Hi there! I’m so excited to be welcoming a new contributor to Fantastic Fun and Learning. Katrina Guevara is a long-time friend, an experienced educator, and a super organized–yet very practical–mom of 2. You can read more about Katrina on her bio page. Here on Fantastic Fun and Learning Katrina will be bringing you all sorts of crafts, sanity saving organizational tips, and kids in the kitchen posts. Today she’s kicking off with a quick and easy dinner idea that her kids make.

Enjoy!

~Shaunna

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Ham and Cheese Roll-Ups

Want an easy dinner idea? I find it easy to have my kids be in charge of making dinner! Seriously. I observe and move the tray into and out of the oven, but that is my only job. Even better is that there are very few ingredients, multiple variations, almost no clean up, and my kids eat more on nights they cook. This is probably because they think that their dinners are the most amazing creations! As a busy mom of two, I agree!

Last night they chose one of their favorite dinners. They made Ham and Cheese Roll-Ups.

The girls wash their hands to make dinner. Then they go to the fridge and pull out the 3 ingredients: pizza crust, shredded cheddar cheese, and ham. I also have them grab the aluminum foil & cooking spray.

{Full disclosure: My daughters are 5 & 7. They started helping out in the kitchen last year. It takes a few times to model & teach them how to do some of these tasks, but it is well worth the time. Now they love to be in charge!}

Step 1: Preheat the oven at 400. Wrap a baking sheet in aluminum foil and spray with nonstick cooking spray.

Step 2: Open the pizza dough and spread it on the lined cookie sheet. (Sometimes these cans cooperate and sometimes I help. Last night I had to get it to “pop” before my 7 yr old could finish unraveling it.)

Step 3: I put it in the oven for about 5 minutes. They like to use a timer.

Step 4: I lift the foil out of the cookie sheet and lay the crust on the table. No hot tray to burn themselves on. Foil cools rather quickly and the pizza dough isn’t too hot. I let it sit for a minute to be sure.

Step 5: Kids add toppings. There are a lot of different ingredient combinations. Sometimes they make patterns on the bread. I let them get creative! No need to rush.

Step 6: Have your child roll up the dough. Place seam on bottom and put roll-up in center of foil. Return it to the pan and into the oven for about 10-15 more minutes, until the top is golden brown.

Step 7: Remove from oven and cool. Cut. Serve. Enjoy!!

We served sweet potato fries with our rolls tonight. It was as easy as my daughter pouring frozen fries onto a pan and then I placed them in the oven.

Other variations that we love include:

• Chicken pieces and cheese slices
• Chicken pieces, ham, swiss cheese and honey mustard (Cordon Blue Style)
• Ham, onions, peppers, and cheese (Western Style)
• Chicken, onions, peppers, and cheese (Chicken Philly Style)
• Turkey and cranberry spread

More Cooking with Kids Recipes

• Pizza roll-ups
• Turkey and cheese roll-ups
• Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins
• Moose Tracks Cookies

Continue the Fun with Kids’ Cookbooks

Read about some of our favorite kids’ cookbooks.