4-H Kids in the Kitchen

I have spent the past few days at the our counties Extension Homemakers building (in which the majority of Howard Co. 4-H meetings and activities are held) assisting with a cooking class designated towards 4-H juniors. (In 4-H, you are a Cloverbud from ages 5-8, a Junior ages 9-13, and a Senior from 14-19.)

We taught, or were taught basic cooking skills, manners, and how to apply both.

The first day of the class we began by handing out items to all the people who attended. We received wonderful goodies such as cooking supplies (oven mitts, measuring cups a spoons, peelers, cookbooks, etc.) an insulated lunch box, a lunch container, pencils and activity books, among other things.

After going over the basic rules for the workshop we were all given aprons and sent to the kitchen, where the first thing we did was learn how to properly measure ingredients and use knives. (I have to admit, I was a little scared about this, as I am very well acquainted with some of the younger boys who attended the workshop, however, all of us managed to make it out of the session alive.)

Then, we got started on the cooking. The way this worked is that we had several recipes per meal/snack. (Usually three or four recipes per cooking session.) Our first cooking session was a snack session.

We made:

Let me just say before I list the recipes that we slightly altered them to suit our tastes, but these are the original, unaltered versions.

Symphony of Fruit Pizza
1 English Muffin
2 tbs. whipped fat-free strawberry cream cheese
1/3 cp. sliced strawberries
1/4 cp. red grapes, quartered
1/4 cp. canned mandarin oranges, drained.

Toast the English muffin until golden brown. Spread cream cheese on muffin. Arrange fruit on muffin and enjoy! (Serves one)

Veggies & Dip

1 cp. Ranch Dressing
6 cps. assorted fresh vegetables (We used red bell pepper, carrot and celery sticks, and sugar snap peas, cutting up the bell pepper and celery)

Serve vegetables with ranch. (Makes about 6-8 servings)

*Trail Mix
1 cp. small pretzels
1 cp. sunflower seeds
2 cps popcorn, optional
1 cp. toasted oats cereal (we used plain Cheerios)
1 cp. dry fruit
1 cp. fish-shaped cheese crackers

Mix all ingredients and serve.

*Lemonade
1 cp. sugar
2 cps. water
1 1/2 tbs. lemon juice

Warm sugar and 1 cp. water until sugar is dissolved, making a syrup. (Store in refrigerator). Mix 3 to 4 tbs. syrup with lemon juice and remaining water. Pour into an ice filled glass. (Serves one)

Next we had a workshop on the MyPlate method, our personal calorie needs, and how to plan a healthy plate. For more information about the MyPlate method, go to http://www.choosemyplate.gov/

Next we made lunch.

*Corner Kick Pita Pockets
1/2 cp. spinach leaves
1/4 cp. cucumber, peeled and sliced
1/4 cp. shredded carrots
1 tbs. mild salsa
1 tbs. fat-free ranch
1 pita pocket
4 oz. extra-lean ground beef
1 cp. cantaloupe, cubed

Combined the first five ingredients, mix well. Cut pita in half and slowly open it with your finger so as not to tear the bread. Divide the beef and veggie mix in half and place each in pocket half. Serve each half with 1/2 cp. cantaloupe. (Serves two)

Barbecue-Bacon Party Spread
2 pkgs. cream cheese (8 oz.)
1/2 cp. barbecue sauce
1 pkg. fully cooked bacon (2.1 oz.), chopped
1 small tomato, chopped
1/2 cp. chopped green peppers
3 green onions, sliced
1 cp. shredded cheddar cheese

Spread cream cheese on a platter, drizzle with barbecue sauce. Top with all remaining ingredients. Serve with thin crisp crackers.

Banana Milk Shake
1 ripe banana
1 tbs. sugar
2/3 cp. cold milk
dash of salt

Slice banana into bowl and mash with fork. Add all remaining ingredients. Beat until mixture is foaming. If you like, place a scoop of ice cream in the glass and then pour in the milk shake. Serve.
(Serves one)

Crunchy Munchies
1 1/2 cps. chow mein noodles
1 cp. mini marshmallows
1/2 cp. peanuts
1 cp. butterscotch morsels
1/2 cp. creamy peanut butter

Combine first three ingredients, set aside. Microwave butterscotch and peanut butter on high for one minute or until the butterscotch melts. Pour over noodle mixture, toss to coat.
Drop mixture by tbs. onto waxed-paper lined cookie sheet, chill until firm. Store in refrigerator.  
Yield: 3 dz. cookies.

We concluded Day One by making peanut butter cookies as a group, and then cleaning up the kitchen.

Day Two began with breakfast.

Ready, Set, Go! French Toast
2 1/2 cps. Granny Smith Apples, cored and diced with skin on
3 tsp. Splenda
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1 1/2 tbs. skim milk
2 eggs
2 egg whites
butter flavor cooking oil spray
6 slices whole wheat bread
6 tbs. reduced-calorie syrup

In microwave safe bowl, combined apples, Splenda, and cinnamon. Mix well, and microwave for 1 minute. Beat milk, eggs, and egg white together in a shallow bowl. Spray cooking pan with oil. Place on burner over medium-high heat. Dip bread into egg batter coating lightly but completely on both sides. Place in pan and cook until golden brown on both sides. Place two slices each of toast onto plate, cut in half and serve with apple mix and 2 tbs. syrup. (Serves three)

*Cheese & Fruit Kabobs
1 pkg. (8 oz.)  Colby & Monterey Jack cheese, cut into 16 cubes
16 seedless red grapes
16 small  strawberries
4 kiwi, peeled and quartered
1 4 oz. container vanilla pudding
1 6 oz. container strawberry low-fat yogurt

Arrange one each cheese cube, grape, berry, and kiwi chunk onto 16 small straws or wooden skewers. Serve with pudding and yogurt as dip. (Makes 16 kabobs).

Frosty Orangeliciousness
1/2 cp. fat-free vanilla ice cream
1/2 cp. orange juice
1 orange, peeled and frozen
1 tps. orange zest, optional

Place all ingredients in a blender and enjoy!

Between breakfast and lunch we had a manners lesson and conducted an experiment involving fruit perseveration techniques. We dipped an apple wedge and banana slice into salted water, lemon juice, pineapple juice, and sprite, and left one slice and one wedge 'untreated'. After several hours, we went back and observed the changes that had occurred to each one. It was rather interesting, although I didn't really see the results since I started to clean the kitchen.

Lunch was the last meal that we cooked.

Cool Quesa
cooking oil spray
1 whole wheat tortillas
1/4 cp. reduced-fat cheddar cheese
1/3 cp. each tomatoes, green bell pepper, mushrooms, and onions, all finely chopped

Spray frying pan with cooking spray and heat for 1 minute on medium. Set aside 2 tbs. cheese. Place 1 tortilla in pan and spread remaining cheese on top. Sprinkle with vegetables and remaining cheese. Top with second tortilla. Press down with spatula to help the cheese melt. Turn over and cook 1 minute. Cut into quarters and enjoy!

*Summer Salsa
5 tomatoes, cored and diced
1 small red onion, peeled and finally chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
1 jalapeno
1/4 cp. chopped cilantro leaves
1/4 tsp. cayenne (if you like it spicy)
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tbs. lime juice

Put all ingredients into a bowl and mix well. Refrigerate at least 1 hour before eating.

Spanish Rice
non-stick cooking spray
1 small onion
2 cups cooked rice
2 cups salsa

Saute onion in skillet sprayed with cooking spray. Add rice to skillet and toss with onion. Add salsa and mix with onion and rice. Heat thoroughly. Makes four 1/2 cup servings. 

Bottoms-Up Cherry Limeade
3/4 cup lime juice
Sugar substitute equal to 1 cup of sugar
2 liters lime carbonated water, chilled
1/2 cup maraschino cherry juice
8 maraschino cherries with stems
8 lime slices

In a large bowl, combine lime juice with sugar substitute. Cover and refrigerate. Just before serving, stir in carbonated water. For each serving place 1 tbs. cherry juice in a glass with crushed ice. Add about 1 cup of lime juice mix and garnish with cherries and lime slices. Yield: 8 servings.


Later on we were given certificates for the completion of the course, and door prizes were awarded. we received things such as 13x9 inch pans, knife sets, a colander, mixer, breakfast tray, and many other things that could be used in the kitchen. There was one for each of us.

We managed to come out of the workshop virtually unscathed. (I will not name names but a certain blogger did cut herself again.)

The kids had a lot of fun learning and I had a lot of fun assisting. We definitely did not go home hungry, and I hope Howard Co. continues this workshop annually.

Is it August already? Wow 2011 sure is going by fast.



This year sure has been exciting, and I'm sure the rest of the year won't be dull in comparison. This year alone I've gone to two church camps, 4-H camp, and camping in general. Not to mention all the 4-H activities and workshops I've attended this year. My county is so lucky that our local 4-H foundation was provided a grant this year that has made a lot of fun workshops free.

Take the Chef School that I attended through 4-H last week for instance. A two day long, Monday and Wednesday workshop that would have had to have been paid for without that grant. I had a lot of fun attending, even though I was one of the oldest people there. In all, ten people attended.

We kicked off the first day by learning how to properly wash our hands, taking about the different food groups, calorie needs, and food safety. While we did start at nine in the morning, breakfast was not provided that day, instead we got to make some really yummy snacks. We were divided into four teams,with each team assigned to a different snack or beverage. Symphony of Fruit Pizza, Veggies & Dip, Trail Mix, and Bottoms-Up Cherry Limeade was what was on the menu.

While we ate, our Adult Leader, Ms. Jean, along with her daughter Lauren and the Youth Program assistant for Howard County, Lindsay, talked to us about serving sizes, how fruits and veggies are related to color, thinking about what's in our drinks, and how important it is to eat balanced meals. During the break Lauren and I, who have been in 4-H the longest, led the group in singing 4-H songs and some short games to kill time.

For lunch that day we were once again split up into teams, this time making Corner Kick Pita Pockets, Barbecue Bacon Party Spread, Crunchy Munchies, and Lemonade. Once we had cleaned up and done another load of dishes, Ms. Jean told us what was happening on Wednesday. Not only were we cooking our regular meals, but we were throwing a small party for our parents, going shopping for supplies, and having an Iron Chef competition, though not in that order.

Since there were ten of us that day, we were split into two teams of five, given a blank menu and cookbooks, and told we had to plan a meal consisting of a main dish, salad, veggies, dessert, and drinks. We had to have a theme for our meal, so my team decided on Home Cooking, since that is what we are most familiar with. Our meal consisted of Chicken Nuggets (homemade), Garden Salad, Green Bean Casserole, Twice Baked Potatoes, and Peach Cobbler with tea and lemonade to drink.

That concluded Day One.

Day two kicked off with a couple of songs and hand washing routines, which by now all of us were used to. Breakfast was Ready, Set, Go! French Toast, Cheese and Fruit Kabobs, and Frosty Orangeliciousness. Don't worry if you can't pronounce the last one, we couldn't either. After we finished, we loaded up into two vehicles and drove to Walmart. Each team had a shopping list with the ingredients for their meal for the party written down, and $75 to spend. After a brief lesson on how to find the lowest price, we set out to get everything we needed. Since both teams needed some of the same products, we got large containers and only one team bought that items. (Team One bought eggs, team two bought milk.)


Even though my team needed ten pounds of chicken, we still only spent about $56, before tax. Altogether, when we checked out, we had about thirteen dollars left. We went back to the

E-H building to cook lunch, which was Cool Quesa, Summer Salsa, Spanish Rice, Boatloads of Fruit, and Fruit Cooler. We only had about ten minutes to eat lunch, because we were running behind and the judges for the Iron Chef competition were due to arrive soon. Some of us skipped out on half of our food in order to clean the kitchen, I was one of those people. By the time they had arrived, we had the kitchen all cleaned and the dishes were done.

Since there was now nine of us, we were split into three teams of three, and given four items of food in a basket. We were told that we had to use those items, but we could add any items we wished. The things we were given were a raw pie crust, a jar of grape jam, a granny smith apple, and a packet of saltine crackers. My team baled the crust, spread the jam on top, covered it with more crust and served it topped with apples, whipped cream and apples on top with crackers and cheese on the side. All the teams discovered that day that you cannot bake a pie crust in thirty minutes, the amount of time we were allotted. My team didn't win, but we all had fun experimenting.

We cleaned up yet again and set out to make our party food. Everything went smoothly until I started chopping the tomatoes and sliced my finger open. When I was two I broke that same finger and it's always been sensitive, so not only was it bleeding though the towel it hurt like heck. One of the volunteers took me to the first aide station and cleaned me up, but I started to feel queasy and she made me sit down. My friend Sherry's dad came in, and since he's an EMT he checked me out. It wasn't a long cut, but it was deep. Even when I felt a little better, and when I felt up to walking, I sat down for a few minutes, until my mom got there. I offered to help in the kitchen again, but they kicked me out and told me to sit down. According to eye witnesses I was as white as a ghost.

But anyway, everything went smoothly, even if the parents had to wait a while, and the food tasted great. After we were done some of the parents offered to help clean up, and we started to bag up the leftovers. I discovered the one upside I had to cutting my finger, they wouldn't let me do the dishes. After door prizes and certificates of completion, we said goodbye, and thank you and left.

Speaking for myself and my friends, we had a great time. I hope that we get to do something like this again next year.