I’m so excited to be reviewing ‘Cool Kids Cook’, the brilliant cookbook by Jenny Chandler that can teach your kids vital cooking skills and turn them into little foodies. It only just came out on 12th May and you can win yourself a free copy! (To enter the competition all you need to do is comment at the bottom of this page- UK Readers only)

This is a kids cookbook intended for children 7 upwards but I think it can be used with younger kids (as tested by me!) and as a resource for child friendly meals as well. Reading through this book made me think that in a few years time I would love the kids to cook for everyone maybe once a week. This cookbook would be perfect source of recipes for that!

The book it colourful and well designed. The instructions are easy to follow (a must for children) and it also contains lots of interesting facts as well as a safety section. I wish I’d read this section before as I very nearly chopped my finger off the other day! It contains proper instructions on how to use knives, I obviously could have done with a quick reminder. In fact, If you are a novice cook and would like to start cooking proper food from scratch for you and your kids following recipes from this book could be a good way start.

The book contains approximately 50 recipes which are divided into chapters for breakfast, picnics & packed lunches, bowl food, hot favourites, baking &desserts. It includes a good range of healthy recipes from Granola & smoothies for breakfast to Super-speady Bean and Tuna Salad to Banana bread & Crumble for sweats.

I love the fact most recipes have a basic version with some ideas for variations when the children have mastered it.For example the simple meatballs recipe can be tweaked into Italian meatballs, Spanish meatballs or moroccan meatballs really easily.

I’m grateful to be able to share with you the meatballs recipe from this book!

I tested the simple meatballs recipe with my kids and my two nephews who are 5 1/2 and nearly 3. It was really fun cooking with so many kids! The best part was following the suggestion to put swimming goggles on when grating the onion. It worked, we had no crying eyes with the added bonus of being super entertaining!

Simple Meatballs- from Cool Kids Cook by Jenny Chandler

Makes about 20/Serves 4

(Don’t forget to wash hands before and after handling raw meat)

Ingredients:

1 thick slice of white bread, crusts removed

100ml/ 1/2 cup milk

225g/ 8oz beef mince ( ground beef)

225 g/ 8oz pork mince (ground pork)

1 onion grated {You may want your swimming goggles? You might cry.}

3 tbsp finely chopped flat-leaf parsley

a large pinch of salt

a ring of pepper

2 tbsp olive oil

1- Rip the bread into a few pieces and put it into a small bowl with the milk. Leave to soak.

2-Next, mix up the meat, onion, parsley and a bit of seasoning in a large bowl

3- Mash up the bread and milk mixture with a fork and tip this into the meat mixture.

4-Now mix all the ingredients really well using your very clean hands.

5- You need to check out the taste before you go rolling all those balls. So, take a tablespoon of mixture, squash it in the palm of your hands into a flat cake – like a mini burger.

6- Heat up a large frying pan with the olive oil and fry the tester for a few minutes on each side until cooked through. Allow to col for a couple of minutes and then taste…What do you think? Does it need more salt or pepper? Add some if you think so.

7-Roll the rest of the mixture into balls about the size of a walnut and put them on a tray. {Wet hands stop the meatball mixture sticking as you roll} Try to keep them all the same size, then they will take the same time to cook.

8- Heat up the pan again over a high heat {!!!!!!}, and carefully add about half of the meatballs. Allow them to brown a little, then carefully roll them over to colour the underside too. Spoon them out onto a place and brown the rest of the raw balls.

9-Now, add them all back to the pan, turn down the heat and cook gently for about 5 more minutes until firm. TEST a baby ball by cutting in half. If the meat is still pink, cook for a couple minutes longer.

COMPETITION NOW CLOSED

Please enter to WIN a free copy!!! ( UK Readers only)

All you need to do is like this page & post a comment. Just enter before 22 June  and a winner will be picked randomly.

You can buy ‘Cool kids cook’ here ( Affiliate link):

With thanks to Pavilion Books.