COOKING UP A NURSERY RHYME

You know it makes me sad that so many of you are not allowed to cook in your classrooms any more. When I think of the cooking experiences I had with my students it makes me smile. One of my favorite memories was when we were making pizzas. I said, “Let’s put them on the pan so I can bake them.” Floyd, a precious red head said, “That’s O.K., teacher, I’ll just eat my raw!”

Years ago a teacher sent me these recipes to tie in with nursery rhymes.  I wish I could remember who to give them credit to!  Even if you can’t have food in your classroom, you might enjoy making these with your own child, a neighbor, a scout troop, or a grown friend!  They are too "sweet" to be forgotten!

                                                 Ole King Cole’s Coins
Every king has a treasure trove filled with coins so why not make these healthy coins to fill up your students.

Ingredients:
Fresh carrots
Ranch dressing

Have the students wash and scrub the carrots with a vegetable brush. Now slice them up so that they look like coins. Let the children dip their coins in the Ranch dressing.

Name Cakes

After singing the ABC’s the children can eat them with me!

Ingredients:
Rice cakes
Peanut butter, cream cheese or frosting
Alphabet cookies

Find the letters of you name and place them on the table. Spread the topping of your choice over the rice cake and decorate with the letter that you name begins with.

Jack Horner’s Thumbprint Biscuits

Jack Horner stuck in his thumb and pulled out a plumb, but your children will get a kick out of sticking their thumbs in a biscuit.

Ingredients
Canned biscuits
Grape jelly

Give each child a biscuit and tell them to stick their thumb in the middle. Let them fill the hole in the middle with a spoonful of grape jelly. Bake according to directions on the package. Have your children say, “What a good (boy, girl) am I!

Moon Pizzas

The cow jumped over the moon and the astronauts landed on the moon. This recipe will add a whole new dimension to the rhyme or a study of the solar system.

Ingredients
English muffins
Pizza sauce
Shredded mozzarella
*Pepperoni, olive slices or cheeses shaped liked stars or moons are optional

Toast the English muffins ahead to time - especially if you like your pizza crust crunchy. Now spread the pizza sauce over the surface of the moon (English muffin) and add the mozzarella and other toppings of your choice. Bake at 350 degrees until the cheese melts.

Little Miss Muffet

Cottage cheese is very similar to curds and whey, so add a little fresh fruit to cottage cheese for snack.

Itsy Bitsy Spider Sandwich

Use a large plastic cup to cut a circle out of a piece of bread. Spread peanut butter, cream cheese, or Nutrella on the circle. Add eyes (raisins or chocolate chips), a mouth (M& M or cinnamon candy), and legs (pretzels, carrot sticks, or Cheetos).
*For a sweeter spider, put icing on a large sugar cookie and use licorice twists for legs.

                                   

Muffin Man Zucchini Muffins

The Muffin Man didn’t have this recipe in his cookbook, but now you do.

Ingredients
½ cup grated zucchini
1 egg
2 Tablespoons of oil
¼ cup of honey
¼ cup of grated lemon peel
¾ cup of flour
½ teaspoon of baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ cinnamon

Add the first five ingredients and mix well. Now add the rest and pour into muffin tins that have liners added. Bake at 400 degrees for twenty minutes. I’ll bet the Muffin man steals this recipe.

Humpty Dumpty

What could be better than hard boiled "Humpty Dumpty" eggs?  Let children draw Humpty on a hard boiled egg, crack the shell, eat the egg, and then try to put the shell back together again.