- Cooking with your children has many positive impacts such as instilling them with confidence; building on math, science, and health skills; teaching them valuable life-long lessons; and creating fond memories.
- Every kid loves pizza. In fact, almost everyone likes pizza. My family’s version of calzones are just covered-over pizzas, filled with cheese and vegetables.
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No matter how picky of an eater your child is, I can almost guarantee that they like pizza. Every kid I have ever known has loved pizza. I mean, who doesn’t. Unfortunately, having pizza every day is not only unhealthy and costly, but also would get boring very quickly. To give my family that pizza feel without actually making pizza or ordering out, we like to make our own versions of calzones, basically a covered pizza. They are easy to make, quick to bake, and gives everyone an opportunity to help make a meal.
We like to make cheese-filled ones and veggie-filled ones, but they present a great opportunity to experiment with different ingredients. I also like to pair them with a good marinara sauce and a side salad to make a full meal.
Here is how we like to make calzones:
Ingredients
Fresh pizza dough ball – 1 lb
Bell peppers – multiple colors or just one color – diced
Red onion – diced
Any vegetables that your family likes (mushrooms, olives, spinach, tomatoes, artichokes, etc) – diced
Marinara sauce
8 oz shredded cheese
Flour
Extra Virgin Olive Oil – optional
Steps – and How to Include the Children
Step 1: Gather ingredients and utensils. I like to gather together everything that I need, including ingredients as well as utensils, before I get started cooking. The utensils that we gathered for making calzones included 2 cutting boards, a rolling pin, a flat baking sheet, and a cooling rack. This is an easy step to include children of all ages. Young children tend to love helping to gather ingredients, and older children will know where all of the needed utensils are. I have learned that for a smooth experience, especially with younger kids, make sure that you give specific instructions such as “can you get an onion out for me?” and “can you grab the baking sheet?”.
Step 2: Prepare the dough. We use premade dough bought fresh from our local grocery store’s deli department. The only preparation for this type of dough is that it needs to be left out at room temperature for about 1 hour to let it rest. Resting allows the gluten in the dough to relax, making it easier to shape and allows the yeast to ferment, creating a better flavor and texture. Note: feel free to use homemade dough if this is a preference.
Step 3: Cut the veggies. While the dough is resting, cut up the veggies that you would like to use. We used red, yellow, and orange bell peppers along with a purple onion. You can have older children complete this step, or if you do not want your children using a knife, you can do this step yourself.
Step 4: Roll out the dough. After the dough has properly rested, the first thing that I do is cut the dough in half. Each half will make one calzone. Once I cut the dough in half I make it into a ball shape. Then I sprinkle a little flour over my cutting board and then begin to roll out the dough. We personally like our dough to be about 1/8th to 1/4th an inch thick. This step can be a little hard, especially to make the dough thin or to make it at least semi-symmetrical, so you may have to help with this step. However, young children seem to really enjoy using the rolling pin so I like to assist them instead of the other way around.
Step 5: Preheat the oven. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. This should be done by an older child or yourself. Make sure to remind your children that the oven is hot and not to mess with it.
Step 6: Create the filling. Let your child cover half of the dough with cheese and vegetables. Let them know to leave at least half an inch of room at the edges so that you can seal it before it gets baked.
Step 7: Seal the dough. Have your child cover the filling with the other side of the dough. Once covered, let them use a fork to seal the edges. For a better seal, dab the edges with a flour/water mixture. The mixture should be thicker than water but not paste-like. After the mixture is dabbed on the edges, have your child use the fork to create a seal. *Optional, you can let your child brush the top of the dough with EVOO. This will give your dough a better golden color and give it a slight crunch.
Step 8: Bake for 18 minutes. I place two calzones on the baking sheet to bake at one time. You may want an older child to do this step, or you can do it yourself. Bake at 400 degrees for approximately 18 minutes, or until the top becomes golden-brown in color. Place it on a cooling rack to cool for a couple of minutes and then serve.
Step 9: Enjoy! Everyone can enjoy this step. Just add some marinara to your plate and dig in!
Benefits of Cooking with Kids
There are many benefits of cooking with your children. Letting them help prep for and prepare a meal teaches them safety in the kitchen. Children are also more likely to try new foods if they are involved in the process of preparing and cooking them. This invites new experiences and encourages healthy habits. Being able to prepare a meal, whether solely for themselves or for their family, gives them both confidence and a sense of independence.
As far as “school” type learning goes, measuring and the use of fractions, as well as conversions between the metric and US Customary System, all build on math skills. The act of cooking, adding varying degrees of heat to different ingredients, is a science skill. Cooking with your child is also a good time to review the food pyramid and discuss foods that are healthy. These should all build on topics already covered in other ways by bringing them into their daily lives.
On top of lessons learned, cooking together with your family will create wonderful memories for all involved. Who doesn’t fondly remember some type of cooking memories with a member of their family? And working together as a team in the kitchen will help reinforce bonds (or help create them). Not to mention the fabulous recipes that will be passed down. This can also start traditions that will continue through your children’s childhood and into their adult lives.
If you are interested in recipe cards to use with your children, I have made a set of 54 3×5 inch cards available on my TPT store. The set is split into 6 different categories: Baked Goods, Appetizers, Soups, Main Dishes, Side Dishes, and an empty customizable category. Each category has 3 different design options and includes an optional back side with additional lines to write on to be printed on each.
<– Here is a link to my Recipe Cards page on my TPT store.
I hope this cooking with kids recipe helps to create happy memories, make a delicious meal, and provide useful lessons for everyone involved. If you found this blog helpful please consider subscribing to and liking this post as it will help to grow the community as well as let me know which type of posts are more beneficial for you. If you like baking with your child and would like a cupcake recipe to add to your list, try my Cooking with Kids: Cupcake Wars blog.
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If you and your kids try this recipe please let us know if you enjoyed it in the comments below.