outdoor cooking

  • Cooking, OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES, RECIPES, SUMMER

    Outdoor Pizza Night: Cooking Pizza Outdoors with Kids

    Pizza is almost always a family favorite, even amongst the pickiest of eaters. And eating outdoors is an easy way to get kids outside in the summer! Plus, everyone knows that eating outdoors somehow makes the food taste better, right? If you love the smell of wood-fired pizza and you love eating outdoors, you’ll delight in our ideas for outdoor pizza cooking with kids! Jemma, Creative Team member, high school teacher, and mother of four, shares all about using an outdoor pizza oven and cooking pizza outside with kids! If you are looking for a fun way to change up mealtime,  tried and true pizza topping ideas, or different ways to make a pizza oven, then this post is for you!

    Cooking Pizza Outside - outdoor pizza night with kids

    Cooking pizza outdoors with kids

    If you’re looking for ideas to spend more time with kids outdoors, cooking with kids is a fun way to spend time together outside whilst also doing an activity they love. Making, kneading, and even proving the dough is an outdoor activity idea for the whole family. It can also be a great way to keep kids of all ages occupied if you’re entertaining. Why not even try cooking outdoor pizzas as a party activity or a fun science experiment?

    Why pick pizza?

    Cooking outside with kids can be wonderful and there are many ideas out there! Here are a few other ways you can spend time outdoors cooking with kids. But with so many fun options for meals and foods to make outside, why pick pizza? What’s so great about cooking pizza outside and why should you give it a try? Here are so reasons that may convince you just how fun and versatile pizza can be.

    Pizza is fun and easy

    Pizzas are really easy for kids to make! If your kids love cooking, outdoor pizzas are a great way to get kids to do something different outdoors. Plus, it gets them involved in the cooking process, which is something kids love to be a part of.

    Pizza gets kids to try new foods

    The choice in toppings will likely lead to trying new foods. Kids will love making their own dough and picking their own toppings. The free element of choice means that they are more likely to choose things they may not usually eat. Yes, that even means vegetables (maybe even vegetables from your own garden). Kids that don’t usually try new foods can often be encouraged to try them as a pizza topping because they’re in smaller quantities. See below for our favorite pizza toppings with a ton of healthy ideas for kids too!

    Healthy pizza options

    Pizza makes choosing healthy options easier. While pizza may not automatically sound like a healthy choice, it absolutely can be! It’s easy to get healthy toppings and ingredients into pizza, which makes it a good choice for parents! Try using a cauliflower-based crust or wholemeal flour crust to make your pizza even healthier. Veggies are easy to sneak onto a pizza too, especially things such as peppers, spinach, zucchini, or mushrooms! If your kids don’t like seeing their veggies, you can puree them into the pizza sauce for hidden nutrition. 

    Create memorable moments

    Cooking outside is a memorable experience in and of itself! Taking the meal prep, cooking, and eating outside is a simple change, but one that your whole family is sure to enjoy. Changing things up every once in a while can make a regular meal seem much more exciting and will create lasting memories!

    Outdoor Pizza Oven - cooking outside with kids

    Outdoor pizza oven options

    Pizza is one of the easiest and quickest things to cook outdoors if you have a pizza oven. The extreme heat of a pizza oven and its open flames help to produce the unique flavor and texture of a Neapolitan pizza. For anyone looking to replicate this style of pizza, then a pizza oven is what you need!

    There are a few different options for outdoor pizza ovens. You can buy a pizza oven, build your own pizza oven, or even use an existing gas grill! Any of these methods will produce incredibly delicious mouth-watering pizza, right in your own backyard! Here’s a little bit about each option.

    Buying a pizza oven

    If you’re looking to buy a pizza oven, our favorite outdoor pizza oven is the Roccbox from Gozney (also available here from Amazon). Although they are expensive, they’re a great investment for social events and parties because they cook pizzas in just 60 seconds! Yes, you heard that right! You’ll always be able to knock out something quickly to feed hungry guests and an outdoor pizza is a perfect thing to create quickly after a long day out on a family adventure!

    Building a pizza oven

    If you have some time on your hands and are looking for a long-lasting option, you can also build your own pizza oven for your backyard or garden. See here for a great tutorial to help you build your own outdoor pizza oven. If you want to create a temporary and fun family DIY cardboard pizza oven and use the summer sun to cook your dinner, then this Solar Pizza Oven tutorial is for you! 

    Using a gas grill as a pizza oven

    Not everyone has a pizza oven or the time to make one, but many of you may already have a gas grill! Turns out, this is perfect pizza oven equipment! There are a few different ways to convert your gas grill into an easy-to-use pizza oven. The folks over at Baking Steel share one way to use a gas grill as a pizza oven and it is so easy! Or, you can place your pizza dough directly on the grill to par-bake it, then flip and add toppings and finish cooking. Pizza on the grill is simple and fun! 
    outdoor pizza cooking with kids

    Pizza dough recipe

    Making and kneading the dough is my kids’ favorite part of pizza night. Sometimes we’ll buy pre-made dough from a grocery store or even use the dough from a can, but the very best dough is the kind you make yourself. It’s easier to make than you might expect and kids love being involved in the process. 

    Pizza dough ingredients

    • 1 tablespoon active dry yeast or 1 packet of pizza crust yeast
    • 2 cups lukewarm water
    • 1 tablespoon sugar
    • 1 tablespoon salt
    • 2 tablespoons olive oil
    • 5.5 – 6 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

    Pizza dough instructions

    1. Dissolve the sugar, yeast, olive oil, and salt in the lukewarm water. If you’re using instant yeast, you can skip this step.
    2. Measure your flour by gently spooning it into a measuring cup, then sweeping off any excess (do not pack it down).
    3. Add the flour, starting with 5 1/2 cups and adding more as necessary to make a soft, smooth dough.
    4. Knead the dough with your hands until it’s smooth and elastic, about 7 to 10 minutes.
    5. Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl or other container, cover it, and let it rise for 1 to 2 hours, whatever fits your schedule.
    6. Gently deflate the dough, and divide it into four pieces, for medium-crust pizza; or three pieces, for thicker crusts.
    7. Use a rolling pin to roll each piece, on a lightly greased surface, into a circle to fit a 12″ pizza pan. Let the dough rest several times to relax it and make it more cooperative. 

    Assembling your pizza

    1. Place the dough on pizza pans, baking sheets, or on parchment (if using a pizza stone).
    2. Preheat your pizza oven to 450°F. While it’s heating, get out your toppings, which you’ve prepared ahead. 
    3. Brush each crust with a bit of olive oil, sauce and toppings of your choice. Sprinkle the top with grated cheese.
    4. Bake the pizzas for 15 to 20 minutes, until they’re golden brown, the toppings are hot and bubbly, and the cheese is melted. Remove the pizzas from the oven.
    5. Immediately transfer pizzas to a cooling rack, so their bottoms don’t get soggy. After about 10 minutes (to allow the toppings to set), slice and serve.

    Cooking Pizza Outside with Kids -best outdoor pizza ovens

    Pizza topping ideas for kids

    We asked our Creative Team members what their (and their kids) favorite pizza toppings were. See below for their fun and creative pizza topping answers!  Use these ideas to create some new pizza topping combinations in the future!

    • BBQ chicken with cilantro and red onion
    • Pineapples, chicken, barbecue sauce
    • Pepperoni and olive (a classic)
    • Roasted red pepper and goat cheese
    • Mushrooms and olives
    • Garlic and ricotta cheese
    • Sweetcorn and goat cheese
    • Broccoli and olives
    • Red sauce and olives only (some kids just don’t like cheese)
    • Fresh tomatoes and mozzarella
    • Pineapple and ham (or Canadian bacon)
    • Taco pizza – taco meat, tomatoes, lettuce, salsa, cheese and black olives
    • Feta, sundried tomatoes, and turkey kielbasa
    • Potato and goat cheese
    • Bacon, egg and arugala

    Not seeing your favorite or your child’s favorite topping choices above? No worries! Making pizza with your family is all about having fun! Offer different topping options, including those you know will be chosen by your family members, but also new toppings too! Let each person create their own topping combinations and then share the different outdoor oven-baked pizzas. This isn’t just a meal, it is a way to get outside while making memories!

    Outdoor pizza oven tips and tricks

    For pizza with a crispy crust and perfectly cooked toppings, high heat is required. This is where purpose-built pizza ovens shine since they can withstand temperatures far greater than those of regular home ovens. How long it takes to cook your pizza will depend upon your oven’s internal temperature, and can vary from as long as 10 minutes to as quickly as just 90 seconds! Once your oven is up to temperature, you’ll need to actually put your pizza in the oven.

    We don’t advise throwing a raw pizza into your oven with your bare hands, so a trusty pizza peel will be a valuable investment in your outdoor baking arsenal. A pizza peel is a flat, wide tool that helps you move pizza pies around. Some pizza peels are better designed to transfer a pizza from the countertop to your pizza oven while others are better for turning the pizza while it’s cooking in the oven. 

    Since the pizza dough can be a bit sticky, you’ll need something to keep it moving freely on the peel. You can use another sprinkling of flour or cornmeal on your pizza peel to prevent the dough from sticking and help it slide off the peel and into the oven in one swift movement. 

    You can cook all kinds of other food in your outdoor pizza oven, not just pizza. Try cooking and serving roasted vegetables, focaccia bread, cinnamon rolls, or even peach cobbler, all of which cook up amazingly well in an outdoor oven.

    Make outdoor pizza night a summer tradition

    We hope you’ll enjoy making pizza outdoors with your family  – it may even become a tried and tested household summer tradition. If your kids have got the outdoor cooking bug, then you’ll love our outdoor skills posts. Have a read of this one here giving tips for fire safety to help kids know how to use fires safely. 

    If you liked reading our ideas for pizzas you’ll love our other ideas for camping cookouts with kids! 

    Caution: You must be careful when using outdoor pizza ovens near kids. Pizza ovens are exceptionally hot and you should take extra care when using them around kids.

    Outdoor pizza night for kid - pizza dough recipe and kid-friendly pizza topping ideas

    What pizza toppings will you choose?

    About the author

    Jemma lives in London, England with her husband and kids. Her all-time favorite thing to do is take photos and capture memories of her family. She’s on a mission to ensure parenthood doesn’t rush by so quickly by creating mini family outdoor adventures and hopefully some big adventures too, one day! She’s a mum to four and an English teacher to many. She loves sharing her passion for storytelling, adventures, and nature crafts on her blog and here. 

    Find more from Jemma in the following locations:
    Instagram: @thimbleandtwig
    Blog: http://www.thimbleandtwig.com
    Facebook: @thimbleandtwig
    Etsy shop: ThimbleandTwig
    RWMC posts: Jemma

  • CAMP, FALL, OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES, RECIPES

    Outdoor Cooking with Kids: 7 Kid-Friendly Ways to Make Camp Cookouts Fun and Fuss-Free

    As the weather finally starts to cool down, we’re entering my all-time favorite time of year to go camping and have family cook-outs. Today, we are so lucky to have the amazing Julia from Culinatour here with her tips on how to make camp cookouts with kids fun and fuss-free. Julia is not only a mom, but she runs a business all about helping families eat delicious and healthy food while outdoors and exploring the world! Talk about my dream job…I can’t believe I didn’t think of this first!

    tips for making outdoor cooking with kids fun and fuss freeCamp food

    Mmmm…camp food. Those two words make my heart sing with joy!

    There’s something about outdoor cooking that adds a whole new flavor to food, right? As an outdoor adventure-loving mom, I’m constantly on a mission of sorts to pass on this love to my daughter. She may be just 2 years old, but that’s not going to stop me from equipping her with culinary skills. If, like me, you’d love your kids to be enthusiastic about outdoor cooking when you go camping the next time, you’re going to love this post.

    tips for outdoor cooking with kids

    Why teach outdoor cooking to kids

    First, let’s look at why children of all ages can (and should!) learn outdoor cooking.

    1. Increase self-sufficiency: When you know how to cook, you know you’ll never starve. Right? Equipping your kids with outdoor cooking skills gives them a solid head start on their self-sufficiency quotient.
    1. Add more fun to family travel: Family travel is all about enjoying activities and time together. There’s nothing better than getting everyone involved in cutting, chopping, stirring and sautéing. Cooking is a fun bonding activity and perfect for when you’re traveling.
    1. Encourage responsibility: When you assign a meal to a young chef, you’re instilling incredible responsibility in them. Even if it’s something as small as an evening snack, you’re sending a positive message to your child about your belief in their abilities to do the work and contribute to the family.
    1. Foster creativity: Cooking is the ultimate art form and a fabulous way to foster creative thinking in kids. Let them use their imagination when plating a dish or even tweaking a recipe and enjoy their creative culinary experiments!
    1. Excellent all-round education: Cooking is a great way to learn and master concepts for math, science and comprehension. That’s right. Reading and understanding a recipe is comprehension; making sense of measurements and portions is all about math; and, the process of cooking is the best way to learn about science! Plus, when you cook outdoors, you can teach the kids about foraging and plants as well!

    campfire cookout recipes and ideas

    Tips for enjoying outdoor cooking with kids

    Now that I’ve sold you on the importance of teaching kids the art of outdoor cooking, let’s look at how you can get started without getting stressed (or umm… screaming your head off at them)! Yeah, mamas can have meltdowns, too!

    getting kids involved in cooking while camping

    1. Plan to succeed

    The first and most important part is planning your camp meals. Sit down with the kids and involve them in deciding what you’ll make for the different meals.

    If you have kids of different ages, let the younger ones pick snacks which are usually the easiest and encourage the older ones to decide on the major meals.

    Cookbooks are a great way to make this process interactive and fun. For instance, I have Luisa sit with me and go through the photos in my cookbooks. She chooses her favorites and we menu plan together.

    kid-friendly outdoor camping recipes

    2. Shop before you chop

    Once you’ve made your menu plans for your camping and outdoor adventure trip, it’s time to make a shopping list. Involve kids of all ages in the shopping process as well.

    If you have older kids, then you can definitely send them off to the supermarket with a shopping list. For younger kids, take them with you to the store and encourage them to help you pick the produce and food products.

    Since Luisa is 2 years old, this works best with picture cards. Before we go to the supermarket, I make a set of picture cards showing some of the key ingredients of the foods we plan to make at camp. I hand her one card at a time and then, help her find the ingredient. It’s like a mini foodie treasure hunt for her! SO much fun.

    3. Prep work is key 

    Once you’re in your outdoor kitchen, get kids to help with food prep. Younger ones can help with washing the produce, lining up ingredients, measuring and counting. Older kids can help with chopping, peeling, dicing, grating, and slicing.

    Be sure to pack kid-friendly chopping boards, knives, and graters. The Curious Chef makes a great set of kid-friendly cooking tools.

    outdoor campfire cooking with kids

    4. Kid-friendly recipes, for the win  

    If your kids are old enough, have a stash of kid-friendly recipes that your children can either make independently or with very little help from you. This is a step you may want to include when you’re doing the menu planning with your kid(s). Being able to contribute to the group will make your child feel both proud and helpful. And if they’ve made the recipe before and know what to do and how it’ll turn out, you’re setting them up for success.

    Waffles are a family favorite for our camping trips so I have an easy orange waffle recipe that Luisa helps me mix. Need more inspiration? I got you covered. Check out these 8 campfire recipes that kids can make from the folks at Active Kids.

    how to make cooking while camping with kids fun

    5. Yes, we did start the fire 

    You may not want to involve young kids in lighting the campfire but you can definitely get them to help collect and pile up the kindling. It’s a great physical activity and gets them involved with the cooking process. Older kids will love helping to select your fire site, digging the fire pit, lining it with stones and collecting wood and kindling.

    teaching kids to cook outdoors

    6. Messes are welcome 

    Remember, when kids cook, messes will happen. Don’t stress about it and definitely don’t tell them to not make a mess because you’ll only curb their enthusiasm and creativity. Yes, I know that easier said than done, but trust me on this one.

    Instead, make cleaning up any mess their responsibility as well so they know that if they spill, they wipe up!

    Having said that, one of the joys of outdoor cooking is that the mess doesn’t hurt since the ground soaks up the liquids. Win-win!

    outdoor cooking with kids

    7. Service, please! 

    Finally, don’t forget to involve kids in serving the food as well. Your kids will be proud of the food they cook. so allow them the opportunity to help dish and serve it. They can answer questions about ingredients and the cooking process. Cheer them on when they hand out their dishes and encourage them to get creative with the plating. My daughter Luisa beams like a ray of sunshine when we ask her to serve the food and share with others. It’s a wonderful way to allow kids to give the gift of service and sustenance to those they love.

    tips for outdoor cooking with kids

    Cooking with kids

    Outdoor cooking is a wonderful activity for the whole family. Get your babies involved in outdoor cooking right from the start without fretting or fussing over them. You’ll be amazed at how much they enjoy it, how much they learn and how proud they are of their creations. Not to mention how wonderful you will feel when you don’t have to worry about cooking breakfast or dinner!

    Do you cook with your kids when camping?
    Share YOUR best tips with me in the comments below!

          

    Julia is an outdoor culinary business consultant based in Frankfurt, Germany. She is super passionate about spending time outdoors with her loved ones. She’s made it her mission to help families worry less and enjoy more when it comes to traveling and eating outdoors.

    You can check out Julia’s website and blog on https://culinatour.com or find out more about Culinatour by visiting Julia on Social Media: Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest