As I mentioned in Easy Cold Lunch Ideas for Your Homeschool, being a homeschooler means that you are probably a little bit busy. That’s an understatement, I know. But you can save yourself some time and work during the weekdays by teaching your kids how to make their own breakfasts and lunches.
There are some hot lunches that are pretty easy for kids to make. It will take a little time to train them on topics like food safety, cooking safety and fire safety. But that’s the beauty of homeschooling. You can use real life experiences to teach educational concepts.
You’ll find that some of the hot lunches I talk about below will need to be made ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator. Weekends are good for that. Plus your kids will make great helpers for those tasks.
Let’s get on with the post so that you can help your kids get cooking.
Quick Hot Lunches
Pasta and Sauce
Pasta can be cooked ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator for your kids to grab. Stir in olive oil to prevent it from sticking together. During the week, your kids can pull some out, top it with their favorite sauce, and throw it in the microwave. Easy peasy.
Mini Pizzas
There are gobs of ways your kids can make quick mini pizzas. For the base, they can choose from a variety of bread products such as tortillas, English muffins, bagels, sliced french bread or regular bread. Next they can put a sauce of their choice including tomato sauce, spaghetti sauce, marinara sauce, Alfredo sauce or olive oil on the bread. Finally they can sprinkle on shredded cheese and top with their favorite pizza toppings. All that’s left to do is to either put it in the microwave or bake in an oven at 350 degrees.
Beans With Barbecue Sauce
Here’s a really quick and easy way for your little cherubs to make BBQ beans for lunch. Have them drain a can of their favorite beans and put as much as they can eat into a microwave safe bowl. This is a great way for them to learn how to cook as much as they should not as much as they want. Next have them pour enough BBQ sauce over the beans to coat them plus a bit extra so that it’s a little soupy. Finally, have them heat it in the microwave until hot. That’s lunch in about 5 minutes.
Soup
I love soup. There’s an infinite number of possibilities when it comes to making it. And it is easy for your kids to reheat during the weekdays.
Did you know that your kids can design and cook their own soups on the weekend? I’ve done it with my kids. Here’s how it works.
Have your little blessings choose from each of the following:
- A broth. Can be chicken, vegetable, beef or any combination. Water can be used too.
- A protein. Possibilities include beans, chicken, ham, beef, and turkey.
- A grain. They might like rice, barley, pasta, quinoa or corn.
- Vegetables. As many as they like, right? They could use onions, potatoes, peppers, broccoli, kale, cauliflower, carrots, celery, etc.
- Seasonings. We’ve used things like basil, oregano, rosemary, bay leaves, and thyme. I let my kids smell the seasonings first to decide which ones they would like to use. It’s worked every time. They haven’t come up with a bad tasting soup yet.
Heat the broth or water to a boil. Reduce heat. Add ingredients starting with the one that takes the longest. I’m sure you can figure out how to time it. Simmer until everything is done.
Egg Sandwich
Fried eggs and scrambled eggs are a pretty easy item for kids to cook on the stove. When put between two slices of toast, they make a hearty meal. Sliced cheese is a nice addition to the fried egg sandwich.
Chili
If you make a big pot of hearty chili, your kids can enjoy it all week long. Cheese and cornbread go well with it.
Quesadillas
Quesadillas are easy and convenient for your kids to make. They just sprinkle some shredded cheese on a tortilla, add extras like chiles, beans, or leftover chicken, and heat in the microwave.
Burritos
A burrito is another nice Mexican lunch that is simple to make with a tortilla. All your kids have to do is fill it up, roll it up, and heat it up in the microwave. Possible fillings include refried beans and precooked chicken or beef. Cheese, chiles and salsa give it added flavor. After it’s heated, cold vegetables like lettuce, onions, and tomatoes can be put in.
Grilled Cheese
Your kids can easily learn how to make themselves a grilled cheese sandwich. Flipping these tasty morsels will help them improve their hand-eye coordination too.
Hot Sandwich
Hot sandwiches are nice to have on cold winter days. Here are some suggestions:
- Hot sub sandwich
- Turkey and gravy
- Beef and gravy
- Chicken and gravy
- Meatballs and sauce
The microwave works well for those.
Garlic Cheese Bread
Here’s the Italian version of a grilled cheese. All it takes is a slice of Italian bread decorated with a little bit of butter, garlic and cheese. Bake in oven at 400 degrees for about 10-15 minutes. Serve with a marinara sauce.
Leftovers
Last night’s meal can become today’s lunch for your little darlings. A microwave will take care of this job.
That’s it for hot lunches. At least, that’s all that my brain can come up with right now.
What do YOUR kids like to cook for lunch? Please share it with us in the comment section.