How young is too young to help in the kitchen? There’s obviously no real answer to that question. I do think, however, that getting those kiddies in the kitchen with you early on is a good thing. There’s something about making a dish or creating something, that fires kids up and actually makes them want to eat their food. They may destroy your kitchen in the process, but hey, it’s worth it :). (clean kitchens are overrated…oh wait, no they’re not).
My oldest daughter is going on four (come September) so she is definitely ready and old enough to be recruited for some kitchen work. The best part is, she wants to participate. The minute she hears a blender, food processor, or mixing bowl going at full speed, she drags her stool in to see what I’m making.
I don’t make too many “kid-centric” meals. Meaning cutsey, stereotypical, fun kid food. Honestly, I should probably do it more. There’s a reason people make “kid food” or food cut into shapes, made into animals, whatever it is! IT WORKS. I guess food tastes better when it’s shaped like a heart.
I saw this recipe on the Disney Channel actually. I thought it looked pretty cute but my daughter was the one who said she wanted to make it. So make it we did!
Just a head’s up, our pizza was not as cute as theirs, but we all got the idea. It still tasted good!
Aladdin’s Magic Carpet Pizza
(original recipe found on Disney Channel website)
- whole wheat pizza dough (store bought)
- hummus (store bought)
- golden raisins
- black raisins
- dried figs
- parsley
- jack cheese
Obviously, you can go more of a homemade route with homemade pizza dough and homemade hummus, but I was all about store bought.
First, we broke the pizza dough into three equal pieces and molded each section into the shape of a magic carpet.
Next, I baked the pizza dough for about 12 minutes at 400 degrees (or until they were slightly browned).
Now for the toppings! We spread some hummus on each pizza, then topped it off with raisins, figs, and finally cheese.
The original recipe is super cute with the raisins alternating colors around the edges of the pizza and the figs sliced and placed down the middle. We sort of went for that…then just piled them on. 🙂
I baked the pizza’s for another 5 minutes or until the cheese was nice and melted then topped with a little parsley.
This was so fun and such a cute idea! My daughter loved every minute of the prep and then of course, the eating. But I think she would pick prep over eat any day. It’s so easy to get caught up in day to day stuff and just to focus on “getting dinner on the table.” Sometimes it’s nice to take a step back and let kids join in on the fun. It’s messy, but again, worth it.
Do you make special kiddo meals? Any cute ideas?
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