Most families have one or two kids who are interested in cooking rice-based recipes for their simplicity. Some of them are bolder and try to prepare various meals. Some others are more cautious and fear using any kitchen gadgets, and don’t dare to get close to the kitchen.

Whoever your kids are: bold or cautious, there are several ways to introduce them to cooking in a safe environment. Even if your children have no interest in cooking, it could be worth teaching them some kitchen skills. Besides learning how to cook, they will develop self-sufficiency and responsibility.

The best idea is to start slowly with simple dishes, and then work up to attract them to create their own preparations.

Teaching your kids the cooking basis

A good place to start could be breakfast. For doing it, plan a breakfast feast and teach them how to make an easy meal. At this time you can take advantage of prepared foods, so they can feel free to combine them as they please, without using too many kitchen appliances.

The simplest breakfast dishes could be:

  • Toast with jam and fresh fruit.
  • Cereal with milk.
  • Bagel with cream cheese
  • Frozen waffles with honey and fresh fruits.
  • Yogurt parfait.

Once they have mastered preparing breakfast for the whole family, their confidence will be very high. Take this opportunity and involve them in most elaborated dishes for lunch and dinner. Cutting, mixing, and heating are some of the skills they may already have experienced when preparing breakfast.

The strategy for teaching lunch and dinner implies increasing the level because they have to use the microwave, the stove, or the oven. So learning how to use each one of these appliances will be of vital importance for your kids.

At first, cook together the usual meals they are familiar with, especially those with few ingredients. For example, one-pot dishes, salads, casseroles, baked preparations, soups, and so on.

Cooking with staples

For making the rice-based recipes easier, use common ingredients like some staples such as rice or beans. These two ingredients are very versatile and easy to cook. Another benefit of using these staples is that you can find instant rice and canned beans, which make the process simpler and quicker.

There are thousands of recipes you can begin with, try an easy red beans and rice recipe, and then you can level up the difficulty and let them cook a more elaborate meal.

Try these recipes with two different cooking techniques and teach your kids new kitchen skills.

Mexican rice and beans

Ingredients (4 servings):

  • 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil.
  • 2 cups of vegetable broth.
  • 1½ cups of instant white rice.
  • ½ cup of chopped onion.
  • 2 minced cloves of garlic.
  • 1 cup of tomato sauce.
  • 1 can of kidney beans.
  • Salt and pepper to taste.

Preparation:

  1. Heat the vegetable oil at a high temperature in a mid-sized saucepan.
  2. Incorporate rice, and sauté for 5 minutes. Rice should get a brownish color.
  3. Now add the garlic and the onion, stir very well and lower the heat to a minimum.
  4. Pour vegetable broth, season with salt and ground pepper. Let it simmer for about 10 minutes.
  5. Add tomato sauce and kidney beans, and cook for 10 more minutes.
  6. Let it stand and serve warm.

Baked rice and beans

Ingredients (4 servings):

  • 1 cup of long-grain white rice.
  • 1 ½ teaspoon of chopped marjoram leaves.
  • ½ cup of chopped onion.
  • 1 can of red kidney beans.
  • 1 ½ cups of vegetable broth.
  • Salt and pepper to taste.
  • Cheddar cheese.

Preparation:

  1. Preheat the oven to 300°F (150° C).
  2. Grease a baking dish, and add rice, marjoram leaves, onion, red kidney beans, and vegetable broth. Combine all ingredients.
  3. Season with salt and pepper.
  4. Cover and bake until all vegetable broth is absorbed (about 1 hour).
  5. Remove from the oven and shred some cheddar cheese on top.

Tips for teaching your kids

  • Use your regular utensils (there is no need to buy special utensils for kids).
  • Start with easy tasks that are age-appropriate.
  • Let them choose some rice-based recipes.
  • Teach them also hygiene and safety skills, like proper washing of hands, utensils, and ingredients.
  • State from the beginning simple but effective rules. No fighting, not throwing ingredients, and no running in the kitchen are some useful rules you can apply while they are cooking.