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Cooking Tip of the Day: Mise en Place

One of the biggest game-changers for me when I was learning to elevate my kitchen game was the idea of mise-en-place. Loosely translated, mise-en-place means “everything in its place,” and it’s a kitchen organizing strategy that makes cooking vastly easier. It helps you build an efficient workflow and clean up the kitchen as you go. It’s a simple, powerful way to bring your cooking skills to the…

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Tonight's Dinner: Homemade Pizza

I have always loved making homemade pizza. Pizza is probably my favorite food. You can prepare it in so many ways: thin crust, thicker crust, Chicago style. You can top it with anything. There are hundreds, maybe thousands of sauce options. There are hundreds of cheese combinations. You can add herbs and spices to the dough, sauce, or cheese. It’s really an endlessly variable food, and I love…

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Tonight’s Dinner: Chicken Alfredo a la Leftovers

Not every night can be fancy or gourmet and tonight is one of those nights. We didn’t plan well and didn’t have a lot of food on hand, and instead of shopping, we decided to make do. So we’re making a nice, easy chicken Alfredo with random stuff from the pantry. I had some chicken thighs in the freezer that I’d pre-seasoned with garlic salt and pepper, so I thawed those, diced them, and threw…

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Tonight’s Meal: Barbeque Chicken

We try to eat a varied diet, but often fall into a rut. Tonight we’re going to do something a little different: simple, easy, barbeque chicken drumsticks. Technically, this is more like “chicken with barbeque sauce.” We’re not using a smoker or a grill per se to cook these drumsticks, at least not on this round, but we’re calling it barbeque for simplicity’s sake. Anyway. A couple of hours…

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Chewy Lemon Cookies

These lemon cookies have a chewy texture and a soft lemon flavor. If you want a more intense lemon cookie, check out our Lemon Drop Cookies recipe. Ingredients 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar 3 tbsp lemon zest 2 tbsp lemon juice 1 large egg 3 cups flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt Instructions In an electric mixer with the whisk…

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Addictive Chocolate-Chip-M&M Cookies

This recipe makes a small, but potent, batch of highly addictive chocolate-chip-M&M cookies. Be warned: these cookies will be devoured before you know it, so maybe plan to make a couple of batches. Ingredients 1/2 cup butter (1 stick), softened 1/2 cup granulated sugar 1/2 cup brown sugar 1 large egg 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 1/3 cups flour 1/4 cup vanilla instant pudding mix 1/2…

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Spicy Sichuan Noodles

Exactly what the title says: spicy Sichuan noodles! Delicious, compulsively eatable, and pleasantly spicy, this dish is great with vegetables or your choice of protein — just cut it into cubes, season it, and cook it ahead to add to the wok. You can balance the heat more to your liking with more or less red pepper flakes. This dish is best made with a wok. Ingredients 4 ounces thick wheat…

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Paprika Pesto Orzo

Paprika-seasoned chicken breasts, tomatoes, spinach, and pesto make this Orzo dish quite a delight. Savory and saucy, this recipe is a hit with family and friends! Ingredients For the Chicken: 1.5 pounds chicken breasts 1 teaspoon smoked paprika 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning mix Salt and pepper 2 tablespoons Olive Oil For the Orzo 1 cup uncooked Orzo 5 cloves minced garlic 1 tablespoon…

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Bang-Bang Sauce

Don’t let the name fool you — it’s not super potent, but this sauce does go nicely with fried chicken, rice, vegetables, or noodles. Add more sriracha, some chopped jalapenos, or other ingredients to play with this sauce and make it more to your own personal liking. Ingredients 1/2 cup mayonnaise 1/4 cup Thai sweet chili sauce 1 tablespoon honey 1/2 teaspoon sriracha Process Mix all…

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Bang Bang Chicken Thighs

Savory chicken thighs meet a sweet and spicy sauce in this dish. Serve it alongside some fluffy rice, add a dash of hot sauce or Mae Ploy, and go nuts! Ingredients 6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs 1 teaspoon kosher salt 1/2 teaspoon black pepper 1/2 teaspoon paprika 2 tablespoons vegetable oil 1 recipe of Bang Bang Sauce (you can use brand-name sauces if you prefer) Process Rub the…

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Mexican Street Corn Soup

Perfect for a cool day, this soup takes about 20 minutes to prep and about an hour and a half to cook. You’ll need a stock pot or a Dutch oven. Ingredients 1 tbsp. olive oil 1 small red onion, finely diced 1 medium jalapeno, diced 3 cloves minced garlic 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts 12 ounces of fire-roasted frozen corn 4 ounces of diced green chiles 1 tbsp. Tajin seasoning 2 tsp.…

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Katsudon (Pork Cutlet Rice Bowl)

Our oldest daughter found this recipe and it was immediately a crowd pleaser. Tender pork cutlets nested on a bed of sauced onions and fluffy rice — what more could you want out of a meal? Add a little Mae Ploy or Sriracha on top and this meal is perfection on a plate. This recipe requires a fryer or a deep pan to pan-fry the cutlets. Ingredients 1.5 cups fluffy rice 4 pork cutlets 1 cup…

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Fluffy Rice

Cooking rice this way will give you fluffy, sticky rice just like you’d get at a restaurant! Ingredients 1.5 cups white rice 2 cups water Process Rinse the rice: put the rice into a mesh strainer and rinse it thoroughly with cold water. Bathe the rice: soak the rice in a bath of cold water for 10 minutes or so. Drain the water, then soak the rice in another rice bath. Drain it again, and…

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Broccoli-Cheddar Orzo with Chicken Thighs

This is a great meal! The broccoli makes it healthy, the chicken and cheddar make it hearty, and the Orzo is easy to cook and delightfully toothsome. Ingredients 4 large chicken thighs 4 tablespoons olive oil, divided 1/2 cup yellow onion, diced 2 cloves garlic, minced 8 oz dried orzo 2 cups chicken broth 1 pound broccoli florets, quartered 1 1/2 cups of grated sharp cheddar cheese Salt…

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Bang-Bang Chicken

This recipe pairs batter-fried chicken tenders with a pleasant, spicy, creamy sauce. Ingredients Bang-bang sauce 1 cup mayonnaise 1/2 cup sweet chili sauce (I like Mae Ploy, this is an unpaid recommendation) 1 teaspoon Sriracha 2 tablespoons honey Chicken 1.5 pounds chicken tenderloins 1 cup buttermilk 3/4 cup all-purpose flour 1/2 cup cornstarch 1 large egg, room temperature 1…

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Meatball Soup

This soup is pleasantly savory and very filling. It’s great for cool autumn days or cold winter nights! You can use store-bought meatballs or you can make your own meatballs (I recommend making your own). You can also experiment with different herbs and spices in the soup mix — play with it and make it your own! Ingredients 1 pound meatballs 1 tbsp. olive oil 1/2 medium yellow onion, chopped…

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Thai Basil Fried Rice

This fried rice recipe has a really good mix of flavors. The basil and chili peppers add a nice sharp edge, and the sauce is savory and delicious. This is a favorite of mine! Ingredients Sauce 3 tbsp. fish sauce (can substitute Worcestershire sauce) 2 tbsp. oyster sauce (can substitute Hoisin sauce) 1 tbsp. honey 2 tsp. Thai roasted red chili paste 1/2 tsp. black pepper Fried Rice 4 cups…