You’re doing great!
Parents during this pandemic bear a tough role, having to multitask work, monitoring the children, cooking, and keeping the now eternally active house clean. At Pastene, our parent-run company understands how hard you have been working, from Zoom schooling, to playing the role of friend, parent, and teacher all in one. We’ve come together to find fun ideas to keep the kids busy while you are, too! Cooking together strengthens the parent-child bond while helping to develop real and tangible life skills. We help make cooking fun and easy for you and your loved ones.
Here are three easy, fun cooking ideas to try with your kids:
Pizza
Ingredients:
- Pizza dough (store-bought or homemade in advance)
- Flour
- Pastene Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Pastene Pizza Sauce
- Shredded Mozzarella
- Buffalo Mozzarella Slices
- Fresh Basil
- Pastene Tricolor Tomato Wedges
How to Make it:
Step 1: Set your oven to its highest temperature. It should heat for an hour before you want to cook your pizza. (The temperature will later be changed to 500 degrees)
Step 2: Knead the pizza dough in flour for three to five minutes, then begin to roll out the dough using your rolling pin (or wine bottle if you don’t have one). Make sure your dough is rolled out thin with raised edges. Continuously pick up your dough to make sure it doesn’t stick and keep adding flour to the bottom.
Let your kids have fun and make the dough into the shape of their choosing!
Step 3: Gently move your dough onto a pizza stone or sheet pan.
Step 4: Get ready to top! Begin by massaging a light layer of Pastene Extra Virgin Oil into your dough, then gradually add and spread your Pastene Pizza Sauce on top in a circular motion from the middle outward until satisfied. Next, sprinkle on your shredded mozzarella mix until your pizza is covered to your liking and add some slices of buffalo mozzarella. Finally, add your fresh basil as desired and top with Pastene Tricolor Tomato Wedges.
*When adding toppings, be creative and let your kids make shapes and pictures such as smiley faces or hearts to make each pizza unique and personalized*
Step 5: Gently shake the pizza on the pan a little bit before you put it in the oven to make sure it doesn’t stick. Change the temperature of the oven to 500 degrees and place the pizza on the middle shelf.
Step 6: Bake for five to nine minutes until the top is bubbling and the edges are golden-browned. Remove the pizza from the oven and slide it onto a cutting board to slice and cool before serving.
Rainbow Lasagna
Ingredients:
- Red, green, blue, and purple food coloring
- Pastene Lasagna
- 32oz ricotta cheese
- Shredded mozzarella
- 2 jars of Pastene Chateau Tomato Sauce
- Salt
How to Make it:
Step 1: Set lasagna to boil. While cooking, prepare four plastic sealable baggies with two tablespoons of water and 20 drops of a different food coloring in each. (We recommend colors other than yellow that will make a more dramatic and fun difference in the color of the pasta.)
Step 2: When the pasta is finished cooking, transfer it to a colander and drain, immediately rinsing with cold water.
Step 3: Place five to seven pieces of lasagna into each baggy and allow them to soak in color for a minute or two. One-color at a time, transfer pasta into a colander, and rinse with cold water to remove.
Step 4: Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit
Step 5: Cover the bottom of your deep dish in uncolored lasagna. For your first layer, spread enough Pastene Chateau Tomato Sauce to cover the bottom of your deep dish and to be about a centimeter deep. Next, do the same with the ricotta. Sprinkle shredded mozzarella over to make a thick layer of cheese. Cover the ricotta & mozzarella with your first layer of colored lasagna.
Step 6: Repeat Step 5 until the dish is full. Depending on the depth of your dish, you can alternate using colored and uncolored lasagna strips. Do not add pasta to the top layer. Cover with foil, making sure it doesn’t touch the cheese.
Step 7: Bake in the preheated oven for approximately 25 minutes. Remove foil and bake for another 25 minutes. Allow to cool for 15 minutes before serving.
Tacos
Ingredients:
- Hard taco shells
- 1 lb. ground beef
- Pastene Diced Tomatoes with Green Chilies
- ½ head of lettuce, shredded
- Pastene Tricolor Tomato Wedges
- Shredded cheddar cheese
- Pastene Hot Sliced Jalapeno Peppers
How to Make it:
Step 1: Cook ground beef in a skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally for 8-10 minutes until brown. Drain.
Step 2: Stir Pastene Tricolor Tomato Wedges into beef and cook on medium-low for 5 minutes. Pour mixture into a large serving bowl.
Step 3: Heat taco shells as directed on the package. Serve taco shells with beef, lettuce, Pastene Diced Tomatoes with Green Chilies, Pastene Hot Sliced Jalapeno Peppers, and shredded cheddar cheese.
We can’t wait to see how your recipes turn out. Make sure to tag us @PasteneUSA and use #PasteneAtHome
