Quick & Healthy Pizza Soup + Kids Cooking Academy
I’ve got something special for you today. Not only do I have a quick, easy, and healthy soup you can make with your kids, I’ll show you an easy way to help others in need.
Frigidaire has created a website called Kids’ Cooking Academy that features recipes, daily tips, and (soon-to-be) videos all designed to get kids involved in the kitchen. Joining the Academy is free, and when you do, Frigidaire will donate $1 to Save the Children and you’ll be entered to win some cool prizes. Plus they’ll donate an additional $1 for every visit you make to the Kids’ Cooking Academy through April 2011.
That’s it. Really, there’s no catch.
Getting kids involved in the kitchen is a great thing. Not only does it teach them important life skills, but they learn about food in its raw form. (Even better if you’re eating from a garden in your backyard!) When my kids help out in the kitchen, they’re also more excited to eat what we’ve made.
This little soup was my 3-year-old’s idea. I asked her what she wanted for lunch and she said, “Pizza Soup!” Funny, because I don’t think I’ve ever made pizza soup. I’m still wondering where that came from. Luckily I had some turkey pepperoni and some pizza sauce on hand, and we threw in some veggies to round it out. (Which, if you ask my daughter, will make your hair grow pretty. Hey — some nights we get desperate!) I usually throw in a handful of whole wheat pasta when I make lunchtime soups, but this time I reached for the quinoa. Loved it!
So did my kids. And they had fun with mom. (Goals accomplished!)
You could add any of your kids’ favorite pizza toppings to this, like olives, pineapple, chopped bell pepper and your kids would love you.
Quick & Healthy Pizza Soup
Ingredients:
10-15 ounces of pizza sauce (1 1/2 cup to 2 cups -- a small jar will suffice)
1 quart (4 cups) low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp garlic powder
2 cups of chopped fresh greens, tough stems removed (kale, chard, spinach, etc.)
1 cup diced carrot (about 1 large) or frozen carrot-pea mixture
2 ounces sliced & quartered pepperoni, cooked sausage, or diced ham
1/4 cup quinoa, rinsed or small pasta such as whole wheat orzo or elbow macaroni
shredded fresh Parmesan or Pecorino-Romano cheese, for garnishDirections:
Combine all ingredients (except for cheese) into a medium saucepan and bring to a low boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes until the quinoa is cooked and the carrots are tender.
Ladle into bowls and top with a few pinches of shredded cheese.
Serves about 4 adults or 6-8 small children.
Nat's Notes:
1. Try to use uncured meat, if possible.
2. If you don't have pizza sauce, substitute a large can of tomato sauce (15 oz or so) and a tsp of Italian seasoning.from Perry's Plate
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Christina — January 19, 2011 @ 5:43 am
Aww! I love when you post photos of your beautiful girls! :) This soup sounds great! You're such a super mom for having all the ingredients to make a soup that you've never heard of before right on the spot!
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danasfoodforthought — January 19, 2011 @ 4:40 pm
First of all, your daughters are absolutely adorable. I love that they're all dressed up for their pizza soup!
The soup sounds great. Light but still full of tons of tasty pizza toppings. Great idea!
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Natalie @ Perrys' Plate — January 19, 2011 @ 4:44 pm
Thanks for such lovely compliments :) And Dana… they're ALWAYS dressed up. Every day since Christmas Day when they got a trunk full of princess dresses from grandma! Needless to say, we're deeply entrenched in princessland. (See the castle tent in the background?)
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Joanne — January 19, 2011 @ 5:59 pm
So much cuteness in this post! The girls are gorgeous, first of all. You are going to have some serious problems once they reach dating age. And they are obviously smart – I mean…pizza soup? That's genius.
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Jolene - EverydayFoodie — January 20, 2011 @ 3:53 am
Pizza soup!!!?? You just combined 2 of my favourite foods into one dish – sweeeeeeet!!!
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Jenny — January 21, 2011 @ 5:21 am
We had this for dinner tonight because I just happened to have all the ingredients on hand. Delicious! I had some leftover spaghetti sauce from a different night, so we used that instead of pizza sauce. To add more of a pizza flavor, I added some of Penzey's pizza seasonings. The only other change I made was to shred the carrot, since my kids are stinkers about carrot chunks. Everybody wolfed it down! This is definitely going into the meal rotation.
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Cheryl Beverage Barnes — January 31, 2011 @ 4:04 pm
Very creative! I'm sure this is absolutely delicious!
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Katrina — January 31, 2011 @ 5:01 pm
Awesome! I'm so excited about this! I'm going over to the Kids Cooking Academy right now!
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Kimberly — January 31, 2011 @ 6:14 pm
Oh I love this idea! Don't you love when little ones come up with the most intriguing ideas for food! I find my little guy challenges me as a chef everyday! Congrats on making the Top 9 today!
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Alex Evelyn — January 31, 2011 @ 7:38 pm
What a great idea, my children don't like soup which is such a shame as I love having soup for lunch, but getting them make a pizza soup with me might just work as they love pizza.
Could I post this on my UK blog as it is all about cooking with kids, not sure how I do it as I am very bad at the technical stuff, but the blog is http://mixmashandmunch.blogspot.com
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Erica — January 31, 2011 @ 9:09 pm
Totally making this tomorrow night! Delicious!
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