This shop and recipes teens should know before leaving home have been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser, Colgate-Palmolive. All opinions are mine alone. #FusionClean #CollectiveBias
It is strange to think that in just four years my oldest could be out on her own. When I say my daughter is 14 it doesn’t hit me, but when I think of the number and how close it is to 18, it does.
She is entering high school next year and that has me focused on teaching her more life skills, including cooking. She’s taking over the kitchen two nights a week and I encourage all of you to let your teens do the same!
Not only does letting your teen take over the kitchen give you a break from cooking, but it also helps your child build up their recipe arsenal. I want my daughter to be prepared for a variety of actual real-world situations and cooking for herself is one of those situations.
I don’t want her relying on fast food, take out, and freezer meals. There are recipes teens should know before leaving home, and I’m sharing five of them today that I’m teaching my daughter this year.
5 Recipes Teens Should Know
Before Leaving Home
1) Simple Sandwiches: Grilled ham and cheese, BLTs, and egg salad are what I will be teaching my daughter how to make. Simple, basic, and convenient so you can cook in a pinch.
2) Homemade Dough: Biscuits and pizza are the reasons I want my daughter to know how to make homemade dough. I think this is important for the recipe arsenal, and the possibilities are endless when you have pizza crust.
3) Family Dish: Every family has a dish or dessert that has been passed down from generation to generation. Don’t wait until your child moves out to pass on the recipe unless that is the tradition.
4) SOS: Stuff on a Shingle, which is also known by many other names, is a recipe that has been around for generations and the thought of it always takes me back to childhood.
My mom actually made her SOS with ground beef instead of chipped beef and it was SO good. If you want to give it a try simply brown 1lb of ground beef, stir in 2 teaspoons butter, 2 teaspoons flour, 1/3 cup milk, and ground pepper until it forms a gravy consistency. Then serve it on top of toast and enjoy!
5) Casserole: Casseroles are amazing dishes and must-haves for the recipe arsenal. You can make a casserole out of pretty much anything when you cover the meat, sauce, pasta, cheese categories. My daughter and I got downright messy together making Cheesy Salsa Chicken Casserole and it was SO much fun and SO tasty!
Cheesy Salsa Chicken Casserole
Cheesy Salsa Chicken Casserole Ingredients
- 1lb Chicken Tenders
- 1 pkg Bow-Tie Noodles
- 1 1/2 Cups Salsa
- 2 Cups Shredded Cheese
- 1 1/2 Cups Tortilla Chips – crushed
- Oil for frying
To start your Cheesy Salsa Chicken Casserole you want to preheat the oven to 350 and begin boiling water for your Bow-Tie Noodles. Meanwhile, begin cutting up the chicken tenders and start frying them in 1/2 inch of oil on the stove top.
Once the noodles are done and the chicken is cooked you can mix them together with 1 1/2 cups of cheese in a casserole dish.
Now pour the salsa over the top of the chicken and noodle mixture and cover with remaining shredded cheese. Place in the oven and bake for 8 minutes.
Remove from oven, top with crushed tortilla chips, and return to oven to bake for 5 more minutes.
Now you have a delicious Cheesy Salsa Chicken Casserole to fill your belly with! Doesn’t it look tasty?!
Robin Rue (@massholemommy) says
That sounds so good! My kids would LOVE this.
Melissa Lawler says
This sounds delicious and looks so easy! I’ll pass the recipe on to my daughter!
Brett Beyer says
I think this would taste really good with a nice pico de gallo. I can’t wait to get into the kitchen to try it out.
Sarah says
My kids are still a little young to be cooking but I like these recipe ideas. I think it’s important for kids to learn as many dishes as possible before they leave home.
William Sweeney says
I love having my kids in the kitchen with me cooking! It is crazy how many kids go off to college without knowing kitchen basics.
Jeni Hawkins says
I really like the addition of the bow tie pasta in the recipe! I love Palmolive, too!
Meagan says
Casseroles saved me in college! Such great ways to prepare pre college aged kids!
Tiffany Cruz says
This is the brand I trust. I remember slowly learning how to cook as my teenage years progressed. Right now I have my 8 year old trained fully on scrambling eggs, and that’s about it.
Dawn Lopez says
I never really thought about it, but that actually makes sense to start kids cooking in preparation for the future. You have a great basic list of recipes to start with. Plus we get to eat something cooked by someone else. Win! 🙂
Ann Bacciaglia says
I have been teaching my teenagers how to cook. This will be a great recipe to try on the weekend.
Crystal says
Loving your recipe list. I want my kids to feel comfortable in the kitchen, and I’m starting them young. Hadn’t tried them making casseroles, but that’s a great idea.
Muna Kenny says
I always try to involve my kid in cooking, I want him to depend on himself and mostly try simple recipes to get him interested, love your casserole 🙂
SHELLEY R ZUREK says
Casseroles are a great starter food for someone learning to cook. Hard to screw up. But this recipe…I would make it. Looks delicious.
Adriana Lopez Martin says
Great tips and recommendations and the pasta looks very good and process is fairly easy. Thanks for sharing #client
Ryan Escat says
This is such very delicious recipe. I want to taste it, i’m really starving right now
Jennifer says
I have been telling my son this for years, but he never wanted to learn how to cook until he realized how expensive it gets to eat out all the time. These are some easy things that he can do for himself!