What to Eat this Week – Kid-Friendly Dinners

I’ve been told I have the tastes of an eight-year-old. Normally I respond to such accusations with an assertion that I merely have a discerning palate, thank you very much. But sometimes, even I have to admit that it is true. Sometimes I just want creamy, easy mac and cheese for dinner, no frills or additives or fancy sauce flavors. Sometimes I just want little English muffin pizza bites that I can eat while I watch cartoons, trying not to get sauce on the blanket in which I’ve wrapped myself. Sometimes I can’t even be bothered with real dinner, and I want breakfast for dinner, quick and easy to whip up and oh-so-satisfying.

You deserve a meal fit for a kid... or the kid in you! @cabotcheese #WhatToEatThisWeek Click To Tweet

But who doesn’t want a lovely, comforting, easy dinner that appeals to the kid in us now and again? Some nights we all have the tastes of an eight-year-old. And heck, some of us even have eight-year-olds, and toddlers, and teens, and it can pay dividends to make a dinner light on broccoli and high in sweet, salty, cheesy satisfaction. An evening of pancakes might be just the thing to turn a dreary day around. And maybe this week we could all, children and grown-ups alike, use juvenile palate pleasers every night of the week.

For #WhatToEatThisWeek, we’ve got tasty, kid-friendly (and the kid-in-you-friendly) dinners to put a smile on your face, fight the blahs of too-short winter days and too-cold winter nights. Enjoy!

MONDAY

No boxes, but still just as quick and easy Cheeseburger Stovetop Macaroni and Cheese.

Ingredients

Salt for pasta water plus ¼ teaspoon, divided
13 to 14 ounces dry pasta, such as fusilli, rotini or macaroni, whole-wheat if desired
2 tablespoons Cabot Unsalted Butter
1 shallot, minced
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon King Arthur All-Purpose Flour
1 ½ cups fat-free milk
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
½ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon pepper
6 ounces of Cabot Yellow Extra Sharp Cheddar, shredded (about 1 ½ cups)
½ pound ground beef
1 medium Roma tomato, diced

TUESDAY

No need to feel guilty – fruit in this breakfast for dinner recipe! Chocolate Chunk Pancakes with Fresh Raspberry Maple Syrup (and you don’t need to come up with a dessert too)

Ingredients

Syrup:

1 1/2 cups pure Vermont maple syrup
6 ounces fresh raspberries (about 1 1/2 cups)

Pancakes:

1 cup King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup Cabot 2% Vanilla Bean Greek Yogurt
2/3 cup milk
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 (3.5-ounce) bar Divine 70% Dark Chocolate, coarsely chopped
About 2 tablespoons Cabot Salted Butter or Cabot Unsalted Butter, divided

WEDNESDAY

Easy, customizable Pizza Bites. Everyone can pick the toppings they want.

Ingredients

6 ounces Cabot Mild Cheddar, Cabot Sharp Cheddar, Cabot Sharp Lite50 Cheddar, or Cabot Tomato Basil Cheddar, grated (about 1 1/2 cups)
1/3 cup finely chopped pepperoni
2 (7.5-ounce) tubes regular-size refrigerated buttermilk biscuits (20 biscuits total)
Olive or vegetable oil
Marinara sauce (optional)

THURSDAY

Nothing beats a Classic Grilled Cheese Sandwich. Serve with carrot and celery sticks and some ranch for dipping, take your grilled cheese dinner to a new level!

Ingredients

2 tablespoons Cabot Salted Butter, softened
8 slices of your favorite bread
Salt and ground black pepper to taste (optional)
6 ounces Cabot Sharp Cheddar, thinly sliced

FRIDAY

In addition to being kind of adorable, these Ham Cheese and Egg Cups are so tasty, and breakfast-for-dinner TWICE in ONE WEEK?!

Ingredients

12 (1-ounce) slices reduced-sodium Virginia or Black Forest ham*
3 (1-ounce) slices 100% whole-grain or white bread, each torn into 4 pieces
1 1/2 cups (12 fluid ounces) fat-free egg substitute
12 ounces Cabot Sharp Lite50 Cheddar, grated (about 3 cups)
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper, or to taste
3 tablespoons chopped fresh chives

SATURDAY

Even if you make a simple roasted veggie casserole because you need to have veggies at some point this week, serve it up with something fun and lovely like this gooey Skillet Cheesy Monkey Bread.

Ingredients

1 cup low-fat milk, warmed to 104° to 112°F
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons active dry yeast (1 packet)
¼ cup Cabot Unsalted Butter, melted plus 2 tablespoons softened
2 eggs, divided lightly beaten
3 ¼ cups King Arthur All-Purpose Flour, plus more for work surface
½ teaspoon salt
6 ounces Cabot Farmhouse Reserve or Seriously Sharp Cheddar, shredded (about 1 ½ cups), divided

If you would like to learn more about Cabot Creamery Cooperative, get more delicious recipes, or take a virtual tour of some of our 1,000 farm families, click here. If you find a recipe that you love on our site, please rate and review it – we appreciate your feedback!You can also sign-up for our Newsletters so that you don’t miss a thing.

Dr. Averill (aka <3Ave) is a long-time member of the Cabot team (ca. 2006) and a life-time lover of cheese (the sharper the better!). She’s always been moved by the Cabot commitment to the farmers, our communities, and making quality products. You can catch her on Twitter most of the time, where she leads the @cabotcheese tweeting. When she’s not talking cheese, she’s digging into the past, and just finished her PhD in History.