Cooking with Kenson Kids: My Grandma's Rouladen and Spätzle: A Recipe Passed Down

Cooking with Kenson Kids

With Grandparents Day right around the corner, I wanted to share something a little different for this week's Cooking with Kenson Kids: my grandmother's Rouladen and spätzle recipe. As our family continues moving toward healthier, less-processed meals, this pairing has become a regular in our house — spätzle in particular has become my go-to noodle.

There are certain recipes that always taste like home, and this is one of those for me. It's been passed down, it's genuinely easy to make, and the whole family loves it. It's also a great one to make with kids — there's real hands-on work in both recipes that little helpers can take part in.

Homemade Spätzle

You may need to order a special spätzle maker (more on that below), but I promise these noodles are worth it — they're healthy,  less processed, and kids love them.

My grandmother had a spätzle maker that got passed down to me, and when mine eventually wore out, I replaced it with this one from Amazon. If you don't want to order one, a cheese grater with large holes can work in a pinch too.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups flour
• ½ to 1 cup water or milk (my grandmother used water; I use half milk, half water)
• 4 eggs
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp pepper

Directions:

1. Boil water in a 2-quart saucepan.
2. Mix all ingredients in a bowl. The consistency should be thin enough to drop through the holes of the spätzle maker, but not so thin that it just runs through. I start with the half cup of milk and add water as needed to get the right consistency.
3. Once the water reaches a full boil, set the spätzle maker on top of the pot. Pour the batter into the cup and slide it back and forth so the batter drops through the holes into the boiling water.
4. Stir the noodles as they cook — they'll rise to the surface when they're done. Let them cook about 4 to 6 minutes total.
5. Drain, add a tablespoon of butter, stir, and enjoy.

Easy, unprocessed, and easy to adjust for whatever substitutions your family needs.

Grandma's Rouladen

This pairs beautifully with the spätzle above.

Ingredients:

• Toothpicks
• Thin-sliced round steak (usually comes in packages of 6–8)
• 1 onion, diced
• Bacon
• Salt and pepper (I use Kinder's Original Blend — I like the hint of garlic it adds)
• Dijon mustard (optional)

Instructions:

1. Cut your bacon slices in half to match the number of steak pieces you have.
2. Dice the onion.
3. Lay out a piece of steak. If using Dijon mustard, spread a thin coat first — otherwise, skip to the next step.
4. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
5. Place a half slice of bacon at the widest end of the steak, then sprinkle onion on top. Roll the steak up like a pinwheel and secure it with a toothpick (my grandmother always used sewing string instead).
6. You can roll it lightly in flour if you'd like, though I usually skip this step.
7. Place the rolls in a frying pan with a lid and sear on all sides over medium heat.
8. Add a little broth or water to the pan, then turn the heat down to medium-low. Cook for about 90 minutes, checking often to make sure there's still liquid in the bottom of the pan, until the meat is tender.
9. Remove the meat. If you'd like gravy, mix ½ cup water with 1 tablespoon flour and add it to the pan with the drippings. Turn the heat back up and stir until it thickens into a gravy.

Be sure to remove the toothpick before eating the meat.

I hope you enjoy this one as much as our family does — it's a small taste of home I'm happy to pass along.