Cooking with Kids – The Beebe Family’s Story

Jean and Audrey Showcasing a Batch of Green ThingsAcross Kansas City moms (and dads, and grandmas and grandpas) are working hard to get dinner on the table, delicious, nutritious meals for their kids. In my work as a cooking instructor (for both adults and kids) and as a wellness coach, I meet these families who are giving their children the treasure of time at the table together, widely believed to be a crucial building block for healthy lives and great family relationships.

I meet so many parents who are taking it a step further and involving kids in the cooking. They’re passing down recipes, techniques, teaching math and reading through recipes, continuing their culture, and using time in the kitchen to get to know their kids’ interests. I cook with my two-year-old on a regular basis. It’s certainly a longer and messier event than dinner ever was in my pre-child days, but the confidence and creativity I see budding in my child makes the messy countertop more bearable. I’m always amazed at how fearless children are in the kitchen! As adults we question ourselves, worry that we can’t make a Pinterest-worthy dish, while a kid will throw caution to the wind and flip crepes in the air or make a strawberry omelet just to see what that’s like.

The Beebes are a wonderful family that is doing just that – cooking together for fun, for health, for family togetherness. Jean Beebe with her daughter Audrey and her mother Mary Haskin cook together on a regular basis.  In fact, grandmother, mother and daughter have been busy in the kitchen together since Audrey was just 3 years old! They started with cutting out Christmas cookies, adding sprinkles, stirring and mixing. As a sixth grader, Audrey loves to make pancake breakfasts with her grandma and illustrates beautiful menus to go with her meals. She specializes in fruit salads, super-sweet desserts and beverages of her own invention. Her mother notes her fearlessness in the kitchen, diving headfirst into adventurous flavor combinations and embracing gluten-free cooking for her father.

Jean believes it is essential to have your children cook with you, and is a great way to pass along life skills, and an opportunity to chat, problem solve and be silly. She feels lucky to have her own mother close to continue in the tradition of cooking together.

One thing that I find interesting is what parents tell me they learn from their kids in the kitchen. Jean says the most important lesson for her is letting go:

“I am learning to let go and be a little less type A. I want us to continue to have a great relationship during her teenage years and beyond. If I can accept that even though she may not have done it my way, and it might not look like a picture in a food magazine – it’s still awesome, it was made with great love, and it’s DELICIOUS!”

A recipe that the family loves and makes together again and again is Luisa Style Meatloaf (recipe below), a weeknight meal that freezes well and is tasty when made with gluten-free ingredients. The dish was named for a friend who brought a similar meatloaf filled with ham and cheese to a gathering many years ago. Jean, who is from Wisconsin, is a firm believer that more cheese is better!

Other family favorites the Beebes often cook together are: pumpkin bread, cinnamon apple rings, Italian chicken, lasagna, yucca buns (better than they sound), beef stroganoff, grandmother’s sugar cookies & frosting (which bake up well gluten free), grandmother’s cinnamon rolls (which don’t but they haven’t given up yet), green things (real name is Brownie Peppermint Cookie, but no one ever wanted to work that hard to ask for dessert), and more!

Jean and Audrey in a Cooking Class TogetherLuisa Style Meatloaf

  • 1 lb. 90/10 ground beef
  • 2 slices torn bread crusts removed
  • 1/2 c. milk
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 1 1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 tsp. minced onion
  • 1/4 c. finely diced green bell pepper (optional)
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • Dash freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/8 tsp. dry mustard
  • 1/8 tsp. celery salt (optional)
  • 1/8 tsp. garlic salt

Filling:

  • 8 oz. package Monterrey Jack cheese, cut into 24 – 28 slices
  • 8 slices thinly sliced honey ham

Glaze:

  • 2 Tbsp. Ketchup
  • 1 Tbsp. brown sugar
  • 1/2 tsp. dry. mustard

Heat oven to 350. Mix first set of ingredients  thoroughly. Divide mixture in half. Mold first half into loaf shape in center of 9 x 13 glass dish. Layer half of cheese slices, staying 3/4 – 1″ away from all sides. Fold each piece ham in half and layer over cheese. Finish with another layer of cheese. It will be necessary to overlap slices in each layer to keep filling away from edges.

Take remaining meat mixture and mold into matching loaf shape. Place over top and seal edges thoroughly (we always have some cheese that escapes, but we try to minimize since we want to keep as much of the “good stuff” on the inside).

Bake for 45 minutes. Remove from oven and smother glaze over top. Return and bake 10-15 minutes. Let rest for 5 minutes. Slice & enjoy!

(serves between 4-8 depending on how hungry)

rachelc
Rachel was born the same year the word "foodie" was officially added to the English language, and boy, did that turn out to be appropriate. A reformed junk food junkie and couch potato, she successfully lost 100 pounds through healthy lifestyle changes, including cooking and eating fresh whole foods. Her cooking classes focus on delicious whole food recipes. She is the owner of the wellness business "This One Bite" and shares healthy recipes and kitchen adventures at ThisOneBite.com. Because that just left too much time on her hands (ha!), Rachel also operates a bakery business, Lucca Bakery, that can be found at farmers markets throughout the season. Rachel is a lifelong learner and has several degrees, certification from the Mayo Clinic and has studied cooking around the world including Le Cordon Bleu Paris. She loves to travel, and brings experiences from over 30 countries to her culinary creations. Luckily, she also has a tall, dark and handsome husband and a couple of adorable kids who never mind licking the bowl.