Welcome Home Wonderful

Are your kids trained as well as mine? The minute they walk in the door from school, the backpacks are dropped, the shoes kicked off, and hungry mouths beg, "what can we have for snack?" Most days I try to conjure something clever and ever-so-slightly healthy. We'll pull out cheese and crackers, pop a piece of whole-wheat cinnamon toast on a plate, scoop peanut butter into the center of a hollowed out apple. But, something those stand-by's aren't enough. After all, the kids have been in school all day and they need to snuggle their little bodies up by their mama and get cooking in the kitchen. (Okay, whatevs. Their mama needs to sneak in some serious snuggle time with them. But who's keeping track of which way this all works? Not me. I'm just glad for the time with my cute kids).

On those days when we have 20 minutes to spare and spend together, this is a perfect recipe to stir up. The recipe is so simple, even my tiniest helpers can lend a hand. It's super speedy to make and bake. And, it's the sort of recipe that leaves the kids begging, begging, begging for more! more! more! In short, it's ridiculously quick, easy, and delish. Just the sort of snack that welcomes your kiddos home with a big, warm hug.

Get Your Kids in the Kitchen

One of my favorite parts about this recipe is how many little tasks there are for kids to help with. Whether you're baking with a 2-year-old or 10-year-old, here's how you can get them involved in the afterschool snack making:

• One and Two Year Olds. Invite your teeny tots to sprinkle the cheese into the bowl, and stir the batter to mix the recipe all together.
• Three and Four Year Olds.Preschoolers will love pouring in pre-measured cups of flour, milk, and baking powder.
• Five and Six Year Olds. Kindergarten-aged kiddos will be splendid at cracking the egg. Just make sure you invite them to crack it into a small bowl before adding it to the batter! That way, any bits of shell can be fished out.
• Seven to Ten Year Olds.Invite your grade-schoolers to practice their fractions by measuring out the specific amounts of each ingredient needed.