But, also, it turns out that a homemade pizza party can be quite expensive. When I was doing research to set my prices for Kindermusik Birthday Parties, I found a company who will do exactly what I just described for a birthday party - but they charge $275!
Below are the recipes that I use. I hope that you and your family will enjoy!
Pizza dough recipe
Pizza Sauce
1 28-oz can crushed tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 Tablespoon Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
Combine all ingredients and heat through. I like to let it simmer for a while, but then it needs to cool a bit before the kids use it.
1 comment:
Sounds yummy! I can't wait to try it.
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