Kids in the kitchen keeps math, reading skills sharp

Coronavirus has reintroduced me and my granddaughter to the kitchen.

I have a 7-year-old who has been out of school a week. She misses her friends and wants me to play with her 24-7.

Instead of doing online learning, we are having class in the kitchen. Cooking, as I have often said, is a great tool to teach math and reading skills.

Halfway into Day 1 of hibernation, I knew I needed a game plan. I asked Lilly if she would like to help make banana muffins. “Can I crack the eggs?” she asked. That’s her favorite thing.

“How many do we need?”

Three.

“OK, three it is. What else?”

Two cups of flour and three-fourths cup of brown sugar. Here is a one-fourth measuring cup. How many cupsful will it take to make two cups? How many cupsful for the three-fourths cup of sugar?

Nice math lesson for a second-grader.

She was busy and loved her tasks. She continued adding ingredients and mixing the batter. She even sprayed the muffin pans and scooped the batter into the pans, two small cookie scoops per pan.

I handled the oven duties. Tough job, but we don’t want her to get burned. And so, went our afternoon class.

This may sound trivial, but it isn’t. Lilly loves helping me, even with the laundry. We turn work into a fun way to learn. And, yes, she loved her banana muffins.

The next day we tackled a skillet shepherd’s pie. She added all the ingredients to the ground meat and shaped the loaf. Be sure hands have been washed. She turned her nose up at the peas, but then, so does her mother. Into the pie mixture they went. I like peas.

This is how our week has gone. We have cooked, read, played games, jumped on the trampoline and ridden her scooter. Not making light of the coronavirus, but our activities reminded me of days spent with my grandmother. The Bible says the old women shall train the younger ones, so I continue the ways of my grandmother, who was the absolute best.

I thought I would share Lilly’s and my recipes, the banana muffins and skillet shepherd’s pie. Both recipes make use of pantry staples. The shepherd’s pie uses canned goods or frozen veggies that you may have purchased for this hibernation time.

Good luck finding ground beef at the store, I couldn’t earlier this week. I did have some in the freezer, thank goodness. Shopping has not been easy, but there is little we can do about it. Complaining does nothing except heighten stress levels. Remember every time you get stressed; it is like eating a pound of steak to your body.

Best ever banana bread

2 eggs beaten

1/3 cup of buttermilk

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 cup mashed bananas

1 1/2 cup white sugar

1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup chopped pecans, optional

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray one 9-by-5-inch loaf pan with non-stick spray coating.

Blend together the eggs, buttermilk, oil and bananas. Sift together the sugar, flour, baking soda and salt. Add to banana mixture and stir in pecans. Mix well. Pour into prepared loaf pan and bake 1 hour and 20 minutes and or until a cake tester inserted in center comes out clean.

Note: I was out of baking soda, so we substituted with baking powder, using three times the amount of baking soda called for in the recipe.

We also were out of buttermilk, so we used the amount of milk called for in the recipe plus 1/4 teaspoon of either lemon juice or vinegar. – From www.allrecipes.com/

Skillet Shepherd’s Pie

1 pound ground beef

1 cup chopped onion

2 cups frozen corn, thawed

2 cups frozen peas, thawed

2 tablespoons ketchup

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

2 teaspoons minced garlic

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 teaspoon beef bouillon granules

1/2 cup cold water

1/2 cup sour cream

3 1/3 cups mashed potatoes, prepared with milk and butter

3/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

In a large skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in the corn, peas, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce and garlic. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover for 5 minutes.

Combine the cornstarch, bouillon and water until well-blended; stir into beef mixture. Bring to a boil over medium heat; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Stir in sour cream and heat through (do not boil).

Spread mashed potatoes over the top; sprinkle with cheese. Cover and cook until potatoes are heated through and cheese is melted.

Freeze option: Prepare beef mixture as directed but do not add sour cream. Freeze cooled meat in freezer container. To use, partially thaw in refrigerator overnight. Heat through in a large skillet, stirring occasionally and adding a little water if necessary. Stir in sour cream and proceed as directed. – From Taste of Home magazine

Andrea Yeager can be reached at ayeager51@cableone.net/ and Cooks Exchange, 205 DeBuys Road, Gulfport, MS 39507.