CARTHAGE, Mo. — Kim Hoover stood in the middle of her classroom, an island of tranquility in a sea of chaos.

All around her, seventh- and eighth-grade students measured, poured, stirred and fried.

Think about it. Hoover, who teaches Family and Consumer Science at Carthage Junior High, had 13- and 14-year-old kids huddled over working stove tops and electric skillets. She had them making dough for the tortillas, browning meat for tacos and frying the hand-made tortillas. It’s the sort of thing, one might expect, that would have the Carthage Fire Department on high alert.

Hoover, who has been teaching junior high students to cook for 15 years (minus a few years after the birth of her son) has never had to call the fire department to her class. Hoover said not only is it possible to safely teach young people to cook, it’s an enjoyable experience.

“I like it (teaching her students to cook), and they love it. They get so excited when they finish a recipe and they are so proud,” she said.

Most of Hoover’s students come into her classroom for the first time with little or no kitchen knowledge.

“I literally have to start from scratch with some students,” she said.

It’s a far cry from the way Hoover was raised. Hoover said she began cooking with her mother at a very young age.

“I remember taking a pumpkin pie out of the oven one time and I dropped something on the pie. I cried and cried,” she said.

As Hoover talked to a visitor to her classroom, she was interrupted by two students -- Jessica Meza and Megan Taylor. The girls were working on the dough for their tortillas.

“It doesn’t look right,” the girls said, pointing to their mixing bowl of corn meal and flour.

“Did you add the water?” Hoover asked.

“Ohhhhh,” the girls said and then laughed and walked back to their cooking area.

The little exchange pointed to what Hoover said is the key to teaching teen and pre-teen students how to cook.

“Patience. You have to start at the beginning,” she said.

That’s not to say that Hoover babies her students. Since school began, her students have made cookies, banana muffins, homemade pizza, an eggless chocolate cake with icing, fettuccine alfredo, omelets, monkey bread and several other dishes.

The payoff to teaching your child to cook is that she -- hopefully -- will not only grow to appreciate cooking but learn that it’s cheaper to prepare a meal yourself, as well as healthier.

“And it will taste so much better,” Hoover said.

In the years Hoover has spent in the classroom, she has noticed a troubling trend. Fewer and fewer families, she said, actually sit down to homemade family dinners. Instead, they opt for takeout food or packaged, prepared meals. It’s understandable, to a point, with parents working and children running from activity to activity. But it’s still troubling to Hoover.

That’s why she feels so strongly about what she does. That’s why she smiles when she sees a student who had no kitchen experience before entering her classroom confidently holding a skillet with one hand and stirring the browning ground beef with the other.

Hoover said students who learn how to cook learn much more than basic food skills. They learn to follow directions. They learn problem solving. They learn, when cooking in a group, to work as a team. They learn to use math skills, and they learn how to follow a budget. And, as they did one day last week, they learned how to make tacos using homemade tortillas.

Here are some other recipes the class has tackled:

Fettuccine alfredo

8-ounce package pasta (fettuccine is traditional)

1/4 cup butter or margarine

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 1/2 teaspoons dry Italian salad dressing mix (optional)

Cook noodles by filling a large saucepan 2/3 full with water and bringing it to a rolling boil. Cover the pan and set stove top dial on high. Add noodles slowly to boiling water and stir gently. Boil, uncovered, for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. While noodles are cooking, measure out cream, parmesan and seasoning mix and set aside. Drain water from pasta by pouring into a colander that has been set in the sink.

Return drained pasta to saucepan.

Stir in cream, butter, Parmesan and dressing mix if using. Cooked, cubed chicken could be stirred in as well.

Mix well and serve immediately.

If dressing mix is not used, you may want to serve with cracked pepper and a sprinkle of nutmeg.

Source: Kim Hoover



Ramen noodle omelet (microwave version)

1 package ramen noodles (any flavor)

3 eggs

3 tablespoons water

1 tablespoon Parmesan cheese (optional)

Chopped ham to your liking or other omelet toppings

Shredded cheese (type and amount to your liking)

Grease 9-inch round glass pie plate.

Cook ramen noodles according to package directions, but do not add seasoning packet, and don’t break noodles into small pieces.

Meanwhile, using a fork or whisk, combine eggs, water, seasoning packet, and Parmesan cheese in a small mixing bowl.

When the noodles are done cooking, drain them in a colander and dump them into the greased baking pan, spreading them out evenly. Pour the egg mixture evenly, over the noodles. You can place a small glass custard cup in the center of the pan to promote more even cooking.

Microwave for 2 minutes.

Top with shredded cheese of choice and chopped ham. Microwave another minute.

If egg still looks runny, microwave another 30 seconds to a minute.

Let sit a couple minutes. Cut into slices, such as you do a pie, and serve warm.

Source: Kim Hoover



Monkey bread (microwave)

1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar

3 tablespoons butter or margarine

1 tablespoon water

1/3 cup nuts if desired

1/2 teaspoon to 1 teaspoon cinnamon if desired

1 can refrigerator biscuits

In a shallow microwave-safe round casserole dish or 8-inch round, glass pie plate, combine the brown sugar, butter and water.

Microwave uncovered for 1 minute at 100 percent power.

Stir gently to melt the butter and dissolve the sugar. Stir in cinnamon and nuts if desired.

Either cut or tear each biscuit into four pieces. Add to the sugar mixture and stir to coat each piece.

Use a rubber scraper to push the mixture and biscuits evenly away from the center of the dish. Place a small custard cup or medium-sized drinking glass in the center with the open side up, to form a ring mold.

Microwave for 2 minutes, 30 seconds at 100 percent power until the biscuits are no longer sticky when lightly touched. Use potholders -- will be hot.

Let the mixture “carry-over-cook” for 2 minutes by letting it sit. Carefully remove the custard cup.

Source: Kim Hoover