There are many reasons to teach your children to cook, saving them from endless nights of baked beans on toast and $2 noodles when they leave home being just two!
Of course, learning to cook is the biggest favour a parent can give, but teaching them basic cooking skills while they are still at home can help you out too!
They might make a mess of the kitchen, but it will teach them how to cook and clean up, which will give you the night off too.
So to help you out and equip your teenagers with some easy to remember meals for life outside the home, here are 10 recipes to teach them before they leave the nest!
So simple, yet so delicious! Spaghetti bolognese is a classic every teenager should learn to cook; it’s easy, nutritious and can be stored in the freezer as a heat-up meal. Simplify the recipe as much as you like, as long as the three core ingredients are there: mince, pasta sauce and pasta, then you will have yourself a little spaghetti chef in no time!
Click here for the recipe! 2) Poached eggs
These are a little tricky and take some skill to perfect, but once they do (and they will be so happy with themselves), you’ll be receiving breakfast in bed every day! An easy recipe for poached eggs is to add a dash of milk and a little knob of butter to the water, crack the eggs into a cup before pouring them into the simmering water and wait two minutes. Hey, Presto! The perfect poached egg!
Click here for the recipe! 3) Stir-fry
A stir-fry is the easiest way to ensure your teenagers receive the right nutritional balance in their diet, especially when they head off to university and are in need of an easy veggie-fix! All the basic veggies can go in a stir-fry, all roughly chopped with a simple soy sauce for a dressing.
Click here for the recipe! 4) Mexican wraps
Teenagers love these because they are delicious, have elements that come from a packet and are easy to cook! Mexican wraps can be made with chicken or beef, so you know their protein fix will be taken care of. You can even teach them to throw all sorts of veggies in the mix; from lettuce, tomato, carrot and capsicum. Hey, why not add some beans and corn for good digestion too!
Click here for the recipe! 5) Fried Rice
Every teenager should learn to cook rice and jazzing it up with a touch of fried-rice-class could just encourage this little recipe further. Fried rice can be as simple of complex as you want it to be and they will soon pick up the “throw it all in with soy sauce” method.
Here’s a great recipe for fried rice…Click here! 6) How to Cook a Decent Steak
This is a must for every teenager in Australia because barbeques are essential to our weekly life, and who doesn’t love a good steak? However, cooking the perfect steak can be tricky, and it does take some time to perfect. Seasoning well is an easy-to-remember cooking tip for this timeless classic, the rest is just about timing to perfection.
Click here for the recipe! 7) Basic Salad
To go with the steak, a basic salad should be an easy one for teenagers to remember! Just Lettuce, tomato, cucumber and cheese, and you have ticked off all your basic food groups in one delicious swoop!
Click here for the recipe! 8) Pumpkin Soup
This yummy classic should not be overlooked in any kitchen, especially in winter when sitting down to a creamy bowl of pumpkin soup and some crusty bread is the ultimate dinnertime meal! The recipe for this one is simple; just chopped pumpkin, chicken stock and two chopped onion. Cook until soft and blend together — easy, simple, yum!
Click here for the recipe! 9) A Basic Pasta Dish
Once you have the basics with Pasta, anything is the go! But there is an art to cooking pasta right. Make sure you boil the water first in a large pot (don’t crowd the pasta noodles) – and add a good pinch or two of salt. The pasta will only absorb as much salt as it needs!
This basic recipe for Faster Pasta is cheap and easy to make using very basic ingredients!
Click here for the recipe! 10) Roast Lamb
Ah, roast lamb. This is an essential recipe to teach your teenagers for two reasons: one, so you can enjoy a yummy meal when you visit them outside of home and two, so you can watch them clean up the mess after cooking it at home!
Click here for the recipe! We wish you good luck! Let’s hope they don’t burn the house down.. or worse, leave a mess!
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