How would you feel if I told you it won't be you? That's right, dear reader....instead of cooking you'll be supervising your little chefs (and possibly enjoying a glass of wine too!) while your children - ages 8 or older - will be whipping up a healthy, delicious and easy family dinner in less than 40 minutes. I know, I know...it just sounds to good to be true, but I promise you that with very little effort on your part, this can, and hopefully will, happen often.
You see, we have a new weekly feature here on Mixing Bowl Kids - each week I will post a recipe and pictures of a meal cooked for our family by my seven and eight year old sons. This is new for us as well and I'm so excited about this new routine we are hoping to accomplish. My plan is to print off a recipe, lay out the ingredients and tools needed and hope their creative culinary juices begin to flow. I think you would agree by the above photo, that our first attempt at this was incredibly successful.
Please do try this...your children will feel so proud of what they've accomplished and you will enjoy a healthy meal as a family that you didn't have to cook.
Pesto Potatoes, Salmon and Green Beans
2 lbs baby new red potatoes
1/2 cup of pesto
2 tbsp olive oil
4 pieces of salmon
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp garlic
1/4 tsp salt
1 lb of green beans
1 tbsp butter
~ Preheat oven to 450 degrees
~ Toss the potatoes in a large bowl with the pesto and olive oil
~ Spread the potatoes on a baking sheet. Put into oven (on the bottom rack) and set timer for 35
minutes.
~ Mix together maple syrup, soy sauce, garlic and salt. Pour into a large zip-lock bag. Add the salmon, toss around and put in the fridge for 15 minutes (set a timer for this)
~ When timer rings, set salmon on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Place into oven on the
top rack and cook with potatoes until the first timer goes off.
~ Meanwhile, fill a pot with water. Bring to a boil and add green beans. Cook for approx. 4 minutes.
Drain beans, return to pot and toss with butter. Place the pot on the turned-off burner to keep warm.
~ Take the potatoes and salmon out of the oven (make sure to use oven mitts)
~ Turn off the oven
~ Put one piece of salmon, a few potatoes and some beans on each plate. Serve to your family.
Tips: These were the exact instructions I gave to my children. I had left out the list of ingredients and tools required, on the counter, and my eldest son read the recipe/instructions while my younger son did most of the mixing and tossing. I helped to remove the pans from the oven and drain the beans as the pot with the hot boiling water was too heavy for the boys to carry.
Comments