California Rice Skillet

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...We had quite a day today. You know the kind. Nothing that was supposed to happen did, even my carefully planned dinner. A chore we thought would take no more than an hour ate up the day, so when dinner time rolled around I didn't have the energy or gumption to make the meal I had planned. Instead, I fell back on a casserole I frequently served when the children were still at home. I found the recipe on the back of an Uncle Ben's Rice box and the dish quickly became a favorite of theirs. They loved the way it tasted and I loved how easy it was to prepare. I suspect you have all the ingredients required to make casserole already in your pantry and refrigerator. It takes about 15 minutes to throw this together, but if you like casseroles, I guarantee that you will like this one. The recipe is straight forward and it is a great starting vehicle for young cooks. If you have not already sampled this simple rice skillet, I do hope you will give the recipe a try. Here is how the dish is made.

Child's Play - Mocha Pecan Balls

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...If your children are at all like mine were, the lead-up to Christmas is almost unbearable for the six and under crew. An elf, as long as one is placed on every ledge in the house, may help, but I think they're going to need a bit of structured activity to keep them from killing themselves, or their siblings, over the course of the next few days. Why not some time in the kitchen? I have a no-bake recipe that is a sanity-saver for moms. It can be made by the kids, without adult intervention, and it will keep them busy for the better part of an hour or so. You can also factor in another couple of hours for kitchen clean-up and the baths they'll need after shaping the chocolaty balls. Please remember, I promised you cookies, not the garden of Eden. We are, all of us, old enough to know that everything has a price and a light dusting of cocoa powder covering the surface of the earth is a small price to pay for your sanity and a bit of peace and quiet. When I am working with kids under six, I get them started with pre-chopped nuts and crushed wafer crumbs. It's just easier. Strangely enough, this simple recipe makes a really nice cookie that even adults who like tea parties will enjoy. The kids will not make perfect balls, but Christmas is about God's perfection, not theirs, so if an occasion oval or amoeba surfaces, steady as you go girl. Their grandparents will love the cookies almost as much as the hands that made them and the cookies, regardless of who makes them, will make a nice additional to your holiday cookie tray. Here is how they are made.

Child's Play - Lemon Crinkle Cookies

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...These cookies look like wallflowers, and while their plain appearance might keep them from the tea table, I'd be remiss if I failed to tell you just how good they are. I'd also be remiss if I failed to tell you how easy they are to make. This is a great recipe for young cooks to try. The cookies can be made with a hand mixer in about 15 minutes, although the dough will need to be chilled before it can be shaped for baking. The batch I made had crisp edges and soft centers that made them perfect for dunking in milk or coffee and I suspect that lemon lover's will enjoy them as much as I did. The recipe was a contest winner that I found on the blog, Lauren's Latest. Do try these. Here is how they are made.

That Old Black Magic Cake

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...This recipe is my answer to packaged cake mixes. It was developed in the Hershey test kitchen, and I have used for years, as my go-to recipe when I need a chocolate cake that is versatile and can be made quickly. Baked in a bundt pan, I tote it to meeting. Baked in cake pans, it becomes the base for a chocolate whipped cream cake that will drive men mad, and when unceremoniously dumped into a standard baking pan, it makes a perfect cake for picnics and barbecues. While it is not inexpensive to make, it is so easy to prepare that it is a perfect starter cake for young bakers. I vary the flavor by occasionally using almond or orange extract in place of the vanilla that is called for in the Hershey's recipe. This is a rich, moist cake that will be more appreciated by adults than children, who generally shy away from its intense chocolate flavor. It is important to use unsweetened rather than Dutch processed cocoa in this recipe. Dutch cocoa, which is designed to use with baking powder, will not react with baking soda and the cake will not rise properly. All in all, I think those of you who have never tried this cake, will love it. Here is how it is made.

Child's Play - Blueberry- Muffin Cake

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I made this very simple cake this weekend and while I was putting it together, it dawned on me that it would be perfect for young cooks to try. While the batter bakes in a cake pan, the recipe, which comes from Fine Cooking magazine, is really for muffins, and doing away with the potentially messy transfer of batter from bowl to muffin cups makes easy work of this treat for moms and kids alike. The cake can be made without special equipment and it comes together easily, so if you'll be spending any time in an ill-equipped summer rental kitchen, you might want to keep this recipe in mind. The cake is almost trouble free, but it wants to stick to the pan, so be sure to butter the pan well before adding batter to it, and do formally test the cake for doneness before you remove it from the oven. Mine needed 5 minutes more than the time suggested in the recipe. This really is a lovely cake and while it is perfect for breakfast or brunch, it also makes a very nice snack cake. I do hope you'll give this recipe a try. Here is how the cake is made.

Child's Play - Millionaire's Pie

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I had an unexpected visitor this weekend, and our unseasonably rainy weather meant my 5 year old guest would have to be entertained indoors. I floated the idea of a tea party, but she thought Shirley Temples would be a better way to go. Now, I'll let her mom and grandmother deal with the long term implications of that, but short term she and I had a mocktail party that left me with a rather large jar of opened maraschino cherries and lots of time to kill. Those awful cherries brought this pie, which has gone through waves of popularity, to mind. It's most outstanding feature is the ease with which it comes together and I thought it would be a perfect project for my guest. Now, whenever I cook with children this young, I stack the deck in their favor. That means I pre-chop and repackage ingredients that they can then measure and fold into the mix. I also try to find dishes that require no cooking and have the children rename them. This dessert, called Millionaire's Pie in the real world, quickly became Pink Princess Pie and it was a great project for a five year old to undertake on a rainy afternoon. She did well! I had to freeze the pie to get it to set before she had to go home, but the kitchen gods were on our side and she got to have a slice with extra cherries of it before she left. If you make sure the pineapple and cherries used in the pie are well drained, you will have no problems with this dessert. It is truly effortless and those of you who like maraschino cherries will be in red-dye heaven. Here is how the pie is made.

Child's Play - Penne Pasta Skillet

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...Here's a simple family meal that young cook's can make with little or no supervision. It relies on a commercial spaghetti sauce for flavor, so a bevy of spices is not required for seasoning, and better still, even young hands can have this 5 ingredient, 1 pan wonder on the table in about 30 minutes. That makes this a perfect dish for the summer kitchen and you'll find it's a nice meal to serve after a long day in the sun or on the water. The recipe comes from the Kraft test kitchen, so it is nearly foolproof. While I prefer to use Rao spaghetti sauce and penne pasta when I make this dish, any sauce and small pasta can be substituted. If you are looking for a quick and tasty meal, or a way to keep the kids busy, do give this a try. It's truly child's play. Here is how this simple skillet meal is made.

Child's Play - Almond Pound Cake (A.K.A. Bob's Armadillo Cake)

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...Back in the day, Bob's mother spent many a Mother's Day with us. At the time, we belonged to a parish that scheduled First Communion and Confirmation on Mother's Day, and she made it a point to attend the "passage" ceremonies of her grandchildren. My kids all adored her and when she was with us they reveled in making something special for her to remember. This pound cake, with the help of an old Farm Journal cookbook, was one of their creations. Now you must understand, that while my children are accomplished and comely, time has made it abundantly clear that the chromosome for fine motor skills never made it to our family gene pool. My son is the only member of the crew who can artistically dot his I's and cross his T's, and this pound cake, known in the annuls of family history, as Bob's Armadillo Cake gave him the opportunity to shine. The cake is normally made with a sprinkling of chopped almonds, but using tweezers and an entire bag of sliced almonds, he completely covered the cake with overlapping almond slices, giving it an armadillo-like mien. I, who regularly boast about my well-stocked pantry, had planned to make his version of this cake for you, but when the time came to finish it, I learned that while I had ground almonds, slivered almonds, whole almonds and almond meal, there were no sliced almonds in my cupboard. That means you'll have to wait another year to see the armored pound cake. I'm sorry to disappoint you, but in the interim you'll be able to enjoy this wonderful, nearly naked, pound cake. It is really easy to make and while it is wonderful to eat out of hand, it makes a terrific base for macerated fruit or trifle. The ease with which it comes together has made it one of my favorite go-to recipes, and because I'm not always on top of things, I make it more often than I should. I do hope you'll give this simple cake a try. Here is how it's made.