Mini Frittata Recipe: Cooking With Kids

Cooking with your kids can be fun for both you and your children. By having your children help out with cooking meals, they are developing wonderful life long skills. First, they are developing a sense of ownership in the food that is prepared. Why is this important? As children assist in creating their meals, they will be much more willing to eat the food that is put in front of them. It also helps to foster a healthy lifestyle for children. Children who begin to cook with an adult at a young age are much more knowledgeable about making healthy food choices. As a parent, you can model choosing fresh ingredients and how to combine them in a way that is fun, tasty, and nutritious.

In our home, breakfast foods aren’t only for breakfast. On occasion we like to serve breakfast foods for dinner. It creates a little bit of excitement as the family ends the day the way that we usually start it. So here is an easy to make and fun to eat breakfast meal.

• 7 eggs
• Splash of milk
• 1 Tbs. of melted butter
• 12 six inch tortillas (you can use wheat tortillas for a healthier option) If the tortillas that you use are a little larger, you will be able to cut more circles out of them.
• ¾ cup of low fat shredded cheese (flavor of your choice)
• ½ cup each of a variety of diced vegetables. Choose vegetables that your children enjoy eating. Some suggestions include: broccoli, peppers, onions, mushrooms, and zucchini.

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Dice all of the vegetables into small pieces and set aside in separate dishes. This part should be done by an adult unless an older child who has experience using sharp knives is helping.
3. In a mixing bowl, crack the eggs, add a splash of milk to the eggs and mix well. Add a pinch of salt and pepper to the egg mixture.
4. Next cut the tortillas into two inch circles using a biscuit or round cookie cutter. This is a perfect job for your young helpers. Then lightly brush one side with melted butter. Kids find this delightful because it is just like painting only with food!
5. Spray the muffin tins with non-stick spray. Place the tortilla round into the muffin cup butter side down. With a little guidance this is something that children ages 3 and up can do.
6. Now comes the fun part! Have your children select the veggies that he or she would like in the eggs and have him or her sprinkle it into the cup. After all of the extras are added to the cup, ladle the egg mixture into each cup until they are about half way full. Add a sprinkle of cheese over the top if desired. Once all of the cups are filled, place in the oven to cook for 12-14 minutes.

**You may see some liquid in the center of the eggs due to the moisture of the vegetables. The egg cups will puff up when they are done.

Allow egg cups to cool slightly and serve to your sous chefs and family!

An excellent accompaniment to this dish is a bowl of fresh berries or other fruit. Simply wash and slice up some strawberries, blueberries, blackberries or raspberries and serve. Children can also help create the fruit bowl by adding their favorite berries into the bowl.

We hope that your family enjoys this fun and nutritious cooking activity as much as we did. Remember that cooking together as a family is beneficial to everyone in the home. Be careful, the may be the start of some fun family time!!