Can Your Teenager Cook These Essential Meals?

By Katya S
Photo by Sweet Life on Unsplash

As your child gets older, it becomes increasingly important that they can do simple tasks like cleaning their room, vacuuming, and cooking simple meals. Help them out by teaching them to cook these three meals which could keep them going over a week if the quantities were doubled.

Carbonara

Ingredients (to serve 2):

  • 1 cup of dried spaghetti
  • 3 eggs
  • 1/2 cup of bacon or lardons
  • 2 tablespoons of olive oil
  • 2 teaspoons of salt
  • 1 teaspoon of pepper

Instructions:

  1. Start by boiling 2 1/2 cups of water in a pan and adding 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt to it.
  2. Add the pasta to the pan, and cook according to the packet instructions.
  3. Fry the lardons or bacon in half a tablespoon of oil.
  4. Once the pasta is done, drain it but leave about 1/3 of a cup of water in the pan.
  5. With the pan off the heat, whisk the eggs and remaining oil into the pasta.
  6. Once the eggs are cooked, add the remaining salt, pepper, and bacon and serve.

Filo Tarts

Ingredients (to serve 4):

  • 1 pack of store-bought filo pastry
  • 4 tablespoons of green pesto
  • 2 beef tomatoes
  • 1 block of feta cheese
  • Olive oil, for drizzling and for oiling the pastry

Instructions:

  1. Carefully peel the filo pastry layers apart and grease each one with olive oil or melted butter before layering them up.
  2. Coat the top layer of pastry with the pesto, then add sliced tomato and crumbled feta cheese.
  3. Drizzle with olive oil, then bake in the oven at around 330 degrees F for 30 minutes.
  4. Remove from the oven and slice into four equal parts.

Chicken Casserole

Ingredients (to serve 4):

  • 8 chicken legs
  • 4 large potatoes
  • 2 white onions
  • 4 carrots
  • 1 leek
  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • 2 tablespoons of butter
  • 1 cup of water
  • 1 teaspoon of salt
  • 1 teaspoon of ground black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon of flour

Instructions:

  1. Heat the butter and flour in a pan, and fry until the flour is well cooked (about 4 minutes).
  2. Add one of the sliced onions to the pan and fry for 10 minutes.
  3. Add the sliced garlic cloves to the pan, and fry for 2 minutes.
  4. Add the salt and black pepper and water, and simmer for 4 minutes.
  5. In a large baking tray, place the chicken legs, sliced potatoes, sliced leek, sliced carrots, and remaining onion (also sliced). Pour the gravy over the meat and vegetables, and then place in an oven preheated to 350 degrees F. Cook for 45 minutes.