This week, we're back with a new round of weekly meal plan recommendations : 5 easy, low-stress meals your whole family will enjoy throughout the week. Hopefully we can help make your weeknights that much easier. (Updated for 2023) At to…
No matter what anyone tells you about Thanksgiving, make-ahead Thanksgiving tips always come in handy. Plan all you want, but it’s still going to be a bit of a mad dash right before that beautiful turkey hits the table. But every year I …
Eggs get all the attention at brunch, especially Easter brunch. They’re an easy choice for many hosts and families, but you may be serving guests – vegans, picky kids, or those with allergies – who don't eat eggs. Besides, eggs can be te…
It seems a little surreal that we are heading into the last week of May! This time of year always seems so busy and overwhelming to me and having a week of meals planned out , including recipes that come together quickly , removes one th…
While so many homemade food gifts are best eaten fresh, these make-ahead food gifts will let you get you into the Christmas spirit right away. I've found so many terrific DIY food gift ideas, from your own homemade vanilla extract, to sc…
How is it that even with schooling from home and almost no social outings, I still feel frazzled when it comes to getting dinner on the table? To make things easier, I'm planning 5 make-ahead meals this week. These can be prepped over th…
Do you have a love-hate relationship with the kitchen these days? On one hand it's like OMG BAKE ALL THE THINGS! FAMILY DINNERS! EXPERIMENTING WITH COUSCOUS! On the other, I hit 12 or so each day it's like, wait.. I have to think about t…
I love a classic guacamole recipe, a tropical one with pineapple or mango, and -- my favorite -- guacamole with smoky chipotles and gobs of shredded sharp cheddar. You kind of can't go wrong when you mix a perfectly ripe avocado with lim…
Let's talk about make-ahead Easter brunch recipes! The morning of Easter is always a bit of a circus at our house, and so much of the egg-concealing, basket-organizing, and outfit-assembling pressure falls on...me. Along with preparing E…
Mirepoix sounds fancy, but it really isn't, and knowing how to make it can make cooking weeknight meals a lot easier. You don't even need to know that the name comes from Charles Pierre Gaston François, duc de Mirepoix (1699-1757), whose…
We love mashed potatoes, especially when they're covered in delicious turkey gravy, and they'll always be a welcome Thanksgiving standard. But who says you can't have more potatoes? All the potatoes, really? This year, think about adding…
Lasagna is one of my favorite quick and easy meals! There’s plenty of room for variation, so I can use up the solo zucchini in the fridge, or the last smidge of some random cheese. (Guess what: Melted cheese is melted cheese. It’s all de…
Family cooks often have to make big meals on the fly, which is why I have a list of seven essentials I keep in the freezer at all times. It's not something I ever considered before kids. Back when I was cooking for one or two, it was a p…
All I want for Mother’s Day is to not cook – and to not do the dishes. (Well, maybe a spa certificate too if we’re really being honest here!) And spring has finally sprung so I'm loving the idea of a Mother’s Day picnic to celebrate all …
When the Commodores sang the song Easy Like Sunday Morning , clearly they didn't have a wiggly one-year-old they were trying to dress in suspenders while also cooking an elaborate brunch on their Sunday mornings! Know what I'm talking ab…
One of the most common questions we get here is how do I get my kid to eat more protein? The truth is, unless your child's pediatrician has expressed concern, they are probably fine. (In general, most nutrition experts and pediatricians …
As much as I love to cook, there are a million other things that I'd rather be doing on Christmas morning. Unwrapping gifts. Drinking hot cocoa. Watching my nieces terrorize my 9-month-old son with a singing, dancing Snoopy doll. Ah, the…
We are flying through our favorite fall cookbook releases and up next, another indispensable resource for every busy family kitchen: The School Year Survival Cookbook: Healthy Recipes and Sanity-Saving Strategies for Every Family and Eve…
During the back-to-school season, the conversation seems to always veer towards school lunch, but honestly, in my house, breakfasts are just as stressful! Sometimes it seems impossible to successfully move the kids away from sugary, proc…
There are things in life that I know I should do, but just can't. One of the things that used to be on that list is prepping make-ahead freezer meals -- but all that has changed. (If only I could make the switch with exercise too.) Every…
Some of us aren't morning people, and who are we kidding, even those of us who are find it challenging to make school lunch in real time all...year...long. So we've rounded up five fantastic make-ahead school lunch recipes that you can w…
If you ask me, guacamole should be its own food group. I love a classic version, a tropical one with pineapple or mango, and -- my favorite -- guacamole with smoky chipotles and gobs of shredded sharp cheddar. You kind of can't go wrong …
One of my favorite holiday traditions is making cinnamon rolls for Christmas morning, and not just because they taste great. They also make the perfect festive prep-ahead breakfast, which is why I'm looking forward to extending my tradit…
Big batch cooking conjures visions of slaving over the stove for an entire Sunday, but that doesn't have to be the case. In fact, cooking in bulk can be as simple as doubling your dinner portions and saving the extra half for later in th…