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Summer is in full effect—the sun is shining long into the evening, weekends are spent lounging at the beach, and air conditioning is on full blast, 24/7.
Foodwise, the summer brings a bounty of fresh fruits and vegetables—one of my favorite is tomatoes. At their peak, tomatoes are great in a simple salad, atop a piece of toast, or sliced and eaten with just a sprinkle of salt.
Continue reading “Tomato Ricotta Tart” »
Eggplant parmesan is one of those great Italian comfort foods—a layered casserole much like lasagna but with slices of globe eggplant taking the place of pasta.
Continue reading “Eggplant Parmesan” »
There is a true beauty to one-skillet dinners, and it’s not just the fact that there is only one pan to wash.
It’s just very satisfying to place a skillet right in the middle of the table and scoop out essentially your whole meal. It’s family style dining at its best. (Just be careful of the hot pan!)
Continue reading “Skillet Chicken with Cheesy Orzo and Zucchini” »
My goal with this recipe was to create a grilled steak that would make a novice look like a master, and a master look like her backyard flame-created opus was mere child’s play.
Continue reading “How to Grill the Best Steak” »
With just a few spices you can turn a plain ol’ roasted chicken into something special to make on a weeknight or for an outstanding dinner for company.
Continue reading “Turmeric and Honey-Glazed Chicken” »
Shrimp are magical in a dish like this one. They’re pretty and curvy and juicy. Toss them with spaghetti, a little ricotta, peas, lemon, and mint, and you have a scampi-style pasta that’s perfect for spring.
Continue reading “Spring Shrimp Scampi with Peas and Mint” »
I spent most of my time in culinary school perpetually hungry (ironically). Like most college students, I was living on pennies and most of my meals came from our “Production 201” class—a course in which we prepared food for mass consumption.
On the rare occasion when I had a few bucks to spare, I would indulge in Chinese takeout. Moo Goo Gai Pan — Chinese Chicken and Mushroom Stir Fry — was my go-to meal.
Continue reading “Moo Goo Gai Pan (Chinese Chicken and Mushroom Stir Fry)” »
Ok, a disclaimer before we get started: The Pu Pu Platter in a Chinese restaurant isn’t something you would find in a restaurant in China. And Singapore noodles are unknown in Singapore.
My Singaporean friend was surprised when he noticed the item on a Chinese restaurant menu here in the United States, and couldn’t imagine where it was from.
Continue reading “Singapore Noodles with Shrimp” »
I’m not sure that you’ll find anything exactly like this Firecracker Chicken if you actually travel to China. No, this is definitely an Americanized version of Chinese stir-fry!
It’s common on some popular Chinese take-out menus—and with good reason, because it’s delicious.
Continue reading “Firecracker Chicken” »
A quick pasta dinner makes weeknights go smoothly, whether you are rushing home from work or trying to feed the hungry hordes in a hurry.
This one combines frozen artichokes and spinach in a creamy ricotta sauce. It’s on the table in less under 30 minutes.
Continue reading “Pasta with Spinach, Artichokes and Ricotta” »
A bowl of ramen is a bowl of comfort. Oodles of soft noodles immersed in a bowl of fragrant broth can send you into weeknight—or late night—heaven.
These kinds of meals don’t typically come without a lot of time and effort. However, with a few shortcuts, you can make a bowl of ramen any night of the week in under half an hour.
Continue reading “Weeknight Chicken Ramen” »
Although this chicken with fennel and orange is great any time of the year, it’s especially welcoming toward the end of winter when you’re looking for something lighter to offset the heavier, stick-to-your-ribs dishes we tend to feast on during the colder months.
Continue reading “Roasted Chicken Thighs with Fennel and Orange” »
When it comes to this pasta dish with mushrooms, spinach, and brown butter, you couldn’t ask for an easier or quicker weeknight meal.
Just sauté a hefty amount of mushrooms, add cooked pasta and spinach, and stir until the spinach wilts. Just like that, dinner is ready!
Continue reading “Pasta with Spinach, Mushrooms, and Brown Butter” »
I’ve been making pasta from scratch for about eight years now, often with a child standing at each hip, and all without using a pasta maker.
Sometimes gadgets can be barriers to experimentation in the kitchen, but a small kitchen or a lack of funding shouldn’t prevent anyone from making delicious homemade food. I find that most meals can be made with a few simple tools that serve multiple purposes.
In the case of my homemade pasta, my rolling pin doubles as my pasta roller.
Continue reading “How to Make Homemade Pasta (Without a Pasta Maker!)” »
As I’ve grown as a home cook, prioritizing flexibility in recipes is something I’ve learned to truly cherish. Especially now that I’m a busy parent, I find myself asking a series of questions any time I approach a recipe:
Can I substitute leftovers for an ingredient in a recipe I want to make? Can I serve this meal in a variety of ways? Is it doable to make this on a weeknight, or can I change it a bit to make it special for a weekend dinner party?
When it comes to this Easy Chicken Mac and Cheese, the answer to all of those questions is “yes!”
Continue reading “Easy Chicken Mac and Cheese” »
If you’re a beginner cook, or even an intermediate one, it may not cross your mind to try making alfredo sauce from scratch. For me, it seemed just a tiny bit out of reach for years. Then one day, I gave it a try and quickly found myself saying, “Oh. That was really easy.”
Alfredo is one of the most underrated sauces—it’s made with just a few pantry staples, it’s always satisfying, and it’s surprisingly easy to make at home.
Every home cook should have a recipe at the ready for quick weeknight dinners. It’s certainly not just for restaurant dining!
Continue reading “Fettuccine Alfredo with Mushrooms” »
It’s hard to get really excited by cabbage—it seems so ordinary! But when I was in southern Germany recently, I enjoyed some truly outstanding cabbage with pork.
I knew instantly what made it so good: the cabbage was cooked low and slow in plenty of pork fat, and the pork served alongside was incredibly juicy. It was a memorable meal, and that wasn’t just the German beer talking.
Continue reading “Skillet Pork Chops with Cabbage” »
Five fragrant spices and a honey hoisin sauce give this pulled pork a ton of flavor in every bite. And oh hey, it takes just a little over an hour in the pressure cooker, too!
Continue reading “Pressure Cooker Chinese Pulled Pork” »
Looking for a festive roast for a special dinner or a holiday celebration? This cranberry apple stuffed pork loin presents beautifully, and is easier to pull off than it looks. Really!
Continue reading “Cranberry Apple Stuffed Pork Loin” »
Do you ever cook with tomatillos? They look like little lanterns, with their green papery husks.
Sometimes people mistake them for green tomatoes (doesn’t help that their Spanish name is “tomate verde”); they are nightshades, like eggplants and peppers, and therefore distant cousins of tomatoes, but the taste is quite different.
The tomatillos I grow in my garden here in Northern California ripen in September and October, but most of the tomatillos we get from the market come all year round from Mexico. When my tomatillos are ripe, I make a large batch of Mexican salsa verde, perfect for tortilla chips, great with eggs, and awesome in these enchiladas!
Continue reading “Chicken Enchiladas Verdes” »
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Welcome to our new series of weekly meal plans! This month, Summer Miller will be sharing with us what meal planning looks like in her house. Summer is a mom, a full-time food writer, and also helps test the fabulous recipes we bring you every week at Simply Recipes.
Getting dinner on the table with kids underfoot and work deadlines piling up can seem like an insurmountable challenge at times. I try to keep the weekday dinner insanity to a minimum by committing a little time on the weekend to prep.
Continue reading “Meal Plan for October Week 1” »
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We used to have a cat named Jack. Jack was a sly, slow-moving, long-haired Persian that would rarely come when called, but if you put out a small bowl of vanilla ice cream, out of nowhere he would magically appear.
This is sort of how my dad is with meatballs.
All I have to do is say, “Dad, I’m making meatballs,” and he’s half-way out the door on the way over. He loves these turkey meatballs.
Continue reading “Turkey Meatballs with Tomatoes and Basil” »
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My dad pulled out a favorite recipe from his collection of decades old Food & Wine magazine to make and share with “the people on the website.”
A “discussion” then ensued between the rental units for at least half an hour along the lines of “What do you mean this is a favorite recipe? You always told me you didn’t like salmon.” “What are you talking about? I used to make this all the time.” “You’ve never made it in this house!…” and so on and so on.
Continue reading “Oven-Roasted Salmon, Asparagus and New Potatoes” »
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Dear chicken Florentine. I like you. I like your spinach and your cream sauce.
But honestly? I don’t love you. You’re missing a little pizzaz.
So, I would like to introduce you to my friend pesto pasta.
You kinda need that punch from the pesto’s garlic, basil, and Parmesan.
Now we have the makings of love. Go forth and multiply.
Recipe and photos updated, first published 2011
Continue reading “Chicken Florentine Pesto Pasta” »
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Welcome spring with this savory soup from Hank. ~Elise
Minestrone is one of my favorite soups, and it is infinitely malleable with the seasons. This version celebrates springtime, when fresh, new vegetables begin to show up at the market.
I know to make this soup whenever I can get asparagus, artichokes and peas all at the same time. These vegetables form the backbone to the soup.
Continue reading “Spring Minestrone Soup” »
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This Flank Steak Stir Fry is perfect for a midweek meal when asparagus are in season. It’s easy enough to make and everyone raves about it!
When it comes to stir-fry, it’s all about the prep. The dish itself cooks up so quickly that you need everything prepped and ready to go before you start adding the elements to the hot pan.
Continue reading “Flank Steak Stir Fry with Asparagus and Red Pepper” »
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One of the dishes Northern Brazil is known for is their “Moqueca“, a delicious savory fish stew made with a local white fish, bell peppers, tomatoes, onions, and coconut milk.
Several years ago a Brazilian friend of mine introduced to me a salmon version of this stew she had improvised, given that the typical Brazilian fish used for moqueca isn’t found around here.
Continue reading “Brazilian Salmon Stew (Moqueca)” »
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