Kid food on a stick

I am going to try my best! I made this up last night.

Cheeseburger Meatballs

1 lb ground beef (meat)

1/3 C bread crumbs

1/3 C shredded cheese ~ eyeball it. You want enough in the mixture, but not too much to where oils from the cheese is pouring out (I used mozzarella last night)

1 t parsley

1 egg

**note** you can add any flavoring to these meatballs. W-Sauce, spices, Montreal Steak flavoring - whatever you typically add to your burgers when you grill them.

Garlic Toast

Either bake at 350 deg for about 25 min or until cooked or skewer them and cook them on the gill.

Either serve garlic toast or take a baguette, slice it length-wise. Cut into cubes. Spread butter and garlic salt on bread. Toast or skewer and grill until butter is melted.

Dilly Cheesy Veggies

2 C vegetables, cooked and drained

1/4 C velveeta (yes, I cheated. You can make homemade cheese sauce too)

1 t Dill mix (dill, onion powder, garlic powder)

Mix all ingredients in a small bowl over medium heat until cheese is melted. Serve.

Another fun item to make instead of the garlic toast: Cheeseburger noodles.

1/2 box any type of noodles: fun shapes are best for kids

ketchup

mustard

cheese

Cook pasta as directed on box. Drain. Mix in ketchup, mustard and cheese until cheese is all melted. Serve with meatballs on top (if you want, you can omit the cheese from the meatballs if you're adding cheese to the pasta)

Yes, I realize this whole thing is full of cheese. I must have been in a cheesy mood!

RosaLee's Chili

Here's the background: RosaLee worked with my mother at Lee Road Radiology. I was with RosaLee and her husband, Franklin, the day my mother passed. She was a very dear friend. This recipe made me fall in love with chili. I disliked it until then......

1 lb Ground Beef (now - you really can sub any meat into chili, and it can be ground or chunky)

1 Med Onion, chopped

2 C Water

2 Cans diced tomatoes (stewed or 2 fresh diced tomatoes works too)

2 Cans tomato sauce

2 Cans kidney beans, drained

1 T Chili powder

1 T Paprika

1 tsp Garlic powder

1 C Salsa

1 C Instant Potato Flakes

1/2 C Sour Cream

1 C Shredded Cheese - I use cheddar

1 Bag Tostito's Chips

Brown meat and onion in a pot. Drain fat. Add water, beans, tomatoes, chili powder, paprika, garlic and salsa to pot. (Tip: don't dump the seasonings in, sprinkle them in and stir so they don't clump together. I'm sure you don't want to bite into a clump of chili powder!) Bring to boil then simmer for 20 minutes. Add potato flakes and sour cream, stir and let simmer for 10 minutes. Serve in bowls. Top with cheese and eat with chips.

Feel free to tweak this recipe any way you wish. I have done it with steak bites in a crock pot, chicken with green peppers, the sky's the limit. I'm going to try it with rabbit meat this fall.

Almost a cupcake meal

I recently tried a recipe I found on food network to make with your kids. Here's how it goes:
In a cupcake pan place cooked noodles of choice. Sprinkle cooked ground meat and veggies and top with cheese. Bake until cheese melts.

Well, when I went to take it out of the pan it all fell apart! So much for that recipe! But I will not be discouraged. It's all in how it's prepared. I will always follow the recipe to the T the first time around. I want to know how it's "supposed" to taste. Let's just say I'll tweak this one. Next time I'll cook the noodles al forno. Then I'll mix that with the uncooked ground meat, veggies, and an egg and mix-in the cheese (whatever cheese you have on hand will work). That should give me the texture I'm looking for and hold I want in the dish.

This could turn into a fun dish with your kids. Have them mix everything up for you and squish it in the pan. Just make sure you wash their hands after you're done.