Kid Recipes--Easy Recipes Kids Will Love

Recipes that meet three high standards with children will be winners every time. These standards, the three "F's", are: fun, flavor and familiar.

• Kids love foods that are FUN. Make it look or sound boring (like broccoli?) and they may never give it a chance.
• Kids love foods with FLAVOR. It absolutely has to taste good.
• Kids love foods that are FAMILIAR. Center it around key ingredients that they already love and they will step into the adventure and try it for you.

Macaroni and cheese with hot dogs, S'mores made with Hershey's chocolate and graham crackers, Sloppy Joes and English Muffin Pizzas are four great recipes that kids will love!

Macaroni and cheese is a dinnertime favorite of young families all over America. As a main dish or a delicious side, people young and old just love this warm, creamy comfort food. Add skillet-fried hot dogs and you have a perfect "kids meal".

There is an easy and a hard way to make it. Though "quick 'n easy" is good, in this instance take the time to make it from scratch! You'll be so glad you did.

Ingredients:

10 oz uncooked elbow macaroni (2/3 of a 16 oz box)

5 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 1/2 cups milk

1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

2 ounces processed cheese food (eg. Velveeta), cubed

2 tablespoons dry bread crumbs

Package of hot dogs (Ballpark brand is an excellent choice)

Directions:

Boil the elbow macaroni till just done (9 minutes) according to the directions on the package. Do not over-do it since it will have more cooking time in the oven. Drain it, rinse in cool water and drain again. Put the macaroni in a baking pan.

Melt butter in a saucepan on medium heat. Gradually blend in flour and salt. Slowly mix in milk, so that it doesn't get lumpy. Gently bring to a boil, which will cause the sauce to thicken. Add two thick slices of Velveeta cheese (about 1 inch thick). Melt the cheese and pour the creamy sauce over the macaroni. Mix through.

Cut the hotdogs into 1/2 inch slices and sautee in a non-stick skillet until lightly browned. Mix with the macaroni.

Sprinkle the casserole with shredded cheddar cheese and press some of it through with a knife. Sprinkle bread crumbs on top and bake for 30 minutes at 375°.

Serve. Feeds 2-6 people, depending on the size of the appetite!

Macaroni and Cheese and Hot Dogs the "Easy" Way

Ingredients

2 Boxes of Kraft Macaroni & Cheese

Package of Hot Dogs

Directions

Prepare the macaroni and cheese according to package directions. Slice hot dogs and sautee in a non-stick skillet until browned. Put the mac & cheese in a casserole dish. Add hot dogs and mix gently. Bake for 15 minutes at 300° to combine the flavors. Spoon into dishes and serve.

The traditional fireside dessert of scouts and campers is the S'more. Named for everyone's cry for "some more" after eating their first one, this is the easiest of easy childhood favorites.

Ingredients:

Graham Crackers

Hershey's chocolate squares

Marshmallows

Tools:

Stick or skewer

An open flame (campfire preferred)

Directions:

Prepare the graham crackers by separating them into twin-sections (2 rectangles stuck together).

Lay a chocolate square on one twin-cracker.

Roast a large marshmallow by sticking the skewer through the center, keeping the marshmallow toward the end of the skewer. Hold it over the flame, just touching it. If the marshmallow catches fire, blow it out quickly.

Slip the warm marshmallow onto the chocolate side and top it with an empty graham cracker, making a sandwich. Eat! Mmmmm good. Now make some for the kids! :)

Sloppy Joes are an all time favorite with kids. Messy but oh-so good! Make them from scratch, the "hard way" or the very easy way.

Sloppy Joes Recipe: "the hard way"

Ingredients:

2 pounds lean ground beef

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper

¼ cup chopped red bell pepper

1 teaspoon garlic powder

2 teaspoons prepared yellow mustard

1 ¼ cup ketchup

2 T brown sugar

salt to taste

ground black pepper to taste

Directions:

Brown the ground beef in a skillet along with green and red bell pepper and onion. Drain the fat. Add garlic powder, mustard, ketchup, brown sugar. SImmer 30 minutes. Salt & pepper to taste. Serve on a nice, soft hamburger roll.

Sloppy Joes, the very easy way:

Ingredients:

2 pounds ground beef

1-2 cans of Manwich sloppy Joe sauce

Brown the ground beef and drain the excess fat. Add 1-2 cans of Manwich (depending on your taste). Serve on a nice, soft hamburger roll.

Pizza is a big winner with children. Whip up some great little pizzas for the kids using english muffins, sauce, mozzarella and various toppings!

Ingredients:

4-8 English Muffins, sliced open

1/2 cup Tomato Paste

1/2 cup water

Garlic Powder

Basil

salt

pinch of sugar

Shredded Mozzarella

Miscellaneous toppings: pepperoni, mushroom pieces, green peppers (chopped), onion (chopped)

Lightly toast the English Muffins. Using a microwave safe bowl, combine tomato paste and water to make a smooth sauce. Add basil, garlic powder, sugar and salt to taste. Warm it in a microwave for 1 minute.

Coat the top of the English Muffin halves. Add shredded mozzarella and preferred toppings. Place in 300° oven until cheese is melted. Serve along with a big glass of cold milk for a satisfyingly delicious lunch or add a side-salad and you've got a healthy kid-friendly dinner.

Quick Version: substitute canned pizza sauce for homemade.

• Dinner Tonight: Quick Kid-Friendly Recipes from Martha Stewart
• Healthy Family Meals by Parenting.com
• Food Network's Top 12 (of 894) Kid-Friendly Recipes
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• Quick Breakfast Recipes

Sinea Pies is a freelance writer for a popular parenting magazine and professional blogger who writes about organizing, time management, parent/family, cooking, school, faith and dogs on Ducks 'n a Row..You are invited to leave a comment or subscribe to her HubPages RSS feed for regular updates. Click for more: Sinea's Profile