Fun-Time Recipes:
Chef For A Day With
Fun and Games

Handing the kids a stack of fun-time recipes and letting them loose in the kitchen has got to be one of the most enjoyable fun and games learning lessons that most kids can imagine.

Most kids seem to have the inherent trait of imagination and creativity. Let them have a stack of seemingly junk to an adult and the kids will come up with a treasure. The same type of magic gets pulled off repeatedly from the kitchen also just by using the right fun-time recipes.

Below is some suggestions for some recipes that with minor supervision, these fun-time recipes can give Mom a break but the kids will have a blast.

Letting the kids loose, or just to help in the kitchen, has the advantages also children generally grow up with healthier eating habits (they learn what to do with all of that stuff). It is a whole lot more fun eating Carrot Coins the kids made too than Mom's boiled carrots (which might be the exact same thing but somehow they are more special with the fancy name and the kid's preparation method). Preparing foods in interesting shapes and adding new toppings also can turn the ho-hum into fantastic from the kid's point-of-view.

Remember though, not all of these recipes are suitable for every allergen. Pick and choose the one(s) that can work in your circumstances.

• Scents of Christmas
  Not edibles- christmas decorations use only!

Ingredients

• 1 cup ground cinnamon
• 3/4 cup applesauce
• 1 tsp. ground cloves (optional)
• 1 tsp. nutmeg (optional)
• Box of rolled wax paper
• 1 plastic drinking straw
• Asst. craft supplies i.e. yarn ribbons, craft paints, string, small candies, buttons etc.

Mix together the first two (or four) ingredients until you have a soft dough with a fork. Sprinkle a sheet of waxed paper with extra cinnamon and knead the dough on this surface until it is pliable and easy to work.

Sprinkle paper again with cinnamon and roll out dough until about 1/4 inch thick. Add more cinnamon as needed to the dough to prevent tears as rolling.

Cut into shapes with a table knife or use cookie cutters. Poke a hole into the top of each ornament about 1/2 inch down (for hanging hole).

To dry, bake in a 200 degree oven for 2 1/2 hours. Transfer to a cooling rack with a spatula. Cool to room temperature.

Once dry and cooled, use your craft supplies to decorate as desired. Add a hanging string with ribbon, yarn, string, fishing line etc..

• Pool Side Pasta Salad
  Serves 6
  

Ingredients

• 10 oz tube pasta, cooked and drained
• 4 Kirby cucumbers (pickling variety)
• 3 cups seeded 1" watermelon balls
• zest from the outer skin of one lemon
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• 2 T fresh parsley (or chopped mint if desired)
• 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese (optional)
• Dressing
  1. 3T fresh squeezed lemon juice
  2. 3/4 cup extra virgin light olive oil
  3. 1 tsp. sea salt
  4. 1 tsp. sugar

Combine the dressing ingredients and allow to sit and rest while preparing the salad.

Slice the cucumbers into 1/4" rings. Take a carrot peeler and push into the center and twist, pushing the entire center out (Looks like a pool ring when finished).

Combine the tube pasta (life rafts), watermelon balls (beach balls) and cucumbers (life preservers) in a large bowl and mix gently. Sprinkle the lemon zest and garlic clove over the top.

Drizzle the salad dressing over the top and stir again gently. Sprinkle with chopped parsley.

At serving,sprinkle with feta cheese if desired.

• Macaroni Crusted Pizza
  Makes 8 servings

Ingredients

• 8 oz macaroni pre-cooked (or use spaghetti if you desire)
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 egg, beaten by hand
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1 jar, (cap removed) spaghetti sauce
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• Assorted toppings such as pepperoni rings, cooked and crumbled ground beef, sausage or bacon bits or diced green peppers, mushrooms, diced onion or any of your favorites.

In a medium bowl blend the milk, beaten egg and S&P. Add the pasta and stir well, coating all the pasta. Spread evenly on a well-greased round pizza pan. Top with sauce, spreading well to edges and sprinkle with cheese. Add toppings of your choice. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven approximately 40 minutes. Remove the pizza and let rest on oven proof mat for 5 minutes before cutting.

• Cherry Tomato Lollipops
  Makes 8 servings

Ingredients

• 4 pieces skim-milk string cheese
• 8 ripe cherry tomatoes
• ranch dressing, italian dressing or homemade dressing safe for your allergens

Slice each piece of cheese in half lengthwise from tip to tip.Cut a small hole in the top of each tomato with a paring knife** and squeeze out about a teaspoon of liquid and seeds. Push the cheese end into the tomato hole to finish your lollipop. Serve with your favorite salad dressing.

• Stars & Stripes Berries

This easy dessert idea could even be used for a going away - coming home party for a serviceman or woman enlisted in the military.

Ingredients

• 1 lb bag of white chocolate melting wafers
• 1 container (or more per desires) fresh, beautiful strawberries
• 1 container blue sanding sugar, gourmet sugar, edible glitter or blue nonpareils

Melt the chocolate in a microwave safe bowl until ready. Dip each strawberry, one at a time half way in white chocolate and then transfer to wax paper to set up. Work in groups of 6 to 8 berries at a time.

Before the chocolate is completely set up on berry, push the berry straight down into blue sugars (sprinkles) and cover approximately 1/2 of the white chocolate. Pull it back out and return to wax paper to finish setting up.

When you are finished you have a beautiful red/white and blue strawberry.

• Allergy Safe Chocolate Treats

Purchase some allergen free chocolate safe for your guests or family members, place it in a small plastic bowl (a Cool Whip container works great) and then place this in your microwave oven on high for 45 seconds. Take it out, stir the whole contents very good and return to the microwave. Now heat for 30 seconds at 50% power and remove it and stir again. Keep heating at 30 second intervals at 50% power, remove and stir repeatedly until all of your chocolate is melted and warm. Your chocolate is now ready for dipping!

As the chocolate cools while you are dipping, return it to the microwave for one or two more 30 second (50% power) intervals to keep it warm and easier to use.

Choose any kind of foods which sounds good to your imagination, dip it, let it drain slightly and then place on a wax paper lined cookie sheet until set up. Some suggestions for dipping could be:

• candy, cookies, chips or pretzels
• cooked and cooled bacon strips
• drained and paper towel dried whole dill pickles
• fruit slices (cut up bananas -especially good when frozen, strawberries, apple slices or anything of your choice)
• store-bought caramels, orange slices, jelly slices etc.

Actually as you can see, pick and choose anything which sounds exciting or interesting to you and Dip It! If you want to get creative, add a popsicle stick (to the bananas) or decorate each of your dipped selections with nuts, seeds, sprinkles etc. before the chocolate completely sets up.

The best part of this recipe, you can control the sugars, fats and carbohydrates just by being careful what you and your kids food choices are.

• Party Cake With A Theme

We use this idea many times here at my store during the year. It can be changed by whatever the theme of your event happens to be for your party.

Bake a double layer, or pick it up at the store, square (or round) cake mix and cover with the icing of choice, trying to match the theme of your event. Some examples are:

• seashore party = blue waves so blue icing swirled and with many "wave" tips

• princess party = pale pink icing

• summer garden party = chocolate icing to make a dirt cake or green icing to make a lawn, golf course, yard party with a small swimming pool (outline a small area with candy-coated rocks and then put blue icing in the middle)

Your imagination is the limit for decorations then. Take the kids shopping with you and let them pick out there favorites as long as it fits the theme of the party. With the examples above, you could use some of the following:

• seashore party works well with tiny umbrellas from cocktail drinks, gummi fish, turtles or sharks. Make some beach furniture with candy shaped rectangles (candy blox work great), lay a longer rectangle on the cake and a shorter one standing up stuck in the icing at an angle. Add a couple of people, some life preservers (peach rings) and anything else you can find at your local store. To make the wave pattern on the sides of the cake instead of just icing, add some rippled fruit roll-ups or sour belts if desired. Or you could just easily stick some gummi's on it, making them look like they are jumping out of the "water". Add a "stone" border (chocolate rocks or candy-coated sunflower seeds) around the bottom edge of the icing for the shoreline.

• a princess party can easily be staged with many of the types of candy jewelry now on the market. Add some candy flowers, a few butterflies etc., try to stay in pale pastel colors like pink and lavender and your children will have a ball putting together a themed cake for their younger sister.

• an outdoor cake is also very easy whether it's for the young or old. A dirt cake can be accomplished with a pretzel fence on the sides of the cake, add crushed ores for dirt and gummi worms, bugs, and maybe some cows or pigs playing around on top in the mud.

Change up the decorations and you can get a golfer's paradise, a backyard pool party, croquette in the lawn and on and on.

• Edible Christmas Decorations

• box of whole grain crackers (less than 2g fat/serving)- preferably round crackers
• low-fat cream cheese at room temperature
• assortment of tiny raw vegetables, sliced, diced and julienned (red pepper strips, green peas, 1/2" celery stem, sliced baby carrots, diced green or yellow peppers, cucumber or radish gems - cut into little triangles etc.) use your imagination and make any assortment of tiny motifs for decorating

Top each cracker with a layer of cream cheese. Spread out to edges and level.
Add an assortment of vegetable pieces to create a pretty pattern on each piece like a christmas ball. Top with a celery "stem" (ornament hook).

• Ice Cream From A Baggie

• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/4 cup half and half
• 1 T. sugar
• 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 sandwich size Ziploc bags
• 1 pc. 1 gallon size Ziploc bag
• 2 cups crushed ice
• 1 T. coarse salt

Place one Ziploc bag inside the other so the contents will be double bagged. Pour the milk, half and half, sugar and vanilla extract into the inner bag. Close the seal on both bags tightly after pressing out all the air.

Place the double bagged ingredients into the large Ziploc bag. Add the ice and salt into the large bag surrounding the small plastic bag. Seal the large bag firmly.

Hand over the bagged ingredients to the kids now and let them start shaking. Shake, rock, roll, toss - all very gently and keep the mixture in motion for approximately 7-10 minutes until soft-serve. Open, remove the small bags, squeeze out and enjoy!

• Tropical Fruit Sorbet

• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 3 T. honey
• 1 cup frozen banana slices
• 2 cups frozen mango slices
• 1 cup frozen pineapple chunks
• 1/2 cup sweetened white coconut
• 2 T. fresh squeezed lime juice

Heat the orange juice and honey until the honey is completely dissolved. Add the coconut, lime juice, fruit and cooled OJ/honey mixture to the blender and process until smooth. Taste, adjust sweetness if desired.
Serve immediately.

• Grill Out Banana BBQ

• 1 banana per person, cut into 1/2" slices
• 1 tsp brown sugar per person
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon per person
• 1/2 T. butter per person, cut into very small pieces
• 1 pc. 12" wide aluminum foil

Bring the long edges up and place them together. Fold down to seal the edge. Fold the short ends in to seal closed.

Grill on a warm grill rack for 15-30 minutes. Place on a serving platter, open foil edges carefully (to prevent steam rising into your face).

Serve with ice cream if desired.

• Fruity Cookie Cutouts

This fun-time recipe is so easy, but so cute, everyone will be begging for more.

Starting with a whole seedless watermelon, slice the entire melon through the outer skin into 1" thick slices. Use cookie cutters to cut out shapes from the fruit itself. Frost each design with low fat yogurt and sprinkle with mini decorettes or sprinkles.

• Mini Sweet Cups
  

• 2 pcs. 4oz dixie cup
• lowfat yogurt or instant pudding
• 1/2 tsp. lemon juice
• any assortment of the following: mini chocolate chips, sliced fruits or dried fruit assortment (sliced bananas, apples, cherries, fresh peaches, strawberries, blackberries etc.), seeds or nuts

Cover the bottom of the cup with nuts or seeds. Spoon your pudding or yogurt into the cup 1/2 way up the side. Add an assortment of fillings to within 1/2" of top. Top with fresh fruit and whipped cream. Freeze or refrigerate till you are serving with spoons.

• Pineapple Crush Smoothie
  The tropical fruit pineapple is one of the few fruits which is available fresh all year round. With its anti-inflammatory properties and it's capabilities of increasing your body's absorption of protein, the pineapple is one nutritious powerhouse.

Ingredients Needed

• 1/2 cup unsweetened orange juice
• 1/2 cup unsweetened pineapple juice
• 1 cup fresh pineapple, chunked and then frozen
• 1/2 of a ripe banana, sliced and then frozen

• Make your own: Fruit and Nut Bars
  

• 1/3 cup finely ground walnuts
• 1/3 cup pitted dates
• 1/3 cup dried apples
• 1/8 tsp cinnamon

Other good flavor combinations

• dried apricots, dates and almonds
• dates, dried cherries and pecans

• "Devil"Eggs
  

Cut a thin slice off each end of a hard-boiled egg so it will sit flat on a plate on both ends. Next, cut the egg in half through the middle. Scoop out the yolk and make a standard deviled egg filling. Fill each half with filling.

Cut a red bell sweet pepper into julienne strips approximately 1" long, 2 pieces per each half egg. Stick the pepper strip down into the filling by its end, one piece on each side, curving it in to look like "devil horns".

Each of these recipes are relatively quick and easy for many age groups but the kids will have a ball still making their own concoctions for fun-time recipes.

Return to "Fun and Games" from "Fun-Time Recipes"