Learning how to freeze meals so that you can stockpile homemade, ready-to-heat dinners should be considered a talent. It may seem easy — just double up on tonight’s dinner so that you can relax later in the week — but it's not always tha…
Fresh herbs are an easy, healthy way to boost the flavor of your cooking with ingredients that you can pick up in any market all year around. The only problem? It's annoying to buy a big bunch of parsley when the recipe only calls for a …
Several years ago, my family resolved to eat less meat. Though we didn’t want to become vegetarians, we were interested in cutting back on meat for both health and environmental reasons. At first I was nervous about how to feed my family…
Frozen shrimp is among the most underused sources of protein in the family kitchen. Not only are shrimp nutritionally dense—according to the World’s Healthiest Foods, shrimp are a great source of vitamins D and B12, iron, omega-3 fatty a…
My younger son's birthday is in mid-October and the older one's is on January 5th. That means that I go from birthday to Halloween to Thanksgiving to Hanukkah and Christmas to New Year's Eve. And when it's finally over for everyone else,…
You have enough on your plate finishing up Christmas shopping and planning your holiday meals. If you're also doing elf on the shelf, we tip our hats to you. And all while the kids are home from school! We know it's a busy time and want …
Homemade pie crust: Three simple words that strike fear into the hearts of many home cooks, including myself until 2 weeks ago. I must confess that I have always been a firm believer in store-bought pie crusts. They are easy and taste, w…
There's still plenty of time to get ahead of your holiday cooking (our Thanksgiving cooking schedule can help!) but, let's be honest, no matter how well you prep, cooking a Thanksgiving meal can be stressful the day of. The more you can …
Gravy. It’s pretty much the best part of Thanksgiving or, at least, the best parts aren't the best without it. Since gravy is so beloved, there’s a lot of pressure to make it good and in quantity. Of course, making good gravy can get a l…
Thanksgiving is around the corner, which means the task of cooking a turkey is looming ahead for many of us. Roasting is almost always the best option for cooking a Thanksgiving bird because it's easy to do even if you don't cook often (…
Cooking a Thanksgiving meal is intimidating, but unless you're set on showing off, cooking Thanksgiving meal staples can be pretty straightforward business. The thing most likely to trip you up is bad planning. With a solid prep schedule…
You may be aware of last week's bombshell report from the World Health Organization (WHO) linking bacon and other processed red meats to cancer . Well, they've issued a statement of clarification . (i.e. You can calm down, Internet.) I l…
I was in college the first time I tried roasted garlic at an Italian restaurant famous for serving whole roasted bulbs with crusty bread. I was skeptical at first, but decided to give it a try. One bite of warm Italian bread spread with …
There’s been a lot of discussion lately about the kinds of life milestones that our kids might be missing due to the over-parenting phenomenon. Like navigating the neighborhood alone, traveling without parents, and even skills like fendi…
Though my mind is on Halloween tricks and treats, I know that it won't be long before the holidays—and holiday baking season—are here. I'm a bit tired of serving the same few things I feel comfortable baking holiday after holiday, so I'v…
While scouring the web for the best skinny slow cooker recipes I could find, I came across a genius trick that I have to share: how to cook spaghetti squash in a slow cooker . Did you know that you could do this? I had no clue and, in fa…
With baking season around the corner, it’s time to (finally!) get a handle on how to properly store baked goods. With the right moves, you can bake your treats ahead of time and still serve up fresh pies, melt-in-your-mouth cookies, and …
My kids' lunch boxes come home from school looking pretty nasty some days -- like when the peanut butter seems to have exploded inside, or when we open it on Monday morning to find a banana was left inside over the weekend. Gross. So we'…
We're jumping head first into the pool of #ForceFriday because we admit it. We're huge Star Wars fans around here (yep, we have an entire Pinterest board dedicated to it) and we can't wait for Star Wars VII: Force Awakens as much as the …
Thanks to shows like Master Chef Junior , my kids now know the difference between sauté and flambé -- and they want to do both in our kitchen at home. The problem is, they either get bored trying to choose a recipe from my text-heavy coo…
I know what you’re thinking: quinoa is so 2013 . Or maybe it’s just, ewwwe, quinoa . Either way, I encourage you to reconsider this healthy grain (which is actually a seed, but who’s keeping track?). It’s very high in protein and, if you…
It’s happened. Finally. I grew tomatoes, and they are perfect. My family and I are eating them up, but I also want to save some so that I can relish summer’s goodness long into winter. If you've ever wondered about how to preserve tomato…
If your family is anything like mine, you’re eating fresh, sweet corn on the cob several times a week. It’s such a treat and, really, the highlight of summer eating. First I cook it up: Mostly I follow these directions for how to boil co…
For starters, what is stone fruit? I've always thought that it must have something to do with the rock-hard pit in the middle of my peaches, but it seemed too obvious. Turns out, I was exactly right. Stone fruits -- like peaches, nectari…