Tag: kids
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Chicken And Cheese Fritters
These chicken, cheese and vegetable patties make for a nice change to burger night. Made from chicken mince and the old veggies you have lurking at the back of the fridge, they could not be easier to make.
You can even make them in huge batches as they freeze well and we use them as the perfect lunchbox stuffer.
Note: Takes about 1.5 hours including 30 minutes in the fridge after forming the patties.
Ingredients
- 500g chicken mince
- 2 cups mixed vegetables, finely diced (I used onion, celery and carrot)
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- 1 -2 cups grated cheese
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 1 – 1.5 cups panko bread crumbs (more or less depending on how you like it)
- Olive oil spray
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Simply
Mix all the ingredients, except the olive oil, by hand in a mixing bowl.
Split the mixture into even size balls and then flatten and round each with you hands. Refrigerate for around 30 minutes.
Preheat your fan-forced oven to 180c. Spray the tops of the patties with a light sheen of olive oil and cook for 15 minutes. Flip the patties, spray again and cook for a further 10 minutes.
They are ready to eat now but I like to give the 5 to 10 minutes under a hot grill to get that golden colour.
Serving
I often serve them hot with a salad or I make sliders topped with all sorts of fillings.
Anything left gets frozen for future dinners or lunches.
Enjoy,
PK
Here are some more chicken dishes and more easy to make meals:
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Home-made Tater Tots Or Potato Gems
I love making tater tots almost as much as I do eating them. They make for great party food along with your favourite home-made dipping sauces. 🙂
Make them at home (instead of frozen from the shops) with your choice of seasonings knowing they contain only the best of ingredients.
This is one of those recipes where you don’t measure anything. It really depends on how many potatoes you are using. These you finely grate (we are making round potato fritters really) into a bowl.
You then sprinkle some flour evenly over the surface of the potatoes and mix everything together. That is the base mix and if it feels too wet to form into small balls you can add a bit more flour.
Now you add seasoning. I like small amounts of sweet paprika, parsley, italian herbs and garlic powder. I wonder what mix you will use.
They freeze well by the way, so make them in batches.
When you are happy with the seasoning and consistency, take small amounts of the mix and roll them by hand in to small balls. Pop the trays into the fridge until you are ready to cook them.
Now is also a perfect time to freeze them for later.
Bring a pan of oil to a gentle rolling boil.
Add a few tater tots to the oil and fry until they are golden brown. Then remove them to some paper towel to drain.
Serving
Serve them hot with a selection of dipping sauces.
Enjoy,
PK
Here are some more potato recipes and easy to prepare meals.
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PK’s Panko Cheese Chicken Tenderloin Nuggets
I am always looking for meals that my lads will wolf down without complaints. I am happy to say that I can’t make enough of these baked chicken and cheese nuggets.
Let me know how you fare and there are more kid (and big kid) friendly meal links at the end of the post.
Steps
- Cutting and coating the chicken nuggets
- Cooking the nuggets
- Serving
Ingredients
- ~600g chicken tenderloins
- 2 Tbsp butter, melted
- Nugget coating mix:
- 1 cup Parmesan cheese, crumbled
- 2 cups Panko breadcrumbs
- 1 pinch garlic powder
- 1 pinch paprika powder
- Black peppercorns, cracked, to taste
- Table salt, to taste
Equipment
- 1 chef’s knife
- 1 chopping board
- 2 mixing bowls
- 1 baking tray, lined with baking paper
Cutting and coating the chicken nuggets
- Cut the chicken tenderloins into smallish chunks.
- Melt the 2 Tbsp butter in one of the mixing bowls.
- Add the chicken chunks and mix until the chicken is fully coated in butter.
- In the second mixing bowl combine:
- 1 cup Parmesan cheese, crumbled
- 2 cups Panko breadcrumbs
- 1 pinch garlic powder
- 1 pinch paprika powder
- Black peppercorns, cracked, to taste
- Table salt, to taste
- Take 1 piece of chicken at a time and:
- Put it into the bowl containing the breadcrumb mix.
- Turn it over a few times to get a good coating.
- Place it on an oven tray lined with baking paper.
- Pop the tray into the fridge for about 30 minutes.
Cooking the nuggets
- Take the tray out of the fridge about 10 minutes before cooking.
- During that time preheat your fan-forced oven to 180C.
- Cook the nuggets for about 25 minutes aiming for them to be cooked through and a golden in colour (you could turn them over if you want mid way).
Serving
Chicken nuggets go with anything. 🙂
Here I have served them with a green salad and a generous amount of Sriracha Hot Sauce.
Enjoy,
PK
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PANKO RECIPES
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PK’S Broccoli Filled Beef Meatloaf
Meatloaf is a great way to make a little go a long way. I use minced beef, vegetables and cheese to hook my fussy little eaters (lamb, pork, chicken work a treat too). My wife loved it as well, mostly as it is a ‘one pan’ dish!
The broccoli filling was supposed to stay hidden but they were too smart for me. It still worked though thanks to the grilled cheese. 🙂
Steps
- Preparing everything
- Making the loaf
- Cooking and grilling the loaf
- Serving
Ingredients
- 500g beef mince
- 1 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
- 1 egg
- 1 small broccoli head, chopped into bite sized pieces
- 1/2 brown onion, diced
- 1 cup cheddar cheese, grated
- 1 handful of parsley, rough chopped
- 1 garlic clove, finely diced
- 1/4 cup breadcrumbs (panko would go a treat)
- Cracked black peppercorns and salt to taste
- Olive oil spray
Equipment
- 1 chef’s knife
- 1 chopping board
- 1 mixing bowl
- 1 non stick baking tin
Preparing everything
- Beat the egg and mix in the 1 Tsbp Worcestershire sauce.
- Chop the broccoli into small pieces and microwave for 1 minute.
- Dice half of a brown onion, store the rest for another day.
- Grate enough cheddar cheese to get 1 cup.
- Roughly chop a handful of parsley and finely dice the garlic clove.
- Mix the above ingredients together in a bowl, sprinkling with salt and pepper as you go.
Making the loaf
- Preheat your fan-forced oven to 180C.
- Put half the mince mix into the bottom of baking tin that you have sprayed with olive oil.
- Tamp it
- Layer the broccoli over this, leaving a gap right around the edges.
- Add a similar layer using half of the grated cheese.
- Top this with the rest of the mince and press down around the edges to make a bit of a seal.
Cooking and grilling the loaf
- Pop the tin into the oven and cook for 30 minutes.
- Cover the mince loaf rest of the grated cheese and grill it until golden brown.
Serving
You could just serve it as is thanks to the broccoli filling but we try and use fresh greens from the garden with every meal. 🙂
It makes for the best leftovers and frozen lunches by the way.
Enjoy,
PK
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PK’s Easy Mac And Cheese With Bacon
This easy Macaroni and Cheese recipe tastes so much better than the store bought dried version. It is great comfort food and I love making it.
I bet you have all the ingredients in your house already so let’s get started. 🙂
Dietary notes: The bacon is totally optional and you can easily adapt the recipe to use gluten and dairy free ingredients. You can also throw in vegetables like corn and peas if you are trying to get them into your little fussy eaters.
You will be:
- Cooking the bacon
- Boiling the pasta
- Making the white cheese sauce
- Mixing eveything
- Serving
You will need:
- Ingredients (feeds 2 adults and 2 kids):
- 3 cups freshly made pasta (any type of short/elbow pasta)
- 6 rashers bacon (I used short-cut bacon), cut into small squares
- 80g cheese (I used a mild cheddar), grated
- 2 cups milk
- 1 Tbsp butter
- 1 Tbsp plain white flour
- A sprinkle of ground nutmeg
- Ground black pepper to taste, optional
- Chopped parsley and chives to taste, optional
- Equipment:
- Long sharp knife
- Chopping board
- Frypan for the bacon
- Saucepan for the pasta
- Small saucepan for the white sauce
- Colander to drain the pasta
Cooking the bacon
Start cooking the 6 rashers worth of bacon in a frypan. This part will take a while so we will be boiling the pasta and making the cheese sauce during it. Just remember to keep an eye on it so you get evenly cooked bacon and not charcoal. 🙂
Boiling the pasta
- Bring enough water to cook 3 cups of elbow pasta to the boil.
- Add a bit of salt and some olive oil.
- Cook the pasta al dente and then drain.
Making the white cheese sauce
- On low heat, melt the 1 Tbsp of butter in a saucepan.
- Slowly stir in the 1 Tbsp plain white flour.
- Add a pinch of ground nutmeg (this is the dish’s secret weapon).
- Slowly stir in the 2 cups of milk.
- Add any herbs and vegetables at this stage.
- Stir in the 80g grated cheese and now cooked bacon.
Mixing everything
I bring the cheese sauce to the pasta rather than the other way round. I do this so I can control the amount of sauce in the final dish. I then gently fold the sauce through the pasta.
Serving
Serve hot with some freshly cracked black peppercorns. I also like a bit of fresh crusty bread smothered in butter. 🙂
It makes for great leftovers the next day and also freezes well.
Enjoy,
PK
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PK’s Potato And Bacon Tater Tots: Did Someone Say Panko?
I made these little bacon and potato tots for my young ones the other day and they demolished the lot. Not only was that a great testimonial but they are easy and fun to make too.
Hot Tips:
- Make them in multiple batches as they freeze very well.
- You can spray them sparingly with oil and bake them if you prefer.
You will be:
- Making the mash
- Making the tots
- Cooking the tots
- Serving
You will need:
- Ingredients:
- 4 cups potato and bacon mash
- 2 chicken eggs
- 1/2 cup plain white flour
- Enough panko flakes to coat the tots (bread crumbs will do but the result will not be as light and fluffy)
- herbs and spices to taste (I used some of my home-made Dried Garlic and cracked pepper)
- enough peanut oil for shallow frying
- Equipment:
- 1 chef’s knife
- 1 chopping board
- 1 potato peeler
- 1 potato masher
- 1 deep fry pan
Making the mash
- Make your mashed potato (sans any milk or butter), slice the bacon (I used short-cut bacon) and mix everything together (use your own ratios).
Making the tots
- Whisk the two chicken eggs and add to the mash.
- Add the 1/2 cup of plain white flour to the mash and gently but thoroughly mix.
- Make little round balls with the mash mix and then roll them in the panko crumbs.
- Store any surplus tots on baking paper and freeze for next time (I use a multi layered container for easy splitting and thawing of the right amount for dinner).
Cooking the tots
- Heat a shallow amount of peanut oil in a deep pan.
- Cook the tots in small batches, turning mid way, until golden brown and the drain them on paper towel or a rack.
Serving
Serve them anyway you or your young ones will eat them. Personally I like a bit of tomato sauce and sour cream. You might even like to try my Home-made Creamy Aioli.
Enjoy,
PK
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KT’s NoRecipe Potato Thins
This quick method of making home-made potato thins works just as well for wedges!
You just cut them differently and you can even sprinkle them with dried herbs for that bit of fancy. 🙂
Simply
- Pop your fan-forced oven on to 240 degrees centigrade.
- Slice up your potatoes and lay them in an ovenproof dish.
- Drizzle with a tiny bit of olive oil.
- Add salt and black pepper to taste.
- Cook for about 45 minutes.
- Try and get some before your kids eat them all!
Enjoy,
PK
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COOKING WITH KT
NORECIPE GOODNESS
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Kat’s Ladybird Cupcakes
To satisfy her latest favourite thing, I decided to make ladybird cupcakes for daughter’s 2nd birthday cake (cup cakes rather than one big cake to allow for mistakes!). Red velvet cupcakes seemed fitting and I’m afraid I used a box mix as I can only concentrate on one thing at a time, decorating or baking.
To make the ladybirds I used pre-made coloured fondant icing and rolled out with lots of icing sugar – that stuff is sticky! I used a circular pastry cutter roughly the same size as the top of the patty pans to cut red circles and the black shapes for the ladybird heads.
After sticking the heads on the bodies using some water, I cleaned the off the icing sugar with a slightly damp soft cloth. I drew the line down the middle of body with and knife and made the black spots by rolling small balls of icing, flattening them and sticking them on with a little water.
I used white and dark chocolate squeezy icing to make the eyes and the mouths.
Once the cupcakes were baked, I cut off the top with a knife to make a flat surface and covered to edge of the patty pans with cream cheese icing and placed the ladybirds on top.
Et voilà,
Kat
Related Links:
- see more kid friendly meals here
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Crumbed Baked Chicken Sticks
As a kid, one of my favourite treat meals was a large serve of Ingham’s Chicken Chippies doused in tomato sauce.
Chicken chippies were chip shaped slices of chicken coated in breadcrumbs and then snap-frozen for retail sale.
The advert was hilarious:
I am not sure if you can still buy them but I now prefer the home made equivalent.
Needless to say, they are very kid friendly 🙂
You will be:
- Prepping the ingredients.
- Dusting and coating the chicken sticks.
- Cooking the chicken sticks.
- Serving.
You will need:
- Ingredients:
- 1 chicken breast (slightly frozen making it easier to cut and shape into sticks)
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1/2 Tbsp ground tumeric
- 1 to 2 eggs (if doubling the recipe you only need 3 eggs)
- ~1 cup Panko breadcrumbs to coat chicken strips
- 1/2 tsp beetroot powder and or ground paprika (optional, just for looks)
- ground black peppercorns to taste
- some spray olive oil
- Equipment:
- a chopping board
- a long sharp knife
- a fork or whisk, to beat the egg
- a mixing bowl
- several plates
- an oven tray lined with baking paper
Prepping the ingredients
- Take a still partially frozen chicken breast and flatten it out some what with your hands.
- Chop breast in to sticks (see how they look like chunky fries).
- In a large mixing bowl mix the 1/2 cup flour, 1/2 Tbsp ground tumeric and the 1/2 tsp beetroot powder (optional, just for looks).
- Whisk the 1 to 2 eggs in a bowl.
- Lay the panko crumbs out on a plate.
Dusting and coating the chicken sticks
- Spray the baking paper lined oven tray with some spray oil.
- Roll each stick in the flour mix, then dip it in the egg and then coat it with panko crumbs.
- Place the finished sticks the baking paper as you go.
- Sprinkle each stick with ground paprika (optional) and ground black peppercorns to taste.
- Give the top of the sticks a light spray with spray oil.
- Pop them into the fridge for 15 minutes or so to set.
Cooking the chicken sticks
Pop the tray into a fan-forced oven (preheated to 200C) for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown.
Serving
They really just need your favourite dipping sauce and a salad.
PK
Here are some more chicken recipes and kid friendly meals:
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PK’s Baked Mashed Potato, Bacon and Cheese Balls
I normally have enough leftovers for at least one lunch when I cook dinner for my family. So you can imagine how good these potato balls are if I had to buy lunch at work the next day :).
Really easy to make ahead of time and sort of healthy as they are baked and not shallow fried, you and your kids will love them.
Notes:
- Make more than you think you need, they are addictive
- You could work in mashed sweet potato and or pumpkin to get vegetables into picky eaters
- They will need to set in the fridge for a bit before cooking
You will be:
- Prepping the ingredients
- Making the potato balls and rolling in breadcrumbs
- Cooking the potato balls
- Serving them up hot
You will need:
- Ingredients:
- 2 cups cooled mashed potato
- 1/2 cup finely diced vegetables (I used celery and spring onions)
- 1/4 cup of cooled finely chopped crispy bacon
- 1/2 cup of breadcrumbs
- 3/4 cup of grated cheese (I used a mix of Parmigiano-Reggiano and cheddar)
- 1 egg (beaten)
- some spray olive oil
- Equipment:
- a chopping board
- a long sharp knife
- a saucepan for the mashed potatoes
- a potato masher
- a frypan for the bacon
- a fork or whisk to beat the egg
- a mixing bowl
- several plates
- an oven tray lined with baking paper
Prepping the ingredients
- Make your mashed potatoes, aiming for 2 cups worth, and pop it in the fridge to cool.
- Fine chop the bacon to end up with 1/4 cups worth, cook to your liking and then pop them in the fridge too.
- Chop the 1/2 cup of vegetables.
- Grate the 3/4 cup of cheese.
- Beat the single egg.
- Mix the above ingredients in a mixing bowl.
- Put the 1/2 cup of bread crumbs on a plate.
Making the potato balls and rolling in breadcrumbs
- Roll small balls of the potato mix and then roll those in flour.
- Pop them onto an oven tray and then into the fridge to set for at least 15 minutes.
They look pretty yummy already:
Ready for the oven:
Cooking the potato balls
- Give the top of the balls a quick spray with spray olive oil and pop the tray into a fan-forced oven (pre-heated to 200C).
- Cook for about 20 minutes or until golden brown.
Perfection:
Firm on the outside with a lovely soft cheesy texture inside:
Serving them up hot
Perfect with some fresh vegetables, sauerkraut and some dipping sauces (tomato and sour cream mixed with fresh coriander) or in a bowl by themselves as finger food :).
Enjoy,
PK
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