Make sure to include the youngsters when preparing meals and treats during your motorhome travels this summer.
By Janet Groene, F47166
July 2012
RV travel is a team sport, always best when children play a role in planning the trip, preparing meals, looking for nature specimens, and sharing tall tales around the campfire. Here are some recipes that are simple enough for children to make, yet delicious enough for the whole family to enjoy.
Grasshopper Ice Box Cake
Author Jennifer Chandler, whose books include Simply Salads and Simply Suppers, recently published a new book titled Simply Grilling ($24.99, Thomas Nelson) that’s just in time for barbecue season. It’s a treasure chest of recipes for open and covered grills, plus appetizers, side dishes, and desserts. This one is easy enough for children to make.
Nonstick cooking spray
2 quarts mint chocolate chip ice cream, softened
1 9-ounce box chocolate wafer cookies
1 cup chocolate sauce
1 cup crushed cream-filled chocolate sandwich cookies
Spray a 9-inch loaf pan and line it with plastic wrap, allowing a couple of inches to overhang on all sides. Spread half the ice cream in the pan and cover with a layer of the wafer cookies. Spread the remaining ice cream over the wafers and top with another layer of wafer cookies. Freeze the ice cream cake for at least four hours or overnight.
When it’s time to serve, allow the cake to stand at room temperature for five minutes; invert the pan onto a plate; and remove the pan and plastic wrap. Drizzle the ice cream cake with the chocolate sauce and sprinkle with the crumbled sandwich cookies. Slice and serve. This recipe makes eight servings.
Note: I suggest that you put the sandwich cookies in a freezer bag and show children how to roll them into crumbs using a rolling pin or round bottle. The wafer cookies are used whole.
Mary Ann Schlumpberger’s Cheese Stack
This recipe was sent in by Mary Ann Schlumpberger, F406002, from Grants Pass, Oregon. It’s just the ticket for little hands to create in the RV galley. First, you need a small, square container about the same size as American cheese slices. Line it with a strip of plastic wrap that hangs over the sides.
6 slices American cheese
1 3-ounce package cream cheese, at room temperature
1 small jar of stuffed olives, sliced
1 4-ounce can of chopped chilies, well drained
Spread five cheese slices with softened cream cheese and sprinkle each with the olives and chilies. Stack them in the lined container starting with a cheese slice with the cream cheese side up. End the stack with a slice of American cheese. Cover and refrigerate. Using the overhanging plastic wrap, lift the stack out of the container and turn it out onto a plate. Surround it with crackers and provide a knife for cutting the loaf into portions.
3-2-1 Cake
Mary Ann Schlumpberger said she learned about this next recipe while in Parker, Arizona.
Combine the cake mixes in a large, resealable bag and toss gently to mix well. You’ll use only enough of the cake mix each time to make as many little cakes as you want. It’s perfect for children who are old enough to use the microwave oven.
1 box of cake mix, any flavor
1 box of angel food cake mix
To make an individual cake:
3 tablespoons cake mix
2 tablespoons water
Mix the dry cake mix and water in a microwave-safe mug or dish. Cook, uncovered, in the microwave oven for one minute on the high setting. Add topping or ice cream if you wish.
Note: These cakes are best when cooked one at a time.
Honey Twist
This is fun to bake in a Dutch oven, solar oven, or reflector oven if you are teaching kids how to use these power-friendly cooking appliances. It also fits in a toaster oven, and it can be baked in a regular oven.
1 tube breadstick dough
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup soft or liquid margarine
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Grease a round cake pan. Roll the dough into a long rope and coil it in the pan. In a small bowl, whisk together the honey, margarine, lemon juice, and cinnamon. Drizzle the mixture over the coiled dough and bake at 375 degrees for approximately 20 to 30 minutes or until toasty brown. Cut into wedges and serve warm or cooled.
Candied Apple Casserole
Little hands can assemble this dessert casserole. It also teaches youngsters how to pack and measure brown sugar. Older children can learn to use a French chef knife and cutting board to chop peanut brittle.
2 cans pie-sliced apples (not apple pie filling)
1/4 cup lemon juice
½ cup packed brown sugar
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 12-ounce package peanut brittle, chopped
Put the apples in a greased baking dish, drizzle with lemon juice, and dot with a mixture of brown sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle the chopped peanut brittle over the top. Bake the casserole at 325 degrees for 45 minutes or until it’s bubbly. The casserole also can be baked in a solar oven, reflector oven, or toaster oven. This recipe makes eight servings.
Mary Ann’s Saucy New Tuna Noodle Casserole
This recipe will work for older children who can use the stove, although grown-ups should boil and drain the noodles before letting the kids take over. I like Mary Ann’s version, because it requires only one pot. “By using the soup can as a measure, I have less to clean up,” she said.
1 cup dry noodles
1 can low-sodium cream of mushroom soup
1 soup can of sour cream
1 soup can of milk
1 1/2 soup cans of diced process cheese (such as Velveeta)
Half a soup can of diced celery
1 can chunk tuna, drained
1 soup can of frozen peas
Finely chopped onion to taste (a tablespoon or two)
Cook the noodles in a pan that can be used both on the stovetop and in the oven. While draining the noodles in a colander, allow the pot to cool and add some type of nonstick coating. Return the drained noodles to the pot. In a bowl, mix the soup, sour cream, and milk until smooth. Stir in the cheese and pour the mixture over the noodles. Fold in the tuna, peas, celery, and onion and mix well. Add salt and pepper to taste. Bake at 325 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes. This recipe makes four servings.
Weenie-Stuffed Potatoes
4 hot dogs
4 frozen twice-baked potatoes, thawed
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 small can chopped sauerkraut, drained and rinsed
Press the hot dogs into the tops of the potatoes and bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Stir the brown sugar into the sauerkraut and spoon over the potatoes. Bake for an additional 10 minutes.
If your kids don’t like sauerkraut, try these alternate toppings:
- Spoon sloppy joe hot dog topping from a can onto the potatoes for the last 10 minutes of baking.
- Bake the weenie-stuffed potatoes for 15 minutes, top with a slice of cheese, and bake for another five minutes.
- Bake the potatoes and hot dogs for 20 minutes and top with cold, creamy coleslaw just before serving.
My Kid Made This Potluck Dessert
This dessert needs to be chilled for at least four to six hours, so start early in the day. You may not need the entire pound of graham crackers.
1-pound box plain, cinnamon, or chocolate graham crackers
1 8-serving package instant French vanilla pudding (or two small packages)
3 cups milk
1 tub of chocolate frosting at room temperature
1 to 1 ½ cups chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)
Arrange the graham crackers in a 9-inch-by-13-inch baking dish to cover the entire bottom. Whisk the pudding and milk together until smooth. Working quickly before the pudding sets, spread half the pudding over the graham crackers; top with another layer of crackers; spread the remaining pudding over top; and add a final layer of graham crackers, fitting them as closely as possible but not overlapping. Chill for 30 minutes. Using two spoons, dot the frosting over the top and smooth lightly to the edges of the dish. Sprinkle with nuts if you wish. Cover with nonstick foil and chill for at least four hours. This recipe makes 12 to 16 servings.
Baked Oatmeal
2/3 cup canola oil
3/4 cup white or brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 eggs
4 cups of one-minute or old-fashioned oatmeal (not instant, not steel cut)
1 small can (2/3-cup) evaporated milk
Water
2 large apples, peeled and diced
1 cup raisins
1 cup chopped nuts
Set the oven for 350 degrees. In a large bowl, whisk the oil, sugar, salt, cinnamon, baking powder, and eggs to mix well. Stir in the oatmeal and canned milk plus enough water to make 1½ cups liquid. Fold in the apples, raisins, and nuts. Pour it all in a 9-inch-by-13-inch baking pan and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until firm. Spoon the oatmeal into serving bowls and eat as is or with milk, cream, or vanilla yogurt.
Note: A can of pie-sliced apples can be substituted for fresh. Open the can and run a knife through the apples to chop them coarsely.
More Kid-Friendly Recipes
- Buy canned marzipan and have children shape it into little candies stuffed with nuts or dried fruit.
- Cook and cool seasoned sticky rice and then put children to work making “sushi” using whole wheat tortillas and slivered vegetables, meat, cheese, and such.
- Grownups can cut English muffins in half, and the children can spread them with pizza sauce, toppings, and cheese. Bake at 350 degrees until the cheese melts.
- Bake or buy a plain sheet cake and leave it in the pan. Use the handle of a wooden spoon to make random holes all over it. Stir a 3-ounce package of gelatin dessert mix into 1½ cups of very hot water to dissolve. Pour slowly over the cake and chill it until the gelatin sets. Cut in squares and serve as is or with whipped topping.
- Give children cookie cutters and cheese slices to make fancy shapes for a cheese platter. The leftover cheese scraps can be saved to make macaroni and cheese.
- Little hands can make a wagon wheel main dish. Butter a pie plate, then use a fork to mash cooked or drained canned sweet potatoes to make an even layer. Arrange fully cooked sausage links in spokes around the wheel. Drizzle lightly with pancake syrup and bake or cook in the microwave oven to heat through.
- Measuring out and packaging the ingredients for homemade trail mix, sometimes called gorp (good old raisins and peanuts), is a useful activity for kids. It can teach them nutritional balance, allergen avoidance, and portion control. See recipes for sweet and savory mixes at my www.CreateAGorp.blogspot.com. Kids can make a variety of healthful mixes ranging from 1-cup, high-protein meals to half-cup recipes for dessert gorps to take on after-dinner nature walks.
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