Father’s Day is that day for Dad to be spoiled, preferably by his own brood. Here are 5 kid friendly recipes to do just that for all ages with appropriate adult supervision as needed.
Lately I have been noticing tomatoes are tasting really good right now which means it’s BLT season. Believe it or not, tomatoes are the most important element of the sandwich because it is the most over looked. This made my 5 kid friendly recipes for Father’s Day because kids at any age can assemble the sandwich. Frying bacon can be a pain so I recommend Mom(or Dad) using the oven, a baking sheet and a wire rack to cook a lot of bacon without the mess and splatter. Pro tip: line the baking sheet with aluminum foil, less clean up. You’re welcome, Mom.
My kid loves dumplings, pre Covid-19 we were regulars at Julie’s Noodles, and would gladly fork over an arm and a leg for the premium stuff at places like Lin Asian Bar + Dim Sum. For the most part dumplings are pretty affordable, but they are dirt cheap to make at home. The only downside is all the labor that goes into making each dumpling. Well, it’s a good thing that it is totally kid friendly and Dad’s get a pass on Father’s Day. Heads up: this recipe was adapted from All Recipes and I halved it because two pounds of ground pork is more dumplings that my squad of three need. If your brood is bigger, double it(save the beaten egg).
Look, hot dogs are as easy as it gets and it’s really all about the myriad of toppings. Still, there are some great rules to employ from a town where hot dogs are taken as serious as brisket: Chicago. Rule one: go all beef. Rule two: no ketchup. Rule three: embrace spice and acidity. That’s where Chicago Sport Peppers and sauerkraut come into play. Rule four: stick fries in the dog. For something as simple as a hot dog, take note on where to source certain ingredients(the hot dog, sauerkraut, sport peppers), lay out the toppings bar and have your kids load ’em like you were at the corner of Maxwell and Halsted.
Covid-19 has created so much hardship for restaurants but somehow some good old fashion ingenuity has taken hold. I have absolutely loved getting pizza kits like the Bufalina kit available at Salt and Time Market. To be honest, back in the day we would hit Trader Joe’s for their fresh pizza dough which ain’t bad either. As with burgers and hot dogs, we all have our desired toppings. At the Khan house, the elements of a Margherita pizza are favored and I prefer a good salami to pepperoni any day. You’re only limited by your imagination and that’s what makes this such a great contender for a top 5 kid friendly recipe, the kids can drive the topping choices. Pro Tip: a pizza stone is huge. We got a cast iron pizza stone by Lodge.
If you have been following my blog and my exploits on social media, you know I have been going to town on burgers, particularly sliders/ mini burgers. It’s so much easier to get the ratios right of meat to topping to bun when the bun is nice and small. I like to go for the McDonald’s effect here and stick to ketchup, pickle and cheese. Let the kid’s work the buns and toppings while Mom and Dad handle cooking the burger patties. Pro Tip: shredded cheese is a Khan staple and it works great when you need to melt some cheese on small burger patties. Don’t skip the onions which you cook before you cook the patties. More on that here.
All these meals pair well with beer because it is Father’s Day after all. Special note that the BLT sandwiches go well with Champagne. Happy Father’s Day everybody!
[…] With Father’s Day just around the corner Ali shared a recent blog post that includes 5 recipes that kids can make for Dad. You can find that here. […]