Make-Ahead Recipes
Amish Baked Oatmeal
This wholesome family favorite can be prepared in advance and tastes a lot like a cinnamon oatmeal cookie. I typically take a minimalist approach, but the recipe is easy to customize through the addition of raisins, nuts, etc. Twenty years ago, when baked oatmeal was hardly a blip on anyone’s breakfast radar, a friend…
Abby’s Watermelon Salad
A little sweet, a little salty… this quick-to-assemble salad is perfect on a summer night paired with something off the grill. Though we only attended the same school for one year and weren’t even in the same grade, my friend Abby and I have a unique history and never fail to relive old memories…
Black Bean Dip (or Salsa or Salad)
Enjoy this easy, endlessly versatile recipe as a dip with chips, a salsa for fish or chicken, a super simple salad, or the foundation of a healthy, plant-based meal. Perfect for a potluck and can be prepared in advance! Amidst all my experimenting with new recipes, this simple combination of ingredients never grows old in…
Easy Blueberry Lemon (or Lime) Sauce
It’s easy to pass over “component” recipes like sauces, dressings, and other condiments in favor of recipes that produce the whole meal. Time is always at a premium, and it can be hard enough to get dinner on the table without worrying about…blueberry sauce? Well this easy, versatile recipe might just be reason to rethink.…
Creamy Balsamic Dressing
Have you ever wondered how to perfectly poach an egg or whether mayonnaise is a better option that butter on a grilled cheese sandwich? A sieve is your friend when poaching eggs, and mayo is easier to spread than cold butter, but there’s a little more to the story. A few months ago, Christine…
William’s Habanero Hot Sauce… and a hot sauce taste test
Though we often cheat and hope for no frost (or April snow, as was the case this year), the safe time for backyard planting where I live is always said to begin on Mother’s Day. Ever since my husband and I bought our first house, we’ve planted a garden. There is something so satisfying about…
Muesli Baked Oatmeal
If you were to choose your career all over again, what would you be? I love what I do, but I could have been very happy as a scientist. Given my love of experimenting in the kitchen, a career in the lab would have suited me well. Though it’s not exactly research for a new…
Beer Margaritas
This unconventional recipe makes a large pitcherful and tastes like the best version of the classic drink. Leftovers freeze well and become slushy-like! Cinco de Mayo is the perfect reason to enjoy a favorite Mexican meal, but what exactly is the holiday all about? Cinco de Mayo—the fifth of May—commemorates the Mexican army’s 1862…
Coconut Quinoa Breakfast Cookies
Perhaps you’ve never tried them, but quinoa flakes are widely available and offer a wholesome alternative to flour in these lightly sweet, satisfying cookies. Cookies for breakfast anyone? When they’re loaded with wholesome ingredients, cookies for breakfast are a treat we can actually feel good about. Perfect to grab-and-go when time is running short too!…
Smoked Paprika Aioli
This 5-ingredient sauce is made bright and light through the addition of Greek yogurt and lime juice, while two simple spices add singular, smoky flavor. You won’t believe how easy and versatile it is! My first introduction to paprika came as a young girl while helping my mom make deviled eggs. She always topped…
Easy Chicken Fajitas
These flavor-packed wraps come together in a snap and always garner rave reviews. As an option, serve the chicken fajita mixture over rice or salad greens. Week to week, I find myself falling back on easy Mexican-inspired recipes for a variety of reasons. Tex-Mex cuisine often begins with a foundation of convenient pantry staples…
Simple Vanilla Syrup
A deliciously easy (and economical) way to sweeten homemade iced coffee, lattes, and a variety of other drinks and desserts. For basic simple syrup, simply omit the vanilla. Have you ever added sugar to a glass of iced tea, stirred vigorously to dissolve it, only to find a puddle of semi-dissolved granules at the…
