Quick and Delicious Recipes with Kids - Perfect One-Dish Dinners

Sunday Supper with ThreeManyCooks

I know it may sound trite, but as the weather turns cool, it makes me want to gather around the kitchen table with family and friends. Maybe it’s that a warm meal makes me feel cozy on a cold day. Maybe it’s that the cool weather makes me want to spend time in the warm kitchen. Who knows?

After I returned from the BlogHer Food conference a few weeks ago with the new cookbook from Pam Anderson, my daughter thumbed through it and picked out a handful of recipes she wanted us to make together. That’s my dream come true, really. A once overly selective little girl is now picking out recipes from appealing books that she wants to try. Sigh.

The weekend was brimming with activities, and I was elbow deep in my first tomato canning project, so we opted to make a Sunday Supper with two simple recipes from Perfect One-Dish Dinners. It’s always a relief to find a cookbook with a range of recipes – some of which can be pulled together quickly with two youngsters in tow. I assembled the Miniature Crab Cakes while the kids made the Caesar Salad Flatbread Pizzas.

Caesar Salad Flatbread Pizzas
By Pam Anderson

These wonderfully crisp flatbreads act as both a plate and crouton for this crowd-pleasing salad.

1/2 cup mayonnaise
4 large garlic cloves, minced
3/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

Flatbread Dough
1 cup bread or white whole-wheat flour, plus more for dusting
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 1/2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
6 cups shredded hearts romaine lettuce
Salt and freshly ground pepper
6 Tablespoons finely grated parmesan cheese, divided

Adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat the oven to 500 degrees. Mix mayonnaise, garlic, and Worcestershire in small bowl. Set aside.

Dough: Mix flour and salt in a food processor. Mix 1/3 cup warm water and oil together and pour over flour mixture; process to form a soft dough ball. If dough is too stiff, process in another teaspoon or so of water. Continue to process into a smooth but soft pliable dough, about 15 seconds. With floured hands, turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and cut into thirds. Working on one flatbread at a time, roll the dough to an approximately 12-by-6-inch rectangle, coating with flour and turning as necessary to keep it from sticking. Transfer to large baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a Silpat. Repeat with remaining dough to make 2 more flatbreads. Spread all but a generous 2 tablespoons mayonnaise mixture over flatbread dough and bake until heated through and crisp, 8-10 minutes.

Meanwhile, whisk lemon juice into remaining 2 tablespoons mayonnaise mixture. Drizzle olive oil over the romaine in a mixing bowl, along with a generous sprinkling of salt and pepper, and toss to coat. Add mayonnaise mixture and toss to coat. Add 4 Tablespoons cheese; toss to coat again.

Top warm flatbreads with tossed salad. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Serve immediately, halving each flatbread.

It was fun making dinner with my mom. I am a beginner cook but I could still measure the ingredients for the flat bread and roll out the dough.
I also smashed the crackers with my fists for the crab cakes. – Ari, age 8

I loved the salad on the flat bread, especially how I could eat it like a pizza! I don’t like using a fork, so this was perfect. – Amelia, age 10