Garden Harvest Recipes

Autumn is also garden harvest time, which makes for a lot of garden recipes to share with your kids. If you didn't plant a garden this year consider doing one next year with your child. Even if it is only one pot with peppers or tomatoes, get your kids involved and they will learn a lot about where the food we eat comes from.

Here is another great resource for planning gardens and growing vegetables with your kids. This website also has a great idea of what to do with your vegetables besides eat them. (See the picture on the page link).

Even if you don't have your own garden, you can still enjoy the benefits from others gardening and farming. Visit a farmer's market or even your grocery store will have in season fruits and vegetables on sale now. Enjoy these garden harvest recipes with your kids and help instill healthy eating and learning about nutrition.

Garden Harvest: Tomatoes

Learn about Tomato Food Facts.

tomato

Greek Salad
2-3 tomatoes, diced
2-3 cucumbers, diced
Black pitted olives
Soft cheese like feta
Olive oil
Pepper
Have adult dice tomatoes and cucumbers. You can also add a diced onion if desired. Kids can toss salad together. Pour 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil over and season with pepper. **You don't need salt if you are using a salty cheese.

Mom's Fresh Salsa
Tomatoes cut up and diced
Onions, however much you want
Small can of mild green chilies
Garlic cloves
Salt to taste
This recipe is very much a taste as you go method. Start with the number of tomatoes you'd like to use, then add one onion, 1 can of green chilies, 2 garlic cloves and ¼ teaspoon salt and then taste to see if you'd like more flavor. This is a good way to let kids experiment and create their own version.

Tomato Soup
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, grated or pureed
1-2 carrots, grated or pureed
1 garlic clove, minced
Grate onion and carrot with a cheese grater or puree together in a blender. In a large saucepan, saute onion, carrots and garlic in olive oil in a large saucepan. Puree one large can of tomatoes in blender. Stir into vegetables and season with the following,
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon marjoram
pinch of pepper
Simmer on low 10-15 minutes.

Garden Harvest: Sweet Potatoes

Learn about Sweet Potatoes Food Facts

Garden Harvest: Baked Sweet Potatoes
Try cooking a sweet potato as you would a baking potato, by piercing the skin several times. Bake at 400 degrees for 45 minutes or until fork can be inserted in middle. Top with butter and cinnamon. It may be something your kids will enjoy when they can sprinkle on cinnamon or sugar!

Sweet Potatoes Dish
5 large sweet potatoes
1/2 Cup butter, melted
1/4 Cup + 2 Tablespoons brown sugar
2 large eggs
2/3 Cup orange juice
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/3 Cup flour
1/4 Cup oats
1/3 Cup chopped nuts
Bake sweet potatoes as you would with recipe above. Let cool. Cut sweet potatoes in half and scoop out pulp into bowl. Add butter and 2 tablespoons of brown sugar to sweet potatoes. Beat together. Add in eggs, orange juice, 1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, salt and nutmeg. Mix until well blended and smooth. Pour into baking dish. Flatten sweet potatoes smooth.
In seperate bowl, mix together topping ingredients, flour, oats and nuts. Then add in 1/4 Cup sugar and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon. Mix together then blend in 1/4 cup butter with fork or clean hands. Mixture should be crumbly. Sprinkle over top of sweet potatoes. Bake in 350 degree oven for 25 minutes.

Sweet Potato Chips
2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced thin
(If you have a slicer attachment to your mixer slice potatoes thin with that, if not use a knife, and slice thin.)
Kids can help peel potatoes. Then have an adult slice potatoes thin. Meanwhile kids can prepare a large bowl of ice water. Place potato slices in water for 1 hour. After 1 hour, drain on paper towels and pat dry. Adult should fry in oil that is 375 degrees for several minutes, until golden brown. Kids can pat dry and sprinkle with salt at this point.

Garden Harvest: Winter Squash

Learn about Winter Squash Food Facts

Stir Fry
Try chopped up vegetables for a stir fry, including zucchini, yellow squash, carrots, and turnips for an autumn time stir fry.

Sloppy Joes Stuffed Squash
Make your favorite sloppy joe recipe and stuff an acorn squash. Cut squash in half and remove seeds. Cook in boiling water about 10 minutes. Place on serving dish. Prepare sloppy joe recipe and stuff squash with mixture. You can also sprinkle with bread crumbs and cheese and broil on baking sheet 2-3 minutes until cheese melts.

Garden Harvest: Squash Centerpiece
Pick a butternut squash that is free of blemishes. If it doesn't stand upright on its own slice off some of the bottom so it is flat. Cut off the top of the squash and hollow out seeds and insides.(as you would a pumpkin) Cut out any excess flesh inside. Place on a small saucer or plate. Use your squash vase for flowers and decorate your autumn table.

For Pumpkin recipes and ideas see our Kids Seasonal Cooking Activities with pumpkin recipes.

Garden Harvest: Eggplant

Learn about Eggplant Food Facts

Baba Ghanoush
This Middle Eastern recipe has a unique twist with a touch of peanut butter for those kids who love peanut butter perhaps that will entice them to give it a try.
1 medium eggplant
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 Cup onions minced
3 cloves garlic
1/4 Cup lemon juice
3 Tablespoons creamy peanut butter
1 Tablespoon fresh parsley, minced
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Preheat oven to 400. Pierce eggplant in several places with a fork. Place on baking sheet. Bake for 1 hour, or until soft and collapsed. Cool. Scoop out flesh into blender and discard skin. In skillet, heat oil and saute onions and garlic. Cook and stir 3 minutes. Transfer to blender and add lemon juice and peanut butter. Process until smooth. Stir in parsley and pepper. Serve with toasted pita wedges.

Eggplant Sticks
1 medium eggplant
½ Cup milk
1 egg
1 Cup Italian bread crumbs
3 Tablespoons olive oil
pasta sauce
Peel eggplants and chop off ends. Cut eggplant into sticks and soak in ice water about 30 minutes. Meanwhile in flat dish mix milk and egg together. In another flat dish or pie plate spread bread crumbs. After chilled, dip eggplant sticks into milk mixture. Then bread crumbs to coat. Place in baking casserole dish. Chill 30 minutes. Have an adult fry in oil about 10 minutes until golden or bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes until crispy. Serve with pasta sauce for dipping.

Garden Harvest: Broccoli and Cauliflower

Learn about Broccoli Food Facts

Learn about Cauliflower Food Facts

Broccoli Balls
2-3 heads of broccoli, cooked and drained
2 Cup crushed seasoned stuffing
1 Cup grated Parmesan cheese
6 eggs, lightly beaten
½ Cup butter or margarine, softened
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
Have an adult chop, cook and drain broccoli. Then chop in blender. Meanwhile, kids can add stuffing, Parmesan cheese, eggs, butter, salt and pepper together in large bowl. Mix well. Add chopped cooked broccoli and mix again. Shape into 1 in balls. Place in greased baking pan. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. This recipe makes a lot so you can bake half and freeze half. To freeze, place on a cookie sheet in a single layer and freeze. When frozen you can place in a Ziploc bag and store in freezer.

Broccoli Salad
Large bunch broccoli flowerettes
3 stalks celery, chopped
Bacon fried crisp, cut up
1 Cup sunflower seeds or almonds
Swiss cheese, grated
1 onion, chopped finely, optional
1 Cup raisins, optional
Dressing:
1 Cup mayonnaise
2 Tablespoon vinegar
¼ Cup sugar
Have an adult chop broccoli into bite size pieces or break off. Fry bacon in microwave. In serving bowl, add broccoli, celery, sunflower seed, bacon, cheese, raisins and onion. Toss together. Then add dressing ingredients in a bowl. Pour over broccoli salad.

See our 6 ingredients page side dishes for a Baked Cauliflower Recipe.

Broccoli or Cauliflower Soup
1 small onion, minced
4 Tablespoons butter
5 Tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon Salt
3 Cups light cream
1-2 Cups chicken broth
2 large heads of broccoli, chopped
½ teaspoon Nutmeg
Have adult sauté onion in butter then stir in flour and salt. Gradually add cream, stirring constantly. Add broth according to desired thickness of soup. Add broccoli and nutmeg. Cook over low heat 25 minutes. Stir occasionally.
*** You can use cauliflower in place of broccoli.

Garden Harvest: Cabbage

Learn about Cabbage Food Facts

Cabbage Salad
1 Cabbage, cut up
1 pkg. Chicken flavor Ramen noodles, crunched up (save the seasoning for the dressing)
slivered almonds
sunflower seeds
3-4 carrots, shredded
Have an adult cut up cabbage. Let kids crunch up noodles with a kitchen mallet. Then toss salad together in bowl. Mix salad dressing together and pour dressing over top. Serve immediately. **If you think your kids would like the salad better without the dressing leave it without.
Dressing:
3 Tablespoon white vinegar
3 Tablespoon white sugar
½ Cup oil
seasoning from top ramen noodles
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper

Want more garden harvest recipes for autumn time?
See the following food facts sheets that also include a recipe:
Turnip Food Facts
Brussels Sprouts Food Facts
kids garden and using garden harvest recipes

Now that autumn time is here and you are reaping your garden harvest or someone else's harvest, don't forget to plant a kid's garden next spring! In the meantime enjoy your autumn time recipes.

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Gathering the last of the harvest in the fall months leaves windowsills, tables and baskets full of tomatoes, squash, pumpkin, peppers, beets, apples and ...