Holiday Recipes Your Kids Will Actually Eat!

Top Chefs (and Moms!) share their 9 best kid-friendly dishes for the holidays
By: Morgan Kelly Burke, Contributor

Hosting holiday dinners is stressful. Throw in a picky eater or two? Consider that, mission impossible. Fret no more. We at Care.com turned to the experts for their favorite kid-friendly holiday recipes and pulled together a delicious, mouth-watering menu that will satisfy even the most sensitive taste buds.

THE MENU

(Scroll down to get the recipe ingredients and instructions)

Soup: Sneaky Chef Roasted Squash Soup.

"Sneaky Chef" Missy Chase Lapine sneaks four vegetables and a fruit into this delectable starter.
See the recipe »

Main Dish: Rosemary Roasted Turkey

Meal Makeover Moms Janice Bissex and Liz Weiss put a flavorful twist on the traditional (and at times boring) main course.
See the recipe »

Side: Golden Apple-Raisin Stuffing Cups

Erin Chase of $5 Dinners makes a delicious finger food out of a Thanksgiving classic that fits perfectly in little hands.
See the recipe »

Vegetable: Oven Roasted Garlic Green Beans

Erin Chase is back again to help any family fight the vegetable battle with this recipe that packs a tasty punch. Her trick? Fresh garlic and a dash of shredded parmesan make kids forget it's all healthy.
See the recipe »

Dessert: I-Love-Chocolate Party Torte.

This torte from the Makeover Moms has the perfect amount of sweet to end any feast (and the protein to match!).
See the recipe »

Go ahead, give them a try!

THE RECIPES

Sneaky Chef Roasted Squash Soup for the Holidays

The Sneaky Chef Prep time: 10 Minutes
Cook time: 1 Hour
Makes 6-8 Servings

Ingredients

• 1 large butternut squash
• 1 red onion, quartered
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 apple, peeled and quartered
• 1 cup Orange Puree (see Make-Ahead Recipe below)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup evaporated skim milk, optional
• Optional garnish: one-quarter cup toasted, shelled pumpkin seeds

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375°. Rinse whole squash, prick with fork (as you would a baked potato), place on a baking sheet with the onion and bake for 45 minutes
2. Remove squash and onion from oven. Set the onion aside while you cut open the squash and scoop the flesh from the skin. Place the onion, squash flesh, broth, cinnamon, salt, apple, and Orange Puree in a large soup pot. Bring to a simmer and cook for 15 to 20 minutes. Use an immersion blender to puree the soup to a smooth consistency. Alternately, you can puree the soup in batches using a blender.
3. Stir in the evaporated milk, if using, and serve. Top with toasted pumpkin seeds, if using.

Check out more holiday recipes from the Sneaky Chef »

Rosemary Roasted Turkey

Meal Makeover Moms Prep time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 3 hours and 40 minutes
Makes 12 Servings

Ingredients

• One 12-pound fresh or frozen turkey, thawed
• 1 to 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
• 1 large onion, peeled and coarsely chopped, divided
• 1 small apple, chopped into 1/2-inch cubes, divided
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 cups water

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 325°F. Remove the neck and giblets and discard. Rinse the turkey and cavity thoroughly with cold water and pat dry. Brush both sides of the turkey with the oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Combine the rosemary, half the onion, half the apple, and the garlic and spoon into the body cavity.
2. Place a roasting rack in a roasting pan. Place the turkey, breast side down, on the rack. Arrange the remaining onion, apple, and water, in the bottom of the pan. Cover the turkey loosely with aluminum foil. Bake for 2 hours, remove foil and baste with the pan drippings. Bake an additional 30 minutes, uncovered.
3. Turn the turkey so it is breast side up. Continue to cook, uncovered, for 1 hour or until an instant-read meat thermometer registers 180°F, basting every 30 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes, remove from pan, and reserve drippings for the gravy. Place turkey on a cutting board and cover loosely with aluminum foil until ready to carve.
4. To make the gravy, use a strainer and then pour the pan drippings into a large gravy separator. Let stand 10 minutes; the fat will rise to the top.
5. Meanwhile, whisk together 2 cups all-natural chicken broth (such as Imagine Natural) with 1/4 cup all-purpose flour. When the pan drippings and fat have separated, pour the pan drippings back into the roasting pan, stopping before the fat layer reaches the opening. Add the chicken broth to the roasting pan (make sure the flour and broth are well blended).
6. Place the roasting pan over medium high heat. Bring the liquid to a boil, whisking constantly. Lower the heat and continue to simmer, stirring constantly, until the gravy is thick, about 2 minutes.

Tip: To make the gravy thicker, whisk 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour with 1 tablespoon cold water, and whisk into the simmering gravy.
Check out more holiday recipes from the Meal Makeover Moms »

Golden Raisin-Apple Stuffing Cups

$5 Dinners Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 25 minutes
Makes 12 stuffing cups.

Ingredients

• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 1 small red onion, chopped
• 3 celery stalks, chopped
• 6 granny smith apples, peeled, cored and chopped
• 2 cups vegetable or chicken broth
• 1 1/2 cups golden raisins
• 6 cups homemade or store bought cube stuffing mix
• 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
• Salt and pepper
• 2 9" homemade or store bough pie crusts (See Green Chili Apple Pie for double pie crust recipe)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Grease the wells of 12 muffin tins. To a large saucepan, add the oil and sauté the red onion and chopped celery. After about 3 to 4 minutes, add the chopped apples and broth. Let cook another 4 to 5 minutes.
2. In a large bowl, toss the golden raisins and stuffing cubes. Toss the cooked apples, celery, onions and broth with the raisins and bread cubes, until all the bread cubes have soaked up the liquid.
3. Cut the pie crust into large circles...large enough to fill the better part of a regular size muffin tin. Press them into the greased muffin tin.
4. Scoop the golden raisin-apple stuffing into the crust in each muffin tin and press down firmly.
5. Bake at 350 for 20 to 25 minutes, or until stuffing begins to golden on top. Let cool slightly before serving.

Check out more holiday recipes from the $5 Dinner Mom »

Oven Roasted Garlic Green Beans

$5 Dinners Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 8 minutes
Makes 6 to 8 side dish servings.

Ingredients

• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 1 pound green beans, washed and trimmed
• 2 Tablespoons minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
• Pepper
• 1-2 Tablespoons grated or shredded parmesan

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425°. Line a baking sheet with foil.
2. In a mixing bowl, toss together the olive oil, green beans, minced garlic, Kosher salt and pepper. Spread the green beans out on the foiled lined baking sheet.
3. Roast in the oven for 8 minutes, tossing quickly at around 6 minutes. Let cool slightly before serving.

Serve Oven Roasted Garlic Green Beans.

I-Love-Chocolate Party Torte

Meal Makeover Moms Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 35 minutes
Makes 16 Servings

Ingredients

• 8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips (about 1¼ cups)
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
• 1/4 cup shredded coconut
• 5 large eggs, beaten
• Powdered sugar
• One 16-ounce container fresh strawberries, sliced
• Light whipped cream, optional

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter the bottom and sides of a 9-inch springform pan and dust the bottom with granulated sugar. Set aside.
2. Place the chocolate chips and oil in a medium saucepan over low heat and stir until the chips melt, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat.
3. Whisk together the sugar, flour, and cocoa powder in a large bowl until well combined. Whisk in the eggs until well blended. Add the melted chocolate and stir to combine.
4. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Smooth the top with a rubber spatula. Bake 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
5. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and cool completely. When cool, remove from the pan, sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve with the strawberries and the whipped cream as desired.