My daughter LOVES to cook. She loves to cook more than most things. 🙂 This has been a problem for a while now, because we are going through a kitchen renovation, and our “kitchen” has been out of commission. However, we are a family of go-getters, make it happen, overcome obstacles, type people, and we’ve found ways to work around not having a kitchen. 😀 Mostly… the electric skillet.
We have become quite adept at one skillet meals around here. This one, is one of the many lunch recipes kids can make that we’ve come up with. It’s a simple dish, with lots of flavor and plenty of opportunity to practice their knife skills. (If your kids’ knife skills need work — or you are terrified of the idea of handing them a sharp knife — I highly recommend this knife skills course!) (and even after you take the knife skills course, chances are you’ll still need to remind them not to use their pointer finger ;))
So… here’s the basics, I did say it was super easy.
Vegetable Tortellini: An Easy Lunch Kids Can Make
What you need:
Frozen tortellini
1 can diced tomatoes (italian blend)
all the veggies you love
zucchini
peppers
mushrooms
(I’d add spinach, but the kiddo was making it this time. ;))
Spices:
salt
pepper
garlic powder
Italian Seasoning
What you do:
Turn your electric skillet on to about 350, or if you’re lucky enough to have an actual stove, to medium heat.
Throw in a little oil, we like coconut.
Dice your veggies and throw them in.
Something to have your kids think about.
It’s important to look at your veggies and think about what’s going to take the longest to cook, and dice those first. We know peppers are going to take longer than zucchini to cook, so we diced our peppers first, then mushrooms, then the zucchini went in last.
This was a zucchini from our garden. <3
Let the veggies sit and cook for a few minutes (3-5 I’d say) until they start to get soft. Add a little salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste.
The less you move them the more brown and delicious they will get.
Once they have softened add the can of diced tomatoes, a tablespoon (more or less) of Italian seasoning, a cup of water and throw in the tortellini. How much tortellini you add is completely up to you and your taste. Just make sure you have about enough water to cover what you’re cooking… so add more or less water depending on your tortellini decisions.
Cover and simmer until the tortellini are done, (5-6 minutes I’d say, but look at your bag of tortellini for instructions). If you’re lucky enough to have a stove, you could totally cook your tortellini separately while the veggies are cooking and then add them in… easy peasy. We are all about the one pot. 😉
If you notice you’ve got a lot of liquid left, no worries… it’s quite delicious. However, if you want a little less, uncover your skillet and let some cook off (aka evaporate). 😉
Add a dash of parmesan cheese and viola!
You’re done, that’s it! Super simple. Dish it up into bowls and enjoy. <3
Hope you enjoy your vegetable tortellini, and actually let your kids make the lunch.
Talk soon,
Jackie
