Dinner Recipes For Kids

Get your kids eating AND cooking healthy with these fun dinner recipes for kids!

Bow ties with spring veggies and bacon

April 29, 2013 by Alex aka Ma, What's For Dinner 15 Comments

Happy Spring!

Aren’t you glad it’s springtime?

Though we’ve had a mild winter…

And it’s a bit chillier here than it’s been all winter…

So I’m pretending it’s spring.

And this will make you feel like spring…

A delicious and quick pasta that the kids will adore!

Mom and Dad too!

Feel free to add grilled chicken or shrimp to make it a heartier dish.

Bow ties with spring veggies & pancetta

WHAT YOU NEED:

1 box bow tie pasta

4 slices thick cut bacon, chopped

1 1/4 pounds asparagus, trimmed, cut on diagonal into 1-inch pieces

1 scallions, thinly sliced

8 ounces crimini mushrooms

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

1/3 cup heavy cream

3 T extra virgin olive oil

juice of 1/2 lemon

1 T lemon zest

1/4 cup italian parsley, chopped

1/4 cup basil, torn

WHAT TO DO:

Heat a large pasta pot over high heat. When boiling add salt and cook pasta until al dente. Drain, but reserve 1 cup pasta cooking liquid. Return pasta to pot.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet cook bacon over medium heat until crispy. Using slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper towels to drain. Set aside.

Pour off all but 1 teaspoon drippings from skillet. Add mushrooms to the drippings. Cook for 3 minutes. Add asparagus, scallions, and garlic to the mushrooms in skillet and cook for 3 more minutes minutes. Remove from heat.

Add veggies, 1/2 cup pasta cooking liquid, 1/2 cup Parmesan, cream, olive oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, parsley, basil, and S&P to pasta.

Mix well. Add more pasta water if necessary. Sprinkle with bacon and more cheese if desired.

Tasty Tidbit – Kids not asparagus fans? Try this dish with frozen peas!

Pork Pops with peanut dipping sauce

April 22, 2013 by Alex aka Ma, What's For Dinner 15 Comments

Spring Fling continues with this fun dinner!

Everyone loves food on a stick!

These pork pops are sure to have your kids begging for more!

WHAT YOU NEED:

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/2 cup rice wine vinegar

2 T toasted sesame oil

2 T honey

1/4 cup orange juice

2 T dijon mustard

1 t grated ginger

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 t lemon pepper

3 scallions, chopped

1 pound pork tenderloin

1/2 cup peanut butter

WHAT TO DO:

Combine the first 10 ingredients in a bowl and mix well to incorporate the marinade. Place half the mixture in a large ziploc bag. Reserve other half of marinade.

Place the pork tenderloin in the ziploc bag and let the meat marinate at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Preheat your oven to 375 and heat up a grill pan on your stove top. After the pork is marinated, place on a hot grill pan and sear each side of the tenderloin. Transfer the pork to the preheated oven and bake for 35 minutes or until a thermometer reaches 155 degrees.

Remove pork and let it sit for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile make your dipping sauce by using the marinade you set aside and mixing it with the peanut butter. Mix until smooth.

Slice pork into 1 inch slices, then thread onto a kabob skewer.

Serve with peanut sauce, rice and grilled asparagus.

Filed Under: Dinner Recipes For Kids, Featured, Healthy Recipes For Kids, Kid Favorite Recipes Tagged With: food on a stick, fun with food, peanut butter, pork, pork tenderloin, spring recipes

Creamy Chicken Noodle Casserole

April 17, 2013 by Alex aka Ma, What's For Dinner 11 Comments

Surfing around bloggie land a couple weeks back and I happened upon a chicken noodle casserole dish on my girl Anne’s Annie Bakes. It looked so good I knew I had to grab the boys and throw together a version.

If you’ve been following along then you all know how I have recipe OCD so we switched things up a bit, but Anne is the inspiration behind this one…

Thanks Anne!

WHAT YOU NEED:

1/2 T olive oil

1 onion diced

1/2 pound cubed bacon slab

1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts

3 cups water

2 cubes beef bouillon

1/2 cup white wine

1 spring thyme

1 package cooked ziti

1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup, undiluted

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup grated Asiago cheese

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/3 cup dry sherry

S&P
1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

2 T melted butter

WHAT TO DO:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Spray 2-quart casserole with nonstick cooking spray.

In a medium saucepan heat olive oil and bacon until bacon is crispy. Add in onions and cook for about 7-9 minutes, until onions are soft. Set aside to cool while your chicken cooks.

Place chicken, water, wine, thyme and bouillon cubes in large saucepan over medium high heat.

Cook 20 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink in center. Drain liquid and discard; cut chicken into cubes.

Combine cooked ziti and chicken in prepared casserole dish.

Combine soup, sour cream, Asiago cheese, mayonnaise, sherry, onion, bacon, and S&P in medium bowl: mix well.

Pour over pasta and chicken; toss lightly.

Toss Panko, Parmesan cheese and butter in small bowl. Sprinkle over casserole. Bake 30 to 45 minutes or until top is golden brown.

Serve with crusty bread and a big ol’ salad and everyone is happy!

Filed Under: Dinner Recipes For Kids, Featured, Kid Favorite Recipes Tagged With: asagio cheese, bacon, casseroles, chicken, cooking with kids, cream of mushroom, feel good food, kid favorite recipes, olive oil, pasta, picky eaters, quick dinner, slab bacon, sour cream, weeknight dinner

St. Patty’s Day – Corned Beef and Cabbage

March 15, 2013 by Alex aka Ma, What's For Dinner 12 Comments

It’s St. Patty’s Day!

What’s better than Corned Beef and Cabbage on St. Patrick’s Day?

When it’s waiting for you after the parades…

This Crock Pot version is easy and delicious!

Crock Pot Corned Beef and Cabbage

Serves: 6 Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook Time: 8 hours

WHAT YOU NEED:

1 3-4 pound corned beef brisket (with seasoning packet)

1 lb potato cut into bite sized pieces

1 bag baby carrots

2 onions quartered

1 bulb fennel, sliced

2 garlic cloves

1 can beef broth

3 T apple cider vinegar

2 T brown sugar

2 T soy sauce

2 garlic cloves minced

S&P

1 head cabbage cut into 6 wedges

WHAT TO DO:

Toss potatoes, carrots, onions, fennel and 2 whole garlic cloves into the bottom of a slow cooker.

In a large measuring cup combine beef broth, spice packet from the corned beef brisket, cider vinegar, soy sauce, brown sugar, minced garlic, S&P and stir to combine.

Place the brisket, fat side up) on top of vegetables in slow cooker. Lay wedges of cabbage around brisket. Pour beef broth mixture over corned beef and cabbage.

Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.

Remove corned beef from slow cooker and slice thin on an angle.

Serve on a platter along with veggies and potatoes.

Filed Under: Crock Pot Recipes For Kids, Dinner Recipes For Kids, Featured, Holidays, Kid Favorite Recipes Tagged With: cabbage, carrots, corned beef, Fennel, Fitzpatricks Day, holidays, Potatoes, St. Patricks Day, St. Patty's

St. Patty’s Day – Potatoes Fitzpatrick

March 11, 2013 by Alex aka Ma, What's For Dinner 9 Comments

Being Fitzpatricks and all…

You know I had to come up with a good potato dish to celebrate the big day…

This one is it!

It’s got everything you need for the perfect St. Patty’s day meal.

If for some strange reason you have leftovers…

Reheat them in a pan the next morning with some corned beef and some eggs…

Sure to make you feel better…

If you had a wee bit too much Guinness!

WHAT YOU NEED:

2 T butter, divided

1 T olive oil

1 onion, sliced

S&P

1/2 head of cabbage, sliced

1 clove garlic, chopped

1 T apple cider vinegar

WHAT TO DO:

In a large skillet heat olive oil and butter over medium high heat.

Add in onions, season with S&P and allow to cook until soft, about 5-6 minutes.

Toss in your cabbage and garlic and cook until cabbage wilts down, another 6-7 minutes. Remove from pan.

Toss in another tablespoon of butter and lay in your potatoes in an even layer along the bottom of pan, don’t touch them, let them crisp up a bit.

Once they’ve browned add the cabbage and onion back in and stir to combine.

Let the mixture brown a bit more then deglaze with cider vinegar and season with S&P to taste.

Delish!!!

This ain’t your nana’s cabbage!

Filed Under: Dinner Recipes For Kids, Featured, Healthy Side Dish Recipes For Kids, Holidays, Kid Favorite Recipes Tagged With: cabbage, holidays, Potatoes, St. Patricks Day, st. patty's day

Grillin’ & Chillin’ Week – Cedar Plank Salmon with Jack Daniels Sauce

June 28, 2012 by Alex aka Ma, What's For Dinner 11 Comments

Happy August!!!

It’s hot hot hot.

Great time to get out on the back porch and fire up the ol’ grill.

And cool down in the sweltering summertime.

So we’re paying homage during

Grillin’ & Chillin’ Week

First up.

One of our faves…

Cedar Plank Grilled Salmon with a Jack Daniels Tennessee Whiskey sauce.

Oh yeah…it’s good!

WHAT YOU NEED:

1 large cedar grilling plank

1 large wild caught salmon fillet

olive oil

S&P

1/2 T extra virgin olive oil

1/2 sweet onion, chopped

1 jalapeno seeded and chopped

1 cup mango chutney

1/2 cup Jack Daniels Tennessee Whiskey

3 T whole grain mustard

WHAT TO DO:

Fill your sink with water and soak your cedar plank for at least 3o minutes.

Preheat your grill to medium high.

Season your salmon with olive oil and sprinkle with S&P.

In a small saucepan heat olive oil over medium high heat. Toss your onions into the pan and allow to sweat for a few minutes. Add in your jalapeno and allow to cook for 4 minutes. Season veggies with S&P.

When the veggies are soft, deglaze with Jack Daniels. Scrape up all the good browned bit on the bottom of the pan. Stir in mango chutney and mustard. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer until your salmon is ready.

When your grill is hot, place salmon, skin side down, on the cedar plank. Place plank on the hot grill and shut the grill cover.

Grill until cooked through, about 12 minutes.

Top with Jack Daniels sauce.

Filed Under: Dinner Recipes For Kids, Featured, Healthy Recipes For Kids, Kid Favorite Recipes Tagged With: buy local, eat local fish, eat more fish, fish, fish dishes, grilling, jack daniels, salmon, summertime recipes, whiskey

Dinner Recipes For Kids

Bow ties with spring veggies and bacon

Pork Pops with peanut dipping sauce

Creamy Chicken Noodle Casserole

St. Patty’s Day – Corned Beef and Cabbage

St. Patty’s Day – Potatoes Fitzpatrick

Grillin’ & Chillin’ Week – Cedar Plank Salmon with Jack Daniels Sauce

Featured Cooking With Kids Videos

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Dinner Recipes For Kids

Bow ties with spring veggies and bacon

Pork Pops with peanut dipping sauce

Creamy Chicken Noodle Casserole

St. Patty’s Day – Corned Beef and Cabbage

St. Patty’s Day – Potatoes Fitzpatrick

Grillin’ & Chillin’ Week – Cedar Plank Salmon with Jack Daniels Sauce

Featured Cooking With Kids Videos

Join Our Mailing List

Find us on Facebook

Connect With Ma

Find A Local Farmer’s Market

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