Cooking with little kids

[NuffSaidSam]

What are your go to recipes for cooking with little kids (2yo and a 5yo), something they can help prepare/cook and they'll then eat?

I've run out of ideas.

Simple savoury muffins with grated cheese.

Carrot and apple salad made with grated carrot and apple, tossed with lemon juice and honey.

Dinner.

Like every dinner. Find the smaller jobs within the meal to do.

It may be correlation but DD at 12 is a gourmet girl who cooks excellently.

Pizzas - can use English muffins or bread as a base. Let them spread the tomato purée on and have things (peppers, toms, tuna, sweetcorn, cheese etc) ready chopped for them to add. Make smiley faces out of veg.

Scrambled eggs or omelette. (Can help with the mixing)

Pitta bread pizzas... adding own toppings

Making chicken nuggets... dipping the chicken in the flour, egg and breadcrumbs (then baking in the oven)

Pasties and veg fritters fun to do, and pancakes and waffles.

For a normal dinner, let them chop the easier things - I got little child friendly knives and they cut up mushrooms for a stir fry, or tofu, or peppers (once I've taken out the core part), or lettuce...things that are too hard and left to me include carrots, potatoes, swede, cauliflower and the like. They also get the job of pouring ingredients (e.g. tinned tomatoes) into the pot and mixing it in, or helping to measure a teaspoon of herbs or spices.

My 2 year old comes in from nursery several days a week shouting instructions for 'egg! TWO eggs! Cheese! Herb! OMELETTE' which he'll then 'mix mix mix and sprinkle', so there may be some appeal there?!!

(Please excuse the direct quotes, it's one of my favourite things he's doing at the moment so I'm indulging myself!)

Pizza they can add their own toppings. My DC like to assemble their own wraps, so I maje up a plate of fillings, chicken, salad, grated cheese, corn etc.

Anything they can help mix. Pancakes, omelette. Quiche is good as it can be prepped safely then put in the oven. Ds did the oven dinner the other night (chicken goujons, oven chips) he gor the food from the freezer, put the oven on, good on baking tray and into the oven, not a massive deal I know but he was very pressed with himself (he's 7)

Op buy yourself a Dorling Kindersley illustrated step-by-step children’s illustrated cook book or two. They are absolutely brilliant! Beautifully photographed and the recipes are for proper dishes covering a variety of simple and fun cooking techniques. And it’s all really well explained so dc can follow them easily. I don’t work for the publisher I promise but highly recommend!

what MrsTerryPratchett said.

I'm a Granny. My gorgeous granddaughter always wants to help. Sometimes it's easier to do it myself. But she wants to help.
The thing is, if I put my mind to it she can help.

She can weigh stuff. She can set tables. She can mix, she can stir.

Just involve them

Does anyone else hate cooking with small children?! 🙈 just me??? My daughter (3) loves it but only ever wants to make cakes and biscuits which I don’t love her eating loads of. And I just find it so messy and she won’t stop licking her fingers. I have let her help make savoury stuff thinking it will encourage her to eat it but it doesn’t seem to work 🙁 she’s a fairly fussy eater anyway.

sorry, derailed your thread a bit OP! Will have to try some of the suggestions on here!

I was going to say this 😂Although I hate cooking at the best of times anyway and rarely cook, DP is the chef in our house and he does not have the patience to cook with a three year old.

Granny does all the cooking with our child, she has the time and patience retirement and knowing she can hand him back brings.

Thanks everyone, some great suggestions.

They do already help with chopping and measuring etc., but it's so time consuming and messy and often dinner just needs to be done so I'm looking for some meals that they can take ownership of and we can cook as an activity once/twice a week. Then I won't feel too bad about telling them they can't 'help' the rest of the time!

I'll get the children's cook book, thanks for that @Corblimeytrousers728

Chicken nuggets are definitely going on the menu, I reckon they can do all of that between them and it's something they'll probably both eat!

Fajitas. Everything on the table and they build their own fajita.