Why Our Children Need to Learn to Cook

Tonight I made hot Italian turkey sausage with Fagioli All'uccelletta (spicy white beans). I modified the recipe I found on the Internet by adding anchovies and onions.

It turned out to be the best meal I've cooked in a year.

But what really got me going is when I calculated the cost of the entire meal and figured out it cost LESS THAN TEN DOLLARS FOR THE ENTIRE MEAL! 

That's right, less than $2.50 per person for a family of four.  You can't buy a Happy Meal for that price per person.

Low in fat. Low in sugar. Low in calories. Low in carbs. 

In other words, a low cost, healthy, delicious....might I suggest, gourmet, meal.

What gave me pause is that we do not encourage our children to learn how to cook meals like this. Whether in the now non-existent Home Economics class or at home.

Instead, we clip coupons for Hamburger Helper or frozen dinners filled with salt and chemicals.

This meal was easy and quick. I'll include the recipe and itemized cost below. 

But what I really want is for all of us to stop for a moment and consider how we can teach our children to cook healthy, low cost, meals.

Ingredients:

1 - 16 oz package of Italian turkey sausage

2 - 14 oz cans cannelloni beans ( white kidney beans )

1 pint cherry tomatoes

1/2 medium onion

2 - 3 cloves garlic

4 anchovy filets ( to taste)

1/4 cup red or white wine (optional)

Directions:

1. Fry the turkey sausage in a large skillet. Remove from skillet and put in oven to keep warm. 

Thinly slice onions and lightly sauté in the same skillet. Add anchovies and smash them, so they will 'melt' into the onions.

2. Cut cherry tomatoes in half and add to skillet with garlic and a splash of wine (the alcohol will burn off). Cover and let cook on low for ten minutes.

3. Add the drained cans of beans and the turkey sausage. Let the entire contents cook for 10 minutes. Add a half cup of chicken stock if the sauce becomes too dry.

Serve and Enjoy!

This is why we need to teach our children to cook.