Today’s Teaching Teens to Cook post is a little more fancy. Instead of just teaching our kids to make pasta we are going to make these fun and fancy Lasagna Spinach Rolls.
One of the blessings of learning how to cook is saving money. When our teens move out and are living off their own means it would be a good idea to save financially by cooking their own meals. Talk to them about how learning how to cook has blessed your family and life. These conversations can happen naturally as you work in the kitchen.
Another great blessing from cooking is saving time. I love to double this recipe and freeze half my rolls in a ziplock bag. I pull them out, add sauce and cheese, and throw them in the oven. This saves time when I have a crazy day.
Skills learned from this post:
- How to cook pasta
- Practice following a recipe
- Using the oven
I just love the Spinach Roll Recipe from Skinny Taste! It’s a family favorite. We also love her Baked Chicken Parmesan.
Teach your teen how to cook pasta. Heat your water in a large stock pot. Talk to your teen about how water expands and can overflow. Ask them if they think the water will boil faster with the lid on. Why? Wait till your water is boiling to add your noodles. Show them how high to fill the pot so it won’t overflow. When cooking lasagna noodles it’s even more important to stir your pasta periodically. Talk about what will happen if your don’t.
Show tips on draining pasta to help prevent burns or scalding. Take time to review safety tips that seem natural to us. Make sure your noodles are layed out so they won’t get stuck together.
Have your teen mix the ricotta and egg and spices. Talk about what kinds of spices work well with Italian food. I like to add fresh chopped basil from my garden. Let your teen know it’s okay to add spices and experiment. Ask them what other spices might taste great in this recipe.
Be kind when giving your teens advice. I had to remind my son to roll loosely so it wouldn’t squeeze out the mixture. As a scout he’s use to rolling his sleeping bag tight. It’s okay if things aren’t perfect in the recipe. But we can kindly give hints for next time.
As you work to assemble your rolled noodles take time to talk to them about their life and how they are doing. Some times when working together conversation comes easier. I love laughing and joking with my kids in the kitchen. We want time cooking together to be pleasant and enjoyable. Also make sure they cover the noodles with sauce before baking or they may dry out. Click over to SkinnyTaste for the full recipe.
Show them how to turn on your oven and what you do to safely remove things from the oven. And don’t forget to teach them where to place hot items when they come out.
After they have made these delicious spinach rolls they will feel more comfortable about making a basic pasta or mac n’ cheese. Other family members will be so impressed with this dinner.
Check out the other posts in this series….
Teaching Teens to Make Omelettes
Teaching Teens to make Taco Soup
Teaching Teens to Make Stir Fry
As my son was finishing up this dinner I asked him how he felt about being able to make dinner. He said, Awesome! And then surprised me with a comment about how he is learning to appreciate all the hard work I do for our family. Man, if that isn’t a blessing of teaching our teens how to cook, I don’t know what it!
Come back tomorrow to learn how to make my family’s favorite dinner!
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