Easy Father’s Day Recipes for Kids

A meaningful way to give Dad a gift he’ll remember is to cook him something. Even small children can help in the preparation of special recipes, and older kids can cook some foods by themselves. Here are a few recipe ideas to get your started.

1. Taco Dip

This is definitely an easy recipe for kids. Serve this to Dad for an afternoon in front of the TV, or as lunch on the couch. This makes 8 servings.

Ingredients:
* 1 pound ground beef
* 1 small onion, chopped
* 1 16-oz. can of refried beans
* 1 packet dry taco seasoning
* 2 cups of shredded cheddar, Monterey Jack, Pepper Jack, Colby, or Mexican blend cheese (you can combine these cheeses as well)
* 1 16-oz. container sour cream
* 1 4.5-oz. can of chopped green chilies
* 1 large tomato, chopped
* 1 6-oz. can of sliced black olives
* 6 chopped scallions
* 1 11-oz. jar of prepared salsa

Brown the onion and ground beef in a little oil, breaking it into small bits. Stir in the refried beans, chilies, and taco seasoning. Spread this into the bottom of an 8″ x 10″ baking dish. Layer the rest of the ingredients in the following order: sour cream, salsa, olives, tomato, scallions, and cheese. Serve warm.

2. Shish Kabobs

These are so much fun for kids to make. And you can use a lot of combinations of meats and vegetables. Shish kabobs can be cooked outside on the grill or broiled inside. To make this really kid-friendly, lay out various shish kabob ingredients and let the kids choose what they want to put on the skewers. Rather than one shish kabob recipe, some possible combinations and ideas are listed below.

Soak skewers in warm water for 30 minutes before putting the food on them and grilling/broiling.

Suggested combinations:

* Cubed and marinated beef, chunked pineapple, onions, and green peppers
* Cubed chicken marinated in Dad’s favorite hot sauce, chunked new potatoes
* Chunks of fruit and cubes of various cheeses
* Cubed chicken marinated in Greek salad dressing, black olives, cherry tomatoes, and chunked new potatoes – serve with feta
* Chunks of vegetables like zucchini, onions, and peppers basted with olive oil while grilling
* Tofu cubes can be used instead of meat

If you like, you can cook or grill the meat and vegetables ahead of time, and let the kids string the cooked food on skewers. Then you can just lay them on the grill or under the broiler for a few minutes to warm them up. Grill meat until it is done and juices run clear.

3. Cake with a Theme

One of the most fun things you can make Dad for Father’s Day is a fun cake. For a fun and easy design that kids can help with, why not make a cake shaped like a TV remote control? It need only be a big rectangle, and the kids can help with the mixing and baking. Then they can put the “buttons” on, using candies of various sizes placed in rows to make a keypad.

You could also make a computer keyboard cake this way. The rectangular cake could be made into a shirt front with a tie, too, or iced in shades of green, brown and blue to make a golf course. Let your imagination go on this one!