School is back in session throughout the region, and this week we’re revisiting our favorite kid-friendly recipes from past columns.

These are staples in our home, and I’ve paired each specialty with an age group so you can make them with your children — or, even better, let them do the cooking.

Bringing kids into the cooking process is an excellent way to help foster a love of good, healthy food, and you don’t have to wait until they’re a teenager to involve them.

Full supervision is recommended for the first two age groups (pre-K and elementary), and for the older age groups according to your comfort level.

“Home with the Lost Italian” is a weekly column written by Sarah Nasello featuring recipes by her husband, Tony Nasello. The couple owned Sarello’s in Moorhead and lives in Fargo with their son, Giovanni. Readers can reach them at sarahnasello@gmail.com.

Pre-K

Aggression Cookies: I remember making these oatmeal cookies with my mom when I was in preschool, and they’re called Aggression Cookies because you use your hands to mix the ingredients. The more aggressively you mix, the better the cookies will taste. This is a terrific way to introduce your little ones the feeling of working with food, and kids of all ages will enjoy eating the cookies.

Back-to-School Aggression Cookies

Makes: about 4 dozen

3 cups old-fashioned or quick-cook oats

1 ½ cups flour

1 ½ cups brown sugar, packed

1 ½ cups butter, room temperature (3 sticks)

1 teaspoon salt

1 ½ teaspoons baking soda

1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Optional add-ins:

¾ cup plain M&Ms

1 teaspoon cinnamon

¾ cup chocolate chips

½ cup chopped nuts

½ cup coconut

½ cup raisins

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Wash hands. Place all the ingredients (except any add-ins) and use your hands to mix them together until well combined. The more you mix, the better the cookies will taste, so be aggressive. Mash! Knead! Pound! When everything is combined, add any add-in components and mix again. For best results, choose just one or two add-ins.

Use a spoon to scoop the batter into walnut-sized pieces, then roll each piece into a round ball. Place balls on an ungreased or parchment-lined baking sheet about 2 inches apart (cookies will spread as they bake).

Bake at 350 degrees for 15 to 17 minutes, until cookies are a light golden brown. Remove from oven and cool on baking sheet for 2 minutes, then transfer to a wire cooling rack. Store in an airtight container for at least a week, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Elementary

Gio’s Meatballs: I created this recipe with Gio when he was in the second grade, and we played around with various versions until we found our perfect meatball mix. This is another great dish for kids to dig their hands into, and we’ve found that the more kids touch and prepare food, the more willing they are to try new foods. Moist, tender and lightly seasoned, these meatballs are a hit with everyone we serve them to, and we’ve heard from many of our readers who enjoy making them with their kids and grandkids.

Gio’s Meatballs

1 lb. ground beef

¼ cup milk

1 cup Italian-seasoned breadcrumbs

1 cup Parmesan cheese

2 eggs, beaten

2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

2 teaspoons kosher salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil

3 to 4 cups tomato sauce (see tip below)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil; set aside.

In a large bowl, mix the breadcrumbs and milk together. Add the ground beef, cheese, eggs, parsley, garlic, salt and pepper and use your hands to aggressively mix until well combined, about 1 to 2 minutes.

Use your hands or an ice cream scoop to shape the meatballs to desired size (we recommend approx. 1-inch in diameter, which makes about 30 meatballs) and place them on the prepared baking sheet. Bake in the oven at 400 degrees until they are cooked through and evenly browned all over, about 20 to 25 minutes.

Serve immediately or add to your favorite tomato sauce and cook for another 15 to 20 minutes, turning once or twice. Serve hot.

To store meatballs: Place the meatballs, cooked or uncooked, on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or foil and freeze until hard to the touch. Once hardened, transfer meatballs to a plastic freezer bag or container, label with the date and freeze for up to 3 months.

Easy Tomato Sauce

Serves: 4 to 6

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 to 3 large garlic cloves, minced

Pinch of crushed red pepper (optional)

28 oz. can whole peeled tomatoes, pureed

Salt and pepper to taste

In a medium sauce pot, heat olive oil over medium-low heat and saute garlic for about three to five minutes, stirring often and being careful not to brown the garlic. Add the crushed red peppers and saute for another minute.

Add the tomatoes and cook for about 15 minutes over low-medium heat, then reduce the heat to low and cook for another 15-20 minutes. Cover the pot but leave a little room to allow steam to escape.

When the sauce coats the back of a spoon, it’s ready to serve. Use immediately or refrigerate for up to 5 days.

Middle school

Mini Tortilla Pizzas: We discovered this after-school favorite when Gio was in the seventh grade, and now keep a regular supply of flour tortillas, tomato sauce and cheese on hand for an easy and delicious afternoon snack. These pizzas are simple enough for middle-schoolers to prepare mostly on their own, with supervision recommended when the oven is required.

As the pizza bakes, the tortilla transforms into a thin and crispy-yet-tender crust that is surprisingly strong enough to support a multitude of ingredients. The sky is the limit when it comes to toppings, and we’ve enjoyed everything from simple cheese pizzas, to a topping-packed supreme style pizza, and even a sweet s’mores version.

Savory Tortilla Pizza

Makes: 2 individual pizzas

2 8-inch flour tortillas

¼ cup pizza sauce

½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese or 1 ½ slices (about 1.5 ounces) of fresh mozzarella, broken into thumb-sized pieces

Toppings as desired

If using fresh basil, add immediately after the pizza is removed from the oven to prevent it from burning.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or grease lightly with cooking spray and place the 2 tortillas on the sheet.

Place 2 tablespoons of pizza sauce in the center of each tortilla. Use the back of a large spoon to gently work it around the surface of the tortilla, working in circles from the center out to the edges, leaving a ¼-inch border.

Sprinkle a quarter cup of shredded mozzarella around each of the tortillas, leaving a ¼-inch border, until it is evenly coated. If using fresh mozzarella, dot the surface with the torn pieces.

Top with desired toppings and bake in a 400-degree oven for 10 to 12 minutes until the cheese is bubbly, fully melted and lightly golden. Oven temperatures vary, so check the pizzas after 8 minutes and adjust time and temp as needed.

Remove from oven and transfer pizzas immediately to a cutting board. Add fresh basil now, if using.

Cut into slices as desired and serve. Leftovers may be refrigerated and reheated in the oven (for best results) until crisp, about 5 minutes.

High school

The Very Best Sloppy Joes: High school life is filled with activities that often require feeding a bunch of hungry teenagers, and having a tasty, reliable, freezer-friendly, big-batch recipe in your arsenal is a must. This recipe for sloppy Joes has been in our family for four generations, and every time I make them, I am asked for the recipe, which can be easily multiplied for large batches. I always make extra to keep in the freezer for those pesky, last-minute, “Mom, I forgot to tell you…” emergencies.

Mathison Family Sloppy Joes (aka Beefburger Barbecues)

Makes: 6 to 8 sandwiches (can be easily doubled, tripled, etc.)

1 pound ground beef

½ cup yellow onions, small-diced

¼ cup green pepper, small-diced

¼ cup celery, small-diced

8-ounce can tomato sauce

¼ cup ketchup

1 tablespoon white vinegar

1 tablespoon white sugar

1 ½ teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon black pepper

In a medium or large frying pan, cook the ground beef with the onions over medium heat until the meat is browned and onions translucent. Drain any excess fat from the pan. Add the remaining ingredients, except the salt and pepper, and simmer over medium-low heat for 20 minutes. Taste and add salt and pepper as desired.

If mixture is too thick, add a bit of water; if too thin, keep cooking until desired consistency is achieved. Serve immediately in toasted buns or freeze for up to 3 months. Can be refrigerated for several days.

For large batches: If doubling the recipe, add 1½ tablespoons of sugar; if tripling, add 2 tablespoons.

To freeze: Cool beef mixture completely. Pour into a large plastic freezer bag, place bag in a medium bowl and freeze (once frozen, bowl can be removed). To thaw, simply place the bag in a large saucepan filled with 1 to 2 inches of water and heat over medium-low heat until thawed. Reheat mixture on the stovetop or in the microwave before serving.