Beginner Recipes for Your Junior Chefs

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The following recipes for your junior chefs will challenge their creativity and allow them to achieve their culinary fantasies. 

While hectic weeknight schedules might make it challenging to embrace cooking with your kids on Monday through Friday, lazy weekends — especially in the summer — are often an ideal time to let little ones try their hands in the kitchen. This article will introduce your young chefs to a series of must-try bites that kids of all ages would be eager to assemble and enjoy. Read below to find savory and sweet picks to experiment with your little ones at home.

In The Kitchen With Your Little Chefs

It is no secret that your little ones have a penchant for chicken fingers, and this recipe for Parmigiano and Herb Chicken Breast Tenders dresses up the kid-approved classic in a flash. Ready to eat in only thirty-five minutes, this chicken dinner features chicken breasts dunked in a mixture of crunchy panko breadcrumbs and nutty Parmesan cheese, which helps achieve a crispy coating on the outside. Round the plate with spaghetti and tomato-garlic sauce to complete the meal.

How To:

Preheat your very own oven to 350 degrees F. Place a nonstick cookie sheet in the oven with a tin foil liner.

Heat 1/2-inch oil in a large nonstick skillet or frying pan over medium-high heat.

Season chicken tenders with salt and pepper. Wash hands. Place flour in a shallow dish. Beat eggs with water in a second dish alongside the flour. In a third dish, combine the breading ingredients. Coat chicken tenders in flour, egg, bread, and cheese mixture. Ask for plastic gloves at the butcher counter to keep your hands clean. Use disposable tin pie tins for the flour, egg, and bread crumbs to ease your cleanup.

Cook chicken until golden brown on each side, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a cookie sheet in your preheated oven and finish the dish for another 5 minutes of cooking time. Cook chicken 5 or 6 tenders in a single layer, adding additional oil if necessary. If the chicken begins to brown too fast, lower the heat slightly. Serve chicken hot or cold with a green salad or a Parmigiano.

Simple Tomato Sauce for Chicken Parmigiano: Set water to boil for pasta and prepare as per package directions for al dente. Before coating the chicken, add oil, onions, and garlic to a saucepan to cook on medium-low heat. Stir occasionally for 10 minutes while you are working on the chicken. Add two small cans of tomatoes and a cup of chicken broth and bring sauce to a bubble. Minimize heat to a simmer until ready to serve. Stir in torn basil and season sauce with salt to your taste.

Place a little sauce on the chicken tenders, and top with the shredded provolone and Parmigiano in the oven or broiler to melt the cheese and then serve. Coat the hot, cooked pasta lightly with sauce, then do. Enjoy!

If you do want to content a sweet tooth, try making the Craisy Oatmeal Cookies, an easy-to-make dessert that does not require you to roll out or shape the dough. Form the coconut-studded oat-and-dried-cranberry mixture into balls, and bake them for mere minutes. For more simple and fun recipes to try with your kids, check out Basic 101 Easy Recipes for Young Chefs.

How To:

Preheat your oven to three hundred fifty (350) degrees F, then sift flour, soda, powder, cinnamon, and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.

In a big bowl, sugar and cream butter with a mixer. Mix in honey and vanilla until fluffy. Put on your egg(s) one at a time until completely incorporated — mix in coconut, dried cranberries, oats, and rosemary. Fold dry ingredients into the butter mixture. Using a medium ice cream scoop (approximately two Tablespoons) form into balls, approximately two tablespoons, then place 2 inches apart on parchment-lined cookie sheets. Bake until cookies turn golden, 13 to 15 minutes. Remove from oven to cooling rack. In a pan, let sit for 5 minutes prior to transferring to a rack to fully cool. 

Looking For Something Else? A Taste of Home on Generation of Good Food by Eleanor Gacetta will raise your interest whether you are a novice in the kitchen, a self-taught home cook, or a professionally trained cook. This cookbook is a compilation of nearly 200 recipes, including main dishes, bread, cakes, pies, cookies, and candy. Would you like to cook pasta dishes, bake sweet Easter bread, a Chiffon cake, lemon ricotta cookies, or make Tiger butter fudge? These and many more recipes are included. Just glancing through the table of contents will surely give you the urge to cook, bake and eat.