Kids Cook: Southwest Cheesy Chicken & Rice

Ok, I'm going to be honest up front and say that this is not a pretty dish. What it lacks in appearance though, it makes up for in taste. 

I mean, my pickiest child asked for 4 helpings of it. 

FOUR.

He said, "This is way better than I thought it was going to be!"

I think that was a compliment. Ha. 

Leighton had planned to assemble this in the crock pot the night before, but with all the extra responsibilities and craziness around here because of my injury, it completely slipped his (and my) mind when it came time to do it. We realized it the next morning. 

Oops, I'll have to grab something on my way home.

Nah, don't worry about it. The kids can handle it.

It is really cool having kids who can cook. Jake got the first few ingredients cooking in the crock pot before he headed outside to play with his friend, and the last few were taken care of just before we ate. 

The recipe calls for 4 cups of rice, but the typical directions for jasmine rice produces only 3 cups. I could have explained how to increase it, but for simplicity's sake, we kept it as is. You could use white, brown, or long grain rice, too. Anything would work in this. 

We garnished ours with sour cream, extra cheese, and crushed tortilla chips, but other southwest flavors would be good too, like green chilies, jalapeños, cilantro, guacamole, or a squirt of lime. 

The whole family liked this dish, and it's an easy one for the kiddos to make. Just don't wait until you sprain your ankle to have them make it for you, ha. 

Southwest Cheesy Chicken & Rice

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons homemade taco seasoning

5 boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 can (14 oz) diced tomatoes, drained

1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed

1 cup frozen corn

8 oz Velveeta cheese, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

4 cups cooked rice

Directions:

1. In a 6-quart crock pot, add chicken breasts, taco seasoning, tomatoes, black beans, and corn. Cover and cook on high for 2 hours or low for 5 hours.

2. Remove cooked chicken and cut into bit-size pieces.

3. Add Velveeta and cheddar cheeses to crock pot and cook on high for 15 minutes.

4. Stir crock pot to make sure cheeses have melted. Stir in chicken and rice. 

Recipe adapted.

Kids Cook: Spalfredo

I sprained my ankle last week. 

Not a simple sprain, mind you (because where's the fun in that?), but a grade 2 high ankle sprain. And to top it off, I also managed an eversion sprain and an injury to my shin, as well. The pain encompasses both sides of my ankle, the entire foot, and up through my leg. If you're going to do something, do it right. Right? I'm 7 days in and I still can't put any weight on it whatsoever. The healing process is going to be lengthy.

But this isn't a woe-is-me post.

Since I can't get off the couch and my family still requires food for sustenance, I knew I needed to do something. I gathered some simple meals that Leighton or the kids could throw together. No, these aren't our typical from-scratch, homemade meals. Though cooking is a passion and I love to create healthy dishes for my loves, this isn't the time for that. This is a time to keep things as easy as possible while everyone else is doing Mom's chores. This is exactly why it's so important for me to train my little ones, both to know their way around the kitchen and to know how to do chores around the house.

I picked meals for this week and then let Alyssa choose which one she wanted to prepare for Kids Cook Monday. Normally, the child has to pick the meal on his own, either by looking through cookbooks or just thinking of a favorite dish. Since I wouldn't be able to oversee the process, we went this route for now.

Alyssa chose spalfredo. 

Spalfredo? It's a pasta dish that combines spaghetti sauce with alfredo sauce. Clever name, right? We've been making this on vacation for years, because, again, it's super simple to make. I like to add ground beef and onions to it to give it more substance. You could toss in a variety of veggies to increase the healthiness of it, too, or swap the beef for chicken. It's a perfect base recipe, but still delicious as is. It's good paired with a nice garden salad, but I didn't want to give my 9-year-old too much to do on her own. 

Alyssa also made a loaf of bread in our machine to go with it, and since my mom was here helping because of my injury, she walked her through that recipe. She needed help getting the big pot of water on the stove and again to drain the boiling water. Otherwise, this dish is perfect for a child to prepare. 

It's a hit with the whole family, though Alyssa will tell you she prefers it without the parmesan cheese on top. I'm sure she'd think differently if it were freshly grated, but we're going with simple, remember?

I can't cook for my family right now, but I am so thankful my little ones have the skills they need to do it for me. I'm so proud of these kids and their abilities. 

And knowing that Mom trusts them to assume responsibility and do it well means they're pretty proud of themselves, too. 

Spalfredo

Ingredients:

1 box penne pasta

1 jar (24 oz) spaghetti sauce

1 jar (11 oz) alfredo sauce

2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded

1 cup parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. In a large pot, cook pasta until it is not quite al dente (it will finish cooking in the oven). Drain water.

2. Add spaghetti sauce, alfredo sauce, and mozzarella cheese to the pasta in the pot. Mix well and pour into a 9x13 pan.  

3. Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes, or until bubbly. 

4. Sprinkle parmesan cheese on top and bake another 5 minutes. 

Recipe slightly adapted. 

Kids Cook: Cocktail Meatballs

It's been forever since I've posted a recipe. I told Leighton I wanted to get back to posting one every Tuesday, like before (like a long, looong time ago before). That was months ago and I have yet to get back to posting recipes. 

Until today, that is.

Since the kiddos are taking turns cooking on Mondays now, I thought it would be fun to show off some of their yummy creations. Plus, it will get me back to posting recipes. It's a win-win! 

The oldest 2 kids cooked the first 2 weeks of the year and each did a fantastic job. Jake's main dish was Chinese chicken (along with rice, veggies, and buttermilk biscuits), and Alyssa made chili and cornbread. They each made a dessert, too, because when you get to pick the meal, you gotta add dessert!

This week was Zac's turn. He was a bit apprehensive to be the one in charge of the meal at only 7 years old, but got excited as soon as he started flipping through the recipes. For now, the kids are using the Gooseberry Patch 5-Ingredient Family Favorites cookbook since all the recipes are fairly easy and use 5 or fewer ingredients, making it the perfect option for them. 

Almost immediately, Zac said, "This one! I want to make this." It was a sweet & sour meatball appetizer. Why not? If other variations of meatballs can be the main dish, then by all means, so could these. I read over the ingredient list and realized that it was similar to one of my all-time favorite party foods. I grew up loving these tangy little balls and even asked my mom to make them for a Christmas get-together just a few weeks ago. Surprisingly, none of the kids had tried them that day. (I'm pretty sure they were too distracted by the chocolate fountain and all the yummy goodies they could dip in it, ha.) Zac determined that he wanted to try my beloved recipe instead of the one in the book.  

You need only 2 ingredients to make the sauce: chili sauce and grape jelly. If only you could have seen the look on the kids' faces when I told them! It seems like an odd combination, but it's so good. Most of the time I make my own meatballs, but since Zac was the cook, we used a bag of frozen, pre-made ones. You can use thawed or frozen, homemade or store-bought. No matter what, they are delicious. 

Zac did a great job making the sauce and was thrilled that you toss everything in the crockpot to thicken and coat. The hardest part was waiting for dinner! 

He also served mashed potatoes (received a lot of help with this) and roasted brussels sprouts (his absolute favorite vegetable). Dinner was delicious, but more important than that, his confidence in the kitchen multiplied. 

Yes, I loved his meatballs, but even more than that, I loved seeing the smile on his face when his older siblings told him what a great job he did. 

    

Cocktail Meatballs 

Ingredients:

12 oz. jar chili sauce

16 oz. jar grape jelly

2 lbs. meatballs, cooked

Directions:

Pour chili sauce and grape jelly in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat until warm and thoroughly combined, whisking occasionally. Place meatballs in a crockpot and pour the sauce mixture on top. Cover and cook until heated through (high 2 hours - low 6 hours, approximately).