Kids in the Kitchen with Face Rock Cheese
Kids and cheese. These two just go together at all ages and stages. Cheese is a favorite food for many moms and youngsters and for good reason. It’s easy to prepare in its natural or melted form. It’s tasty, and a good source of protein, calcium and Vitamin K to boot. Early eaters can start with shreds on the high chair to help them with grip dexterity, while a toddler can easily grasp a cheese stick as they demand independence. Self-serve after school snacks for the elementary school set are quick and easy by keeping a supply of prepped fruits, veggies, crackers, cut cheddars and stacker options prepped and ready to serve. And teens often do their best to live off pizza, quesadillas and other melty cheese masterpieces.
Cheese is a great ingredient to have on hand as kids start to experiment in the kitchen. We’re all for getting kids into the kitchen early! Children are the ultimate tactile learners and the kitchen provides the perfect environment for looking, touching, listening, tasting, and planning ahead. Working with a picky eater? Kids are more likely to eat what they make, so getting them used to touching different textures and tasting new flavors at their own pace can help expand preferred food choices and build a more diverse palate. Cooking helps children to develop independence, nutritional awareness, and critical thinking skills like preparing a shopping list and following a recipe.
With school starting up, we wanted to share a few of our favorite recipes for kids to play with. We have many more in our extensive recipe library, so make sure to check them out with your kiddo and pick something they would like to try. Even though our recipes are made with a certain flavor in mind, you can swap out nearly all of them for another flavor including our classic aged.
What are your favorite recipes to make for kids using Face Rock cheese? Tag us on social media with #myfacerockfavorites so we can share them!
Stuffed cheese pockets are fantastic for kids! They can make these versatile treats with any kind of filling they like. Our cheddars and Monterey Jack are exceptionally melty, and a great choice for these pockets. We recommend pre-made or fresh pizza dough for our pockets since it takes high heat very well for a crunchy, golden crust. We went with a salami pizza theme for ours, but other kid friendly options are Pepperoni and Monterey Jack, ham and broccoli with aged cheddar, taco meat and tomatoes with spicy In Your Face for the adventurous set, sausage and egg with aged cheddar for a breakfast version. Of course, we wouldn’t object to a cheese only version either!
Do homemade crackers seem like a lot of work? We did until we tried it and realized how easy it is! Five ingredients (one is water!) and you’re on your way. Our aged cheddar is delicious when transformed into a cracker. We used a pasta roller to get the dough evenly thin and it saved us a ton of time. Rolling pin is just a fun though! We cut this batch of cheddar crackers into basic squares. But for kids in the kitchen, mini cookie cutters are a fun way to cut out shapes like flowers, characters, and of course, goldfish. A batch of these will go so fast! Have you kids mix them up with pretzels, nuts, sesame sticks, and other bite size crunchy treats for a personalized snack mix.
All the melty, crispy goodness of fried cheese sticks, none of the fryer mess! Waffle irons are a good way to introduce kids to working with a heated element. Waffle up a batch of Face Rock cheddar for an easy, delicious snack. Freezing the cheese is a key to success, and will help kids experience the skill of manipulating the temperature of foods for optimal outcome.
If you've ever had fried curds than you know what an exceptional treat they are! Deep frying may not be an option with kids, so we've got you covered with a baked curd version. These are a fantastic protein-packed snack to recharge after a busy day. The secret to keeping the curds from melting too fast during baking is to freeze them for at least an hour first!
