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Rhubarb, sometimes known as pie plant, has thrived in our cool spring weather throughout the Inland Northwest. Karma Henry, formally of Odessa shared a recipe on Facebook for Baked Sticky Rhubarb Pudding. This is any easy recipe to prepare and the end result is like magic.

This would be a fun recipe to have kids help make as it looks funny with water on the surface when you put it in the oven but comes out with a crispy crust over a pudding mixture underneath.

Baked Sticky Rhubarb Pudding

3 cups diced rhubarb

1 cup all-purpose flour

2/3 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup milk

2/3 cup melted butter, slightly cooled

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup powdered sugar

1 Tbsp cornstarch

1 cup water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-inch square pan. Pour chopped rhubarb into the bottom of the pan.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, granulated sugar, milk, melted butter, baking powder, salt and vanilla. Stir until smooth. Pour over rhubarb and spread evenly.

In another bowl, combine powdered sugar and cornstarch. Scoop mixture over the top of the batter on the rhubarb. Pour water over the top.

Bake for 1 hour. Remove from oven, cool and serve. Top with whipped cream or ice cream. Refrigerate any leftovers. Yield: 6 to 8 servings.

What to fix for meals, when you are in a hurry, tired, need to take food to a shut in or just have a starving mob surrounding you? Tuna-n-Rice Dinner, a recipe I found in a Minute Rice advertisement in about 1993, is an easy, one-pan main dish.

Tuna-n-Rice Dinner

1 Tbsp butter or margarine

1 cup chopped onion

1 package (10-12 ounces) frozen peas

1 1/2 cups milk

1 can (10 3/4 ounces) cream of chicken soup

1/8 tsp ground black pepper

2 cans (6 1/2 to 7 ounces each) tuna, drained and flaked

1 1/2 cups Minute Original Instant Rice

2 Tbsp minced fresh parsley

1/3 cup toasted, sliced almonds (optional)

Melt margarine in large skillet on medium-high heat. Add onion; cook and stir until tender but not browned.

Stir in the frozen peas, milk, soup and black pepper. Bring mixture to a boil over medium-high heat.

Stir in drained tuna, rice and parsley; cover. Remove from heat. Let stand 5 minutes. Garnish with the toasted almonds if desired. Yield: 4-6 servings.

Note: this is a versatile recipe, diced cooked or canned chicken may be substituted for the tuna, and frozen mixed vegetables or peas and carrots may be used in place of the frozen peas and any cream soup will work.

Use your microwave to toast the sliced almonds. One minute on high worked well for the 1/3 cup of sliced almonds in the recipe above. Easy, and you don’t have to heat up the oven.

Tuna-Noodle Casserole is another quick-to-fix dish, using ingredients commonly on hand. Over the years (yes, I have had this recipe a long time), I have made a few changes.

The recipe calls for 1/2 cup chicken broth. What are you going to do with the remainder of the can? I add it to the cooking water for the noodles. Then do you really want to dirty another pan to cook 1/2 cup peas? Just toss them in with the noodles the last two minutes of the cooking time.

Tuna-Noodle Casserole

2 Tbsp butter

1/4 tsp seasoned salt

2 Tbsp all-purpose flour

1/8 tsp ground black pepper

1 can (11-12 ounces) evaporated milk

1/2 cup chicken broth

1 can (7 ounces) tuna, drained and flaked

1/2 cup cooked peas

2 cups cooked noodles

1/2 cup crushed potato chips

Melt butter in a large saucepan. Stir in flour, seasoned salt and pepper until smooth. Gradually stir in evaporated milk and chicken broth. Cook over medium heat stirring constantly until thickened. Stir in tuna, peas and noodles. Spoon mixture into a greased 1 1/2 quart casserole. Top with the crushed potato chips. Bake uncovered in a 400 degrees oven 10 minutes or until heated through. Yield 4 servings.

Tater-Tot Casserole is another easy to prepare dish. There are a number of recipes for this dish. The vegetables added vary and the flavor of the cream soup varies. Some include French fried onion, others onion soup mix. It is a recipe that will conform to ingredients on hand as long as you have the basics, Tater-Tots, hamburger and cream soup.

Tater-Tot Casserole

1 1/2 pounds hamburger, browned and drained

1 package onion soup mix

1 can kernel corn, drained

1 can green beans, drained

2 cans (10 3/4 ounces each) cream of mushroom soup

3/4 cup milk

1 package (2 pounds) Tater-Tots

1 cup grated cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place browned hamburger in the bottom of a greased 9x13-inch baking pan. Sprinkle with onion soup mix. Scatter corn and green beans evenly over the meat.

In a medium bowl, combine soup and milk, whisking until smooth. Pour over layers in the pan. Top with Tater-Tots, placed in a single layer (this should take the whole bag). Bake 1 hour. Top with the grated cheddar cheese and bake 5 minutes more to melt cheese. Yield: about 8 servings.

– What are your go-to dishes when you are in a hurry to get a meal on the table? Share them with your fellow readers by sending them to: Welcome to My Kitchen, c/o The Odessa Record, P.O. Box 458, Odessa, WA 99159, send email to therecord@odessaoffice.com or drop them in the Welcome to My Kitchen mail tin in The Odessa Record office. Follow Welcome to My Kitchen on Facebook for more kitchen and cooking tips. Looks like we won’t have to run out and cover the tomato plants from frost for the next few weeks. Water vegetable gardens and flower beds in the early morning or cool of the evening when plants can best utilize it.