Kids Cooking - It's Vegetable Time!

When springs comes, lots of kids like to start a garden. They rake up their patch of soil and decide which plants to grow. They think it's fun to poke holes in the ground, throw the seeds down the holes, and then cover them up. Kids are even good about watering their little seedlings. The best part, though, is picking the vegetables when they're ripe. They get to pull carrots out of the ground, dig deep for hidden potato treasure, and pluck the little cherry tomatoes off the vines.

But then what? Are they shocked because you actually want them to eat what they've grown? Here are a few ideas to get the kids cooking their veggies and eating them too.

Pizza
Let kids use their imagination when it comes to topping their pizzas. Start with a crust made from an easy recipe or a store-bought one. Next pour on the sauce; from scratch or bottled. It can be pizza sauce, barbeque sauce, alfredo sauce, or pesto sauce. They can use any type of cheese they want too. Let them pick out what they want to use, they may surprise you by branching out a little.

Here are some ingredients straight from the garden:
oregano, basil, rosemary, cilantro, garlic, green onions, asparagus tips, cooked potato hunks, red onion, broccoli tips, green and red peppers, spinach, yellow onions, and cherry tomatoes.

They can also add:
cooked chicken, cooked hamburger, pepperoni, sausage, and ham.

Pasta
Cold noodles make a great base for many different vegetables. Plus, pasta makes for some great experimentation. Try types of noodles that you don't usually buy - colored noodles, corkscrew, big shells, funny shapes. Cook the pasta up ahead of time and let it cool. Next, they'll want to make it "slippery" by adding a salad dressing. Zesty Italian and Ranch are two favorites.

Now it's time to add some veggies. They can use anything they like and anything that hopefully kind of goes together.

Possible pasta additions from the garden:
mushrooms, green onions, sweet onions, cherry tomatoes, roma tomatoes, leeks, broccoli, peas, pea pods, asparagus, garlic, cauliflower, green beans, zucchini, spinach, egg plant, chilies, and herbs.

Cheese chunks, walnut pieces, slivered almonds, and dried cranberries can make the pasta dish extra special.

If your kids don't want cold noodles, then make it hot pasta with any of the sauces you would use on the above pizza. You'll want to blanch the vegetables before you add them to the heated pasta.

Other ideas
There is something intriguing about creating a soup from scratch, so let the kids create their own by adding all kinds of different veggies. They can also use the vegetables they grew to add to hot rice or a green salad.

Since kids are more likely to eat food they've proudly grown and fixed themselves, they might be willing to eat vegetables they've turned their noses up to previously. It's worth a try and gets your kids cooking in the kitchen.