Comfort food: for some that’s a large part of being a family. It means sitting down to Grandma’s famous meatloaf or enjoying Dad’s eye-watering spicy sausage stuffing. That’s how we learn to enjoy family favorites—one taste at a time. But those traditions will slip away unless you open up the recipe box and teach your children the secrets of making your mealtime masterpieces.

Many kids, raised on fast food or other meals out, don’t have the chance to enjoy the pleasures of home cooking. Even if you or your forebears are culinarily challenged, you can still show your children how to make some good old-fashioned recipes.

With prechopped veggies, precooked meats, and prepared sauces, it’s easy to take a few shortcuts and still serve a scrumptious success. To start, show your children how to use a recipe book or surf for a particular dish online. Turn on the oven; gather what’s needed from the pantry, fridge, or freezer; measure out portions; and mix up a classic. You can do it!

Not everyone is a gifted cook, but anyone can follow a recipe, especially a tried-and-true favorite. (Ask your mom for easy ones if you’re timid.) Cooking teaches kids that ingredients need to be added and mixed in a specific order. Bread won’t rise without yeast; spaghetti sauce won’t taste the same if you make it with refried beans. You get the idea.

Use that as a way to talk to your children about how God wants us to follow a set recipe in our relationship with Him. Prayer, trust, and a huge helping of faith—all must be combined to make our friendship with Him grow. And as parents we have the inestimable privilege of imparting this recipe for life to our children.