Meals for Young Cooks

by Winnifred and Ann Jardine

Tips for Young Cooks

Here are some important things to remember when you cook:

1. Plan ahead with your mother what you want to cook. It is important to have something crunchy or crisp to eat at each meal. Crusty hard rolls or raw vegetables like celery, carrots, cabbage, lettuce, and radishes are very good.

2. Always include one vegetable and one fruit in every lunch and dinner menu for good health.

3. Make a shopping list to be sure everything you need is on hand.

4. Measure all ingredients before putting them together. Check them to make sure you don’t leave anything out.

5. After making one recipe, always clean up your dishes before starting something else. It is important for a cook to work in a clean, neat kitchen.

6. Make one recipe each week for practice. Then you will be prepared to make this whole meal for your family.

7. Food will taste better if it is pretty and colorfully arranged on the dishes. (This menu uses orange wedges for bright color and good flavor. Carrot sticks, radishes, or cherry tomatoes could also be used.)

Dinner Menu

Chili Dogs
Orange Wedges
Nutty Coleslaw
Cranberry Crunch
Milk

Shopping List

Chili Dogs

1 pound wieners

5 hot dog buns

2 cans (10 1/2 oz. each) chili or chili beef soup

1 head green cabbage (the greener the cabbage, the more nutritious it is)

1 1/3 cup salted peanuts

1 can (1 lb.) cranberry sauce, jellied or whole

2 oranges

1/2 cup mayonnaise or salad dressing

1 1/2 cups rolled oats

1 square butter or margarine

vanilla ice cream

1/2 cup flour

1 cup brown sugar, packed

1. In a medium or large saucepan, mix together water and chili beef soup or chili.

2. Cook over medium heat until just boiling.

3. Add wieners.

4. Cover saucepan, turn heat to low, and simmer for about 20 minutes or until wieners are hot.

5. Split each hot dog bun in half lengthwise and toast under broiler. Lay bun open on a dinner plate. Using tongs or fork, top each half with a hot wiener.

6. Spoon hot chili over top. Serve at once.

Orange Wedges

Slice oranges into thick slices. Cut each slice in half and arrange two on each dinner plate for color.

Nutty Coleslaw

1. Wash cabbage, cut into fourths, and grate coarsely.

2. Stir in mayonnaise or salad dressing and peanuts. One-half cup raisins, pineapple, chopped apple, or finely diced bananas may also be added if you wish.

3. Chill in refrigerator until time to serve.

Cranberry Crunch

1. Empty cranberry sauce into bowl.

2. Stir with fork and set aside.

3. In large bowl mix and stir together rolled oats, flour, and brown sugar.

4. With pastry blender or two knives, cut butter or margarine into dry ingredients until crumbly.

5. Grease 8x8x2-inch pan. Place half of crumbly mixture in bottom of pan and press down with fork.

6. Spread cranberry sauce evenly over crumb crust.

7. Sprinkle remaining crumb mixture evenly over top.

8. Bake at 350º for 45 minutes. Remove from oven with hot pads.

9. Cool and then cut into squares and serve with ice cream.

(Note: You may want to mix this dessert early in the day and keep it in refrigerator until an hour before supper. Then bake as directed.)

Illustrated by McRay Magleby