Kids love helping out in the kitchen.  It can also be a big source of pride for them to tell you that they made the meal, almost all by themselves.  It’s also wonderful being able to combine fun, hands-on play time with meal preparation time.  My boys love helping me make gnocchi almost as much as they love eating them!

Pasta Play Dough (Gnocchi)

3 medium baking potatoes
1 small sweet potato
1 ½ cups of flour
1 beaten egg yolk
1 ½ tsp of salt
Butter
Parmesan cheese

Heat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.  Bake the potatoes until tender.  Let cool.  Scrape out the pulp onto a dry, clean area.  Add flour, egg and salt and mix with your hands until the dough comes together.  Knead lightly.  Separate the dough into 5 balls and then roll the balls into ropes about 28” long.  Cut each rope into ¾” to 1” pieces.  You can gently roll the pieces with a fork to give it grooves.  Cook the dough in lightly salted, boiling water.  When they rise to the top they’re done.  Toss with butter and parmesan cheese and enjoy!

The kids can knead the dough and roll it out into long ropes.  The ropes cut easily so you can give the kids safer type plastic knifes or a rolling type pizza cutter.

You can also top with your favorite sauce or try this easy, fast and delicious flavored butter sauce:

5 TBS of butter
5 TBS of olive oil
1 tsp of dried basil (or 4 TBS of chopped fresh basil)
1 TBS of diced garlic

On LOW heat, gently simmer all of the ingredients together to bring out the flavor of the garlic and basil.  Add gnocchi when they’re done cooking and toss gently and then top with parmesan cheese.

Here is an easy dessert the kids can make, as well.  It does require using an electric mixer, so it might require adult supervision but it’s an easy and forgiving recipe so a bit of extra peanut butter or sugar won’t hurt it.  Very kid friendly!

Peanut Butter Pie

4 oz of soft cream cheese
½ cup peanut butter (we like creamy)
1 cup of powdered sugar
8-9 oz of thawed, non-dairy type whipped topping
1 chocolate cookie pie crust

Mix the cream cheese and peanut butter with a mixer.  Add the sugar and milk and mix some more.  Then stir in the non-dairy topping and pour into the crust.  Freeze it for at least 3 hours and then enjoy!  Warning:  This is so good that you might find yourself hiding it from the kids!

Tammy Paquin is a work-from-home mom of 3 boys and the owner and publisher of Frugal-Families, an online resource for frugality, finances, budgeting and everything else related to stretching the dollar. For another great recipe that kids can have fun making visit, Fruit Pizza-Fun to Make and Eat

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Tags: gnocchi dough, kid-friendly recipes, pasta play dough, peanut butter pie, play dough