With families spending extra time at home this holiday season because of the coronavirus pandemic, our Specialized Services for Youth program has compiled a holiday guide with recipes and activities to help your family stay busy and connected.
Cooking with your children is a great way to work on math concepts like counting and measuring, lay down the groundwork for healthy eating habits, and inspire creativity. Here are four family-friendly recipes that our Specialized Services for Youth staff rounded up for you to enjoy this holiday season!
1) Grinch Kabobs
Difficulty level: Easy
Ingredients
10 mini marshmallows
10 strawberries (with tops removed)
1 banana slides into 10 round pieces
10 green grapes
10 toothpicks
Directions
First, wash the fruit! Next, assemble your kabobs — first a mini marshmallow, then a strawberry, a banana slice, and one green grape. Enjoy and refrigerate for up to one day!
2) Funfetti Cookies
Difficulty level: Easy
Ingredients
Funfetti cake mix
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a baking sheet and set aside.
Mix the cake mix, oil and eggs in a large bowl. Refrigerate for 15-20 minutes.
Scoop the dough onto the prepared baking pan. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until cookies are set. You do not want them to brown over in the oven. Allow to cool on the pan for a few minutes and transfer to a cooling rack.
You can also frost and sprinkle these cookies, if desired!
3) Cinnamon Cheesecake
Difficulty level: Medium
Ingredients
Large graham cracker crust
2 packages cream cheese (softened)
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla
Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Blend cream cheese, eggs, sugar, milk, cinnamon and vanilla using a hand mixer.
Pour ingredients into crust
Bake for 1 hour.
Recipe from Katie Kiner, Specialized Services for Youth home-based supervisor
4) Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Cinnamon Butternut Squash with Pecans and Cranberries
Difficulty level: Medium
Ingredients
Roasted Brussels sprouts
3 cups Brussels sprouts (with ends trimmed and yellow leaves removed)
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
Roasted butternut squash
1 1/2 lb butternut squash (peeled, seeded and cubed into 1-inch cubes)
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Other ingredients
2 cups pecan halves
1 cup dried cranberries
2-4 tablespoons maple syrup (optional)
Directions
Roast Brussels sprouts
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line baking sheet with foil and grease with 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
Slice Brussels sprouts in half, then combine in with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and salt in a medium bowl.
Place on sheet cut side down, roast for 20-25 minutes, turning over for the last 5-10 minutes.
Roast butternut squash
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line baking sheet with foil and grease with 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
In a medium bowl, combine cubed squash, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, maple syrup and cinnamon.
Place on the baking sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes, turning halfway through.
Note: You can roast the Brussels sprouts and squash at the same time on two separate baking sheets.
Toast pecans
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Place the pecans on the baking sheet and bake fro about 5 minutes or until they are darker in color.
Mix it all together
In a large bowl, mix the roasted Brussels sprouts, roasted butternut squash, pecans and cranberries.
For more sweetness, add 2-4 tablespoons of maple syrup.
