Cottage Cooking - French Toast Casserole

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...Here is another recipe that lends itself to cooking in barebone kitchens. No special ingredients or equipment are needed to make it, and it takes about 15 minutes to prepare. It can be baked as soon as it's assembled and it makes a nice, if sweet, way to start the day, especially if you are feeding a hungry horde. I must admit I'm not certain whom to credit for the recipe. I found it on a blog called Sweet and Simple Living, but I have since seen it on The Pioneer Woman site as well. I don't know who was first, so I'll credit both of them here. The Silver Fox and I prefer this casserole on the dry side, so I bake it for an hour and ten minutes. If you prefer your breakfast casseroles to pudding-like, I suggest checking it at the 50 minute mark to see if it is done to your liking. When we are at home, I use small stale Hawaiian rolls to make the casserole, but the recipe works with any type of stale bread. I must admit I have no luck with leftovers of this type, so I only make this when I'm feeding enough people to assure there will be no problem with leftovers. This is an easy way to make a breakfast special, and, if you have not already done so, I urge you to give this recipe a try. Here is how this very simple casserole is made.

Cottage Cooking - Red Velvet Cake Mix Cookies

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...It's still raining here, but our visit has been so pleasant we decided to stay another day. We've walked the rim of the lake and were drenched in the process, but no matter. These short breaks from our daily routines are renewing. While the storm has taken out electric power a small generator, augmented with camp lanterns has made it possible for the Silver Fox to read and me to write and a pot-bellied stove has kept us warm. We've also been able to touch base with the "regulars" - folks who live here year round. That was wonderful, but I ran out of brownies yesterday and had to scramble to make something to serve those who came to visit. Fortunately, the meager pantry held a cake mix left over from the previous summer and I used it to make cookies, which I thought would go further than a cake. I found a recipe online that I used as a guideline for the cookies I made. I'm not a fan of red velvet anything. Adding a bottle of red dye to ingredients for cake or cookies has never made any sense to me but because I needed a dessert, I closed my eyes and put my principles on hold. Just this once, mind you. The recipe I used made cookies that a six year old with a strong arm could prepare. It used a bowl and a wooden spoon and took 5 minutes to prepare. The cookies are pretty good and they fit right into the scheme of simple cottage cooking. They are certainly worth trying and I hope you will do that. Here is how they are made.

Cottage Cooking - Skillet Spanish Rice

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...Did you know my husband's sainted mother made him Spanish rice all the time? He didn't even have to ask. That's what I'm told, and how can you question the veracity of a man whose mother was a saint. While I make him Spanish rice from time to time, it's usually for lunch when we're at the lake and I'm working in a kitchen with a two burner stove and zero counter space. Simplicity and ease of preparation reign supreme in the lake kitchen, and this is a perfect meal to prepare when we are there. I rarely make it when we are at home because it doesn't seem quite up to standard. At his request, I lowered my standards and made the rice for his Father's Day lunch. I received the ultimate compliment. He thought it was better than his mother's. While breakfast stretched my kitchen skills, our lunch of Spanish rice was embarrassingly simple to make. Those of you who were children in the 40's and 50's are probably overly familiar with this dish. Most of us ate a lot of it and tend to associate it with leaner times and rationing. We forget how delicious it was and how easy it was to prepare. The recipe I use for the "better than my mom's" rice is a riff of the one that appears on the back of a Heinz Ketchup bottle. It is ridiculously easy to prepare and those of you who like casseroles that are ever so slightly sweet, will enjoy this trip down memory lane. Here is how the rice is made.

Cottage Cooking - Enchilada Casserole

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...This is a simple family meal that is perfect for a summer supper. It comes together quickly and all the ingredients needed for the casserole can be found in any grocery store. You can have this on the table in 30 minutes and it requires no special equipment to make. That makes it a perfect candidate for your collection of recipes that must be prepared in cottage kitchens that are poorly equipped. Children and adults will enjoy this, though you will want to tone down the heat for the younger children at your table. This is a great dish for young cooks to tackle because it is so simple make. Here is how it's made.