Today’ s ratatouille dish is inspired by American Girl 2015 Girl of The Year- Grace Thomas. Grace is an adorable brunette doll with a side bang, beautiful blue eyes and freckles. She has a passion for baking, dreams of opening her own bakery, gets an amazing opportunity to visit France and she is available now until the end of the year. I am so excited to add her to our American Girl doll collection. With her arrival we were inspired to make a simple variation of a French dish in her honor- Ratatouille, which is basically a vegetable stew. Kids will take more of an interest in vegetables that they have helped prepare, and if you have a little girl who is mad about Grace use it to your advantage and play up the French aspect. I think Grace would approve of this healthy and flavorful French dish!
This recipe builds cutting skills and I pre-scored the soft veggies for her to try and keep them relatively the same thickness. The knife and cutting board that came with our Curious Chef 5 Piece Pizza Kit is perfect for soft veggies. Safe, comfortable,and manageable for little hands it is a great addition to our kitchen tools. Demonstrate to your child how to hold the vegetables opposite of where they are cutting with fingers tucked in, careful movements with knife.
Here is our inspired by Grace Thomas, her love of cooking and her time in Paris, Ratatouille recipe!
Kid-Friendly Ratatouille Recipe
Ingredients:
1 eggplant
1 zucchini
1 yellow squash
1 sweet onion
14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes
2 Tbsp. +1 Tbsp.. grated Parmesan
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. dried basil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp. pepper
Go ahead and pull out everything you are going to need down to spices before starting so you don’t have to walk away from little during prep to grab something. A handy basket works to keep everything together and out of the way.
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°
Coat an 11″x 7″ pan with nonstick cooking spray.
Cut eggplant, zucchini, squash, and onion into thin slices.
Toss all vegetables, 2 Tbsp. Parmesan, olive oil , basil, garlic and pepper together in a large bowl until well mixed.
Pour mixture into pan.
Top with additional 1 Tbsp. Parmesan cheese.
Bake for 20 minutes.
What do you think of 2015 Girl of The Year Grace? Isn’t she a cutie? And don’t you think your kids will love our Grace-inspired Ratatouille recipe?
Click here to print the ratatouille-recipe-card– or click the recipe card image and it will bring you right to the download of the pdf for it. Bon appetit!
Check out our other Kids in The Kitchen recipes
Kid Friendly Overnight Oatmeal
- 1 eggplant
- 1 zucchini
- 1 yellow squash
- 1 sweet onion
- 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes
- 2 Tbsp. +1 Tbsp.. grated Parmesan
- 1 Tbsp. olive oil
- 1 tsp. dried basil
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 tsp. pepper
- Preheat oven to 350°
- Coat an 11×7 pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- Cut eggplant, zucchini, squash, and onion into thin slices.
- Toss all vegetables, parmesan, olive oil , basil, garlic and pepper together in a large bowl until well mixed.
- Pour mixture into pan.
- Top with additional Parmesan cheese.
- Bake for 20 minutes.
Thanks to American Girl for sending us Grace!
Dawn says
This is so me! I love all of the vegetables in this dish, so I’m sure this will be amazing.
Michele says
I love the American girl dolls!! I was excited to hear they came out with a baking one. What great memories for your daughter to build in the kitchen with you!
Myrah - Coupon Mamacita says
I’m a big fan of veggie recipes like this. I can’t wait to give it a try. I think my husband will love it, too!
shelly peterson says
What a beautiful doll, love her freckles. The recipe looks good. I have never tried this before
Amber Edwards says
I love that this recipe is inspired by an American Girl Doll! That is awesome, it would definitely give some inspiration to my daughter to try something new!
Jennifer says
I can’t wait to give this recipe a try. You know, I’ve always heard of ratatouille, but I’ve never actually seen it or made it. This should be fun.
Tiffany (A Mom's Take) says
I’ve got to use this recipe and let my little girl help out, she’d love to make it and be in the kitchen. What a cute idea. I like the new doll of the year, she’s adorable.
ellen beck says
I adore all of the American Girl dolls and what my favorite part is is their syories. They each come with a story that is complete enough a child would have no problem pretending she can be part of her world. I think this recipe is great and since it is something the doll would ‘enjoy’ a child might enjoy it also !
Birdiebee says
Wow, this recipe looks good. I am going to have to try it. I love the American Girl Dolls and really like Grace Thomas. My middle granddaughter has been wanting an American Girl Doll now for 3 years. I hope to one day be able to buy it for her.