| When springs comes, lots of kids like to start a garden. | | | | experimentation. Try types of noodles that you don't |
| They rake up their patch of soil and decide which | | | | usually buy - colored noodles, corkscrew, big shells, |
| plants to grow. They think it's fun to poke holes in the | | | | funny shapes. Cook the pasta up ahead of time and |
| ground, throw the seeds down the holes, and then | | | | let it cool. Next, they'll want to make it "slippery" by |
| cover them up. Kids are even good about watering | | | | adding a salad dressing. Zesty Italian and Ranch are |
| their little seedlings. The best part, though, is picking the | | | | two favorites. |
| vegetables when they're ripe. They get to pull carrots | | | | Now it's time to add some veggies. They can use |
| out of the ground, dig deep for hidden potato treasure, | | | | anything they like and anything that hopefully kind of |
| and pluck the little cherry tomatoes off the vines. | | | | goes together. |
| But then what? Are they shocked because you | | | | Possible pasta additions from the garden:mushrooms, |
| actually want them to eat what they've grown? Here | | | | green onions, sweet onions, cherry tomatoes, roma |
| are a few ideas to get the kids cooking their veggies | | | | tomatoes, leeks, broccoli, peas, pea pods, asparagus, |
| and eating them too. | | | | garlic, cauliflower, green beans, zucchini, spinach, egg |
| Pizza | | | | plant, chilies, and herbs. |
| Let kids use their imagination when it comes to topping | | | | Cheese chunks, walnut pieces, slivered almonds, and |
| their pizzas. Start with a crust made from an easy | | | | dried cranberries can make the pasta dish extra |
| recipe or a store-bought one. Next pour on the sauce; | | | | special. |
| from scratch or bottled. It can be pizza sauce, | | | | If your kids don't want cold noodles, then make it hot |
| barbeque sauce, alfredo sauce, or pesto sauce. They | | | | pasta with any of the sauces you would use on the |
| can use any type of cheese they want too. Let them | | | | above pizza. You'll want to blanch the vegetables |
| pick out what they want to use, they may surprise you | | | | before you add them to the heated pasta. |
| by branching out a little. | | | | Other ideas |
| Here are some ingredients straight from the | | | | There is something intriguing about creating a soup |
| garden:oregano, basil, rosemary, cilantro, garlic, green | | | | from scratch, so let the kids create their own by |
| onions, asparagus tips, cooked potato hunks, red onion, | | | | adding all kinds of different veggies. They can also use |
| broccoli tips, green and red peppers, spinach, yellow | | | | the vegetables they grew to add to hot rice or a |
| onions, and cherry tomatoes. | | | | green salad. |
| They can also add:cooked chicken, cooked hamburger, | | | | Since kids are more likely to eat food they've proudly |
| pepperoni, sausage, and ham. | | | | grown and fixed themselves, they might be willing to |
| Pasta | | | | eat vegetables they've turned their noses up to |
| Cold noodles make a great base for many different | | | | previously. It's worth a try and gets your kids cooking in |
| vegetables. Plus, pasta makes for some great | | | | the kitchen. |