Kidzworld Kitchen: Parent Night Off

Surprise your hard working parents by taking care of dinner and cleanup one weeknight!

Parents work hard and at the end of the day when they get home what they usually find is a house full of hungry kids asking “what’s for dinner?” Imagine how fantastic it would be for them if they came home one day to find out dinner was being taken care of?! Enlist the help of your siblings, assign everyone a job and get to work.

Spaghetti is an easy to prepare meal that almost everyone loves. Serve it with a healthy, delicious strawberry & spinach salad and some fresh bread for a complete meal.

Spaghetti & Meat Sauce

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 medium chopped onion
• 4 cloves chopped garlic
• 1 small chopped green pepper
• 1 can (28oz) tomato sauce
• 1 can (16oz) tomato paste
• 2 tsp dried oregano
• 2 tsp dried basil
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp pepper
• 1 package spaghetti noodles

Instructions:

1. Combine the ground beef, onion, garlic, and green pepper in a large saucepan
2. Cook over medium heat and stir until meat is brown and vegetables are tender
3. Drain grease from the pan
4. Add diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, and tomato paste and stir thoroughly
5. Season with oregano, basil, salt, and pepper
6. Simmer over low heat for 1 hour, stirring occasionally
7. Bring a large pot of water to boil
8. Add dry noodles to the water and stir
9. Allow to cook until the noodles are soft, but not mushy
10. Drain in a colander
11. Twist noodles onto plates, cover with sauce and enjoy!

Spinach Strawberry Salad

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp sesame seeds
• 1 tbsp poppy seeds
• ½ cup white sugar
• ½ cup olive oil
• ¼ cup white vinegar
• ¼ tsp paprika
• ¼ tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tbsp minced onion
• 10 ounces of fresh, washed baby spinach
• 1 quart washed, hulled and sliced strawberries
• ¼ cup slivered blanched almonds

Instructions:

1.  In a medium bowl, whisk together the sesame seeds, poppy seeds, sugar, olive oil, vinegar, paprika, Worcestershire sauce and onion. Cover, and chill for one hour.
2. In a large bowl, combine the spinach, strawberries and almonds. Pour dressing over salad, and toss
3. Refrigerate 10 to 15 minutes before serving

Remember, be creative, have fun and above all, safety first! Always talk to the adult in charge before you get your chef on! Happy cooking kids!

Recipes courtesy of Love Sugar Cakes