Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

Food

Mix it up

Want to take the night off? Get your teenagers away from the video games and into the kitchen to prepare quesadillas, chili and other fail-safe dishes.

By JANET K. KEELER
Published May 31, 2006

	[Times illustration: John Corbitt]
	Teens in the kitchen What do you think about having your kids cooking? I'm all for it. I'll take a rest in the recliner. Are you kidding? The kitchen would be a disaster area. I'll let my spouse taste test it first. I would rather have them play video games or go outside.

Summer is here and for many of you that means you've got teenagers draped across the couch, fingers nearly super-glued to video game controls. Lazing about, that is, after they finally rustle at the crack of noon.

Sure, some have jobs (though probably not full-time) and still others are up and out for summer school, volunteering or athletic conditioning. (Does baseball season ever end in the Sunshine State?) But most of them have a few hours to lend a working mom and dad a hand.

Since they're getting a break from school, how about you getting relief from nightly dinner duties? At least a couple nights a week anyway. With a little cooking instruction from parents (or the Food Network) plus help from convenience items, teens can provide a head start on dinner, and learn skills that they'll need when they are out on their own. And they will be. Honest.

If you're lucky enough to have a teenager who has already learned to cook via the TV, classes or by watching adults, turn him loose with a cookbook. Plan and shop on the weekend, then look forward to walking into a house filled with enticing aromas.

More likely though, you've got a son or daughter whose culinary knowledge is somewhere between nuking a Hot Pocket and nurturing a souffle. The first rule of kids in the kitchen: Know what your child knows. Can she handle knives? Does he know how to work the oven? Can they be trusted not to burn down the house? Hand out duties accordingly.

Also, think one-dish meals. Making a pot of chili is much simpler than figuring out the timing for a meat-veggie-starch dinner.

Perhaps the best way to get them involved is to think like one of those new make-and-take meal assembly businesses. Do as much prep work as you can, provide a recipe and have your young cook assemble the dish at the appointed time and then begin cooking. For most working parents, having dinner baking or bubbling before 6 p.m. is victory enough.

There are many simple, basic cookbooks on the market (remember, lots of adults these days can't cook either) and some that are aimed specifically at teens. (See list accompanying this story.) An outing to the bookstore together might spark interest.

Here is a summer's worth of ideas to get your teens away from the computer and into the kitchen.

The slow cooker. Even with built-in timers on Crock-Pots, food often cooks longer than it needs to when left chugging for nine to 10 hours. Yes, the brisket should fall in tender shreds, but it ought to taste better than shoe leather. Your young cook can put together the ingredients and turn on the slow cooker several hours after you've left for work. That way, dinner at 7 won't taste like it should have been eaten at 5.

Mexican food. Tacos, burritos, nachos, tostadas and quesadillas fit skill levels from novice to expert. Burritos can be as simple as heating refried beans then offering condiments such as cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream, guacamole, salsa. A package of preseasoned rice is as easy to make as boiling water. Use leftover chicken or roasted vegetables for quesadillas. Make tacos from scratch or use a kit that comes with the seasonings. Nachos can be hearty or spare.

Potato bar. Baked potatoes, cooked in the oven not the microwave, can be the basis for dinner for meat-eaters, vegetarians and low-fat dieters. Lay out an assortment of accompaniments including steamed broccoli, cheese (try goat or feta instead of cheddar), chili (meat or just beans), sour cream, chives, bacon bits and salsa. Pile on according to dietary predilections.

Soups. Store-bought chicken broth is the foundation for quick soups including a simple one of canned northern beans, sliced kielbasa and handfuls of baby spinach. Look through cookbooks and online (www.allrecipes.com or www.about.com to start) for recipes that have the right amount of chopping and prep work for your child's skill level. Corn bread is a good accompaniment. Most new cooks can handle making a box of Jiffy corn bread. If not, keep the freezer stocked with corn muffins.

Chili. Buy a pack of chili seasoning and your teens are halfway to dinner. Saute onions and green peppers (buy them diced if you like), brown and drain meat (or don't use meat all), add canned tomatoes and beans plus seasoning packet. Defrost some of those corn muffins.

Grilling. Leave a recipe for marinade and a thawed piece of meat and request that they be put together. The meat will be ready for the barbie when you get home from work. Threading skewers with chicken pieces and veggies is also a simple task, as long as a sword fight doesn't break out. (Give the lecture about washing hands, counter surfaces and cutting boards after raw meat or poultry has touched them.) Boiled noodles with butter and grated Parmesan and a green salad would round out the meal.

Breakfast for dinner. No, not cereal, but bacon-eggs-toast, biscuits and gravy, or pancakes and waffles. The freezer case at your grocery store will provide the basics. Summer brings a lot of good fruit to the produce aisle; help it find a way to your table.

That's Italian. Keep frozen ravioli or tortellini on hand for a quick meal. Serve with red sauce, pesto or alfredo, all store-bought. Add frozen peas or broccoli, or fresh mushrooms, in the last minutes of cooking. Small, cooked stuffed pasta can also bulk up a green salad full of veggies. Let your teen pick the vinaigrette. French bread is a tasty foil. Don't forget pizza, frozen or made with refrigerated pizza dough or Boboli shells.

Eat fresh, at home. Bring Subway's mantra to your table by having the fixings to make great subs, including hot meatballs versions using frozen meatballs, preshredded cheese and marinara sauce from a jar. For cold subs, have your helper prep the veggies and remember that spinach packs more nutritional punch than iceberg lettuce.

We're guessing that your teenager won't be writing a back-to-school paper on How I Helped the Folks Make Dinner, but she will pick up some tips about being independent. Some nutrition radicals even say that kids who learn to cook eat better as adults. Imagine.

And you never know, maybe your Xbox addict will trade the controls for a Cuisinart.

Janet K. Keeler can be reached at (727) 893-8586 or jkeeler@sptimes.com Her blog, Stir Crazy, is www.sptimes.com/blogs/food.

MORE INFORMATION

There are a number of cookbooks aimed at teenagers but basic cookbooks will also be helpful. Here are a few teen-centric books to consider:

*Cooking Rocks: 30-Minute Meals for Kids by Rachael Ray Lake Isle Press, 2004. Kid-friendly recipes and easy-to-follow instructions from the Food Network diva. When they've worked their way through this book, they'll really know how to cook.

*Teens Cook: How to Cook What You Want to Eat by Megan and Jill Carle (Ten Speed Press, 2004). The Carle sisters like to cook and they provide lots of shortcuts so your teenagers will too.

*Cooking Up a Storm: The Teen Survival Cookbook by Sam Stern (Candlewick, June 2006). Stern, 14, gets a little help from his mom to put together dozens of recipes for weeknight dinner and special occasions. Dessert included.

Cooking classes

For information about cooking classes for teenagers, call your local parks and recreation department.

La Maison Gourmet in Dunedin (471 Main St.; (727) 736-3070) offers summer cooking classes and camps for kids and teens. Go to www. lamaisongourmet.info for more information and to register online.

Apron's Cooking School, Shoppes of Citrus Park in Tampa (7835 Gunn Highway; (813) 926-4465) also has youth cooking classes. Go to www.publix.com/aprons/schools for more information.

Fajita Quesadilla

2 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided

1 cup onion, quartered and sliced

1 cup green or red bell pepper strips

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut into thin strips

1 (1.25-ounce) package fajita mix

¹/₃ cup water

10 (6-inch) flour tortillas, divided use

2¹/₂ cups four-cheese Mexican blend, divided

Heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and bell pepper; cook, stirring occasionally, for 3 to 4 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Add chicken; cook, stirring occasionally, for 4 to 5 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink. Stir in seasoning mix and water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low; cook for 3 to 4 minutes or until mixture thickens. (This can be done one day ahead with the mixture cooled and then refrigerated. Heat before using.)

Spread ¹/₂ cup fajita mixture on one tortilla; sprinkle with ¹/₂ cup cheese. Place second tortilla evenly over mixture. Heat remaining oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Place quesadilla in skillet; cook for 2 to 3 minutes on each side or until golden brown and cheese is melted. Repeat with remaining ingredients.

Makes 5 servings.

Source: Nestle

Slow Cooker Black Bean Chili

1¹/₂ pounds boneless pork, cut into ¹/₂-inch cubes

2 (15.5-ounce) cans black beans, drained

1 cup chopped onion

1 cup chopped yellow bell pepper

1 cup thick and chunky salsa

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon chili powder

¹/₂ teaspoon cumin

¹/₄ teaspoon crushed red pepper

Garnish: sour cream, shredded cheddar cheese

Combine all ingredients except garnishes in a 3¹/₂-quart slow cooker. Cover and cook on low heat setting 7 to 8 hours.

Top individual bowls with sour cream and cheddar cheese.

Serves 4.

Source: Pork, the Other White Meat

Marinated Flank Steak

2 flank steaks, approximately 1¹/₂ pounds apiece

¹/₄ cup soy sauce

3 tablespoons honey

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1¹/₂ teaspoons garlic powder

1¹/₂ teaspoons ground ginger

³/₄ cup vegetable oil

1 green onion, finely chopped

Trim steaks and score diagonally. Combine soy sauce, honey, vinegar, garlic powder and ginger in a bottle and shake well. Add oil and green onion. Shake to mix well. Place steaks in a shallow dish (or zipper-closed bags), add marinade and refrigerate, covered, for 4 hours or longer. Preheat gas grill or gas broiler using medium flame. Drain steaks and discard marinade. Place on grill or broiler pan. Grill for 6 minutes per side for medium-rare. Let rest, covered loosely with foil, for 10 minutes. Slice thinly on the diagonal.

Serves 6.

Source: www.cooks.com

[Last modified May 30, 2006, 15:17:01]