7 Recipes That'll Make Tomato Lovers Out of Your Kids
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Whether it’s a backyard garden or the bargain bin of your supermarket, by this stage of summer one thing is clear: Tomatoes have taken over. Cherry tomatoes, heirlooms, red, yellow. They’re inexpensive, sweet, juicy and packed with vitamin C. The problem? Tons of kids just won’t eat them. Until now. These recipes are the kid-tested turn-’em-around tomato dishes that my kids eat happily, and it’s a good bet that yours will too.
Cheesy Bagels with Sliced Tomatoes (pictured above): These are toasted bagels like your kids have never had before. Melted cheddar works perfectly with a slice of cool, sweet tomato right on top. It’s like pizza for breakfast, if pizza made your taste buds do the cha-cha.
Tara Donne
Fresh Corn Tomato Salad: If your kids are corn lovers, use that connection to introduce them to deliciously sweet cherry tomatoes in this easy summer salad. And if the corn doesn’t hook them? Play up the mozzarella cheese. It’s in there too.
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DIY Bruschetta: Our kids were born in Italy, and that’s where really I learned to cook. This was one of the first dishes I mastered, and these days it’s all about letting the kids ladle juicy tomatoes onto crispy bread All by Themselves at the table.
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Tomato Cobbler: Warm and juicy tomatoes on the bottom with flaky biscuits on top — that’s how this side dish from Food Network Magazine works. Plus, it’s called “cobbler,” which is always a door opener for the rascals at our place.
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Pasta with Tomatoes, Basil and Mozzarella: It doesn’t get much easier than this. Hot pasta instantly melts that fresh mozzarella but only gently wilts the tomatoes and basil, just enough for all the flavors to come out, swirl together, and get the whole thing good and gooey.
Tomato and Eggplant Tian: Layers of juicy tomatoes and eggplant line an entire casserole dish before being covered in Parmesan cheese. Melissa D’Arabian has outdone herself here with a kid-friendly recipe that’s also a snap to make.
Stuffed Tomatoes with Sausage: Kids love stuffed anything. An individual serving always feels special. And the flavor? My preschooler described these stuffed tomatoes — filled with rice and sausage, cheese and spinach — as “magical.” That is all I can say about this recipe … except that she was totally right.
Charity Curley Mathews is the mom of four small kids who range in age from 1 to 6, the founder of Foodlets.com and a second-year gardener whose tomato crop more closely resembles a jungle. If you don’t see a new post from her by next week, please send help.