Free Printable Packet for Anyone Learning to Cook on Their Own {Helpful for High School Graduates!}
Included in this post is a free printable packet with tips, strategies, and easy recipes for anyone learning to cook on their own!
It doesn’t seem very long ago that I had a lot of very eager (very young!) “helpers” in the kitchen.
Fast forward to now, and three of my five kids have graduated high school and are on to bigger and better things! Which includes, in part, cooking for themselves.
Helping tweens, teens, and young adults (heck, even full-grown adults) learn to cook can be a fun adventure – and it doesn’t have to be hard or time-consuming!
Cooking 101 Packet
I’ve prepared a simple printable booklet to help anyone of any age learn how to cook! It can also be used if you are wondering how to help your own child or someone you know how to learn the basics in the kitchen.
Included in the printable are:
- new tips
- no-recipe meals
- strategies for grocery shopping
- essential kitchen equipment
- a handy measurement chart
- basic cooking recipes (many scaled down for smaller quantities)
- compilation of easy dinner recipes (and a few easy snack/treat recipes!)
Since circumstances, including budget, interest in cooking, and time available, among other things, will vary, consider this packet a basic guide and starting place for anyone who could use a kickstart to cooking on their own.
I hope it’s helpful in some way and inspires whoever uses it to find excitement learning new skills in the kitchen.
If they graduate beyond the recipes in the packet, I happen to know of a really awesome, really delicious stockpile of recipes they can start testing out.
I really believe anyone can feel like a rock star in the kitchen (kid, teen, young adult, or full grown adult!) and have a lot of fun doing it!
It’s Never Too Late To Start Cooking with Kids
Here’s my quick plug for any of you with younger kids (and even teens): it’s never too late to get them started learning their way around the kitchen!
It’s hard to give up the control (and deal with the messes!) that come from letting kid/teen hands create in the kitchen. I get that 1,000%!!
However, letting kids learn their way in the kitchen will give them a lot of confidence and know-how when they are eventually cooking on their own.
My goals with my kids:
- learn how to read and follow a recipe
- find recipes they want to make (that get them excited!)
- learn from the mistakes that will inevitably happen
- understand how much it costs to make a recipe – and how to use the grocery budget accordingly
Not all kids are interested in cooking and baking, of course. I have a couple of kids who willingly ask to make recipes or help me in the kitchen. And for a few others, they act like I’ve pulled off all their toenails one-by-one when I ask them to help make something for dinner.
Sunday Dinner Assignments
For the last couple of years, we’ve implemented the cleverly-titled system of Sunday Dinner Assignments. 😉 Although I know this works for many of you, I found that assigning the kids a dinner night during the school year or summer didn’t work consistently for our family.
This is how Sunday Dinner Assignments work.
- on most Sundays, I write out the items that I would like made for dinner.
- sometimes I’m specific with the recipe (i.e. main dish is Shepherd’s Pie), other times I just write the category (like dessert) and let them pick what they want to make.
- I write one of their names by each assignment. I don’t let them choose, otherwise one of my kids, who shall remain nameless, would sign up for ice water every single Sunday.
- I fill in the gaps where needed.
This very simple system has given the kids an opportunity to learn how to make homemade rolls, side dishes, and go to a bit more work for things like dessert or the main dish.
They’re learning, with my help, how to plan the timing of it so that everyone doesn’t descend on the kitchen 15 minutes before we want to eat dinner AND they each have to wash their own dishes.
In case anyone is wondering, there are no angels singing during Sunday Dinner Assignments. It’s a bit chaotic. There is always at least a bit of grumbling, and it is often very messy. In the interest of full disclosure, there have been a handful of times (ok, maybe more than that) when I can’t take it a second longer and I order everyone out of the kitchen and I take over and finish.
But it’s *mostly* working.
And it’s really fun to sit down to dinner and have everyone announce to Brian (who is gone all Sunday at church meetings) what part of dinner they made. Sometimes he’ll try to guess, but inevitably the kid that made the rolls is super offended when he gives credit to their older sibling who was assigned only to cut up fresh fruit that day. 😂
This system may not work for everyone – it’s just an idea to get those brain juices flowing! For us, it’s helping my kids in the here and now learn some basic cooking skills.
If this isn’t your time or season to take on the mess or stress of kids in the kitchen, it’s ok! Revisit it and develop a simple plan when it feels right for you and your family.
We’re all in this together!
Thank you so much for this resource!! Printing it for my college and high school kids.
Pinterest has become an AI website filled with fraudulent websites that advertise their fake wares. I love your website! It’s filled with real recipes, tips, stories, and awesomeness. Thank you for providing a breath of fresh air!!
I detest AI, I never thought how it would affect people like you directly. Whenever I am looking for a new recipe, I always go to your website first! Thanks for sharing your recipes and Friday thoughts with us.
Thank you for the packet! My 5 kids are grown but I did a version of your Sunday dinner with them. Since I was always trying out new recipes (to save me from boredom!) – I gave each child a new recipe to make. Since these were new recipes we weren’t sure how they would turn out but the rule was any failure was “the recipes fault”. They learned how to read a recipe & cook, work together as a family, all the rest of us were there to consult or help, and it became a fun tradition with a nice dinner as reward! I have to admit the meat/main dish usually fell to me with their help. Thanksgiving is now a repeat on a grander scale with loved recipes and a new recipe for a pie or side dish thrown in. We finally perfected the turkey recipe!
So desperately need this for college son going to second year without a dining plan! Do you have a fav ‘how to tell when different meat/fish is ‘done’ link? ❤️
I sent your packet to my college granddaughter. Thank you! Such good memories of us in the kitchen together. I’m old and AI will never replace my favorite blogger websites. I started my family with many of you and have enjoyed watching your families grow. I hope you continue to enjoy your work and know you are so appreciated.
This is so great! I have printed it and given it to my kids and their friends and they have gone to college or on missions. It’s a great guide and perfect beginner recipes. Thanks for taking the time to out it together!
I wouldove a visual on your Sunday Dinner Assignments system! I’ve been trying to find a way to have my kids help out with meals more independently, and this sounds like a win-win for us! How have you set it up, and how do you rotate it?
Mel – You are saving me. I pride myself in teaching my kids how to cook. However, I just sent a little missionary out and he is only allowed to eat with members 2 days per week. On the other days, he has to prep and eat his meals within an hour. He asked if I could send some easy recipes. I immediately thought of this. Your packet is now printing and will be in the mail to him very soon. And, I honestly got a little teary-eyed as I looked through it. Thanks for putting the time and effort into this.
That made ME a little teary – thanks for sharing, Dodi! You’re an awesome mom, and I hope your son is doing well.
Thank you! This was perfect for my son heading to BYU. I appreciate your time and wisdom in putting this together. Thanks!
Thanks so much for this! So nice to have all of this info in one place for our kids as they are learning to cook. I printed it out for my daughter when she left for college last fall, and just sent a copy to her again on her mission. Soooo helpful!!
Mel, thank you for creating this and keeping it up. It was exactly the kind of basic, encouraging resource I needed to send to my son who just moved out on his own, serving as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Thank you for all the work you do here. I love recommending your recipes and do so frequently.
Thank you so much, Jill!!