Make Ahead

Sweet and tangy.

What’s one of the easiest ways to feel like you have your life together? If you ask us, it’s meal prepping lunch the night before. In the grand scheme of things it’s a small accomplishment, but when all you want to do after dinner is settle in for a marathon TV session, taking the extra time to make lunch feels like a Herculean effort.

Like the boxed stuff, but so much better.

It’s a sauce! It’s a dip! It’s a dressing!

A simple side you’ll turn to again and again.

You don't even need any measuring cups for this recipe.

It's a game-changer.

Fried okra is the best okra.

Hot mulled cider is a must-have at all our fall and winter shindigs. It’s a great non-alcoholic drink option for holidays like Thanksgiving — guests of all ages never seem to turn down a mug, but grown-ups can also take the opportunity to do a little self-spiking and mix with their alcohol of choice. Slow-cooker mulled cider is the easiest way to serve a crowd.

Should we all just agree that we really go apple picking for the warm cider donuts and freshly pressed apple cider? Eating those fried donuts is one of my fondest food memories from the two years I lived on the East Coast, but unfortunately they’re harder to find now that I’m back in California. The best solution was to head into my kitchen and make a batch myself.

And you only need four ingredients.

A chipotle marinade makes the chicken extra-flavorful.

Plus, there’s ice cream.

It’ll be your new family favorite.

The most delicious alternative to the popular Starbucks drink.

It’s that good!

It uses a full pound of zucchini.

The cheesecake filling is dangerously good.

Lasagna is perhaps the quintessential feed-a-crowd casserole. There are many ways to make lasagna, but here is my own method for making it. I was so intimidated by lasagna before I first tried it. It looked like a process that would eat up my whole day. While that it is not true, it is definitely more time-consuming than spaghetti with meat sauce — but it’s oh-so-worth-it. This recipe is a hybrid of a full-on, totally from-scratch lasagna recipe and one that uses pre-made components.

Whatever regular ol’ butter can do, maple butter can do better. The touch of sweetness and caramel-y, toffee notes alter butter so magically that it’s hard to believe how simple it is to make. Because maple butter has so few ingredients, it’s essential to ensure those ingredients are good-quality. Here you’ll want real-deal maple syrup — sweet, smoky, and amber-colored.

It tastes like fall in every bite.

When it comes to an easy dinner, a sandwich is always a good choice. However, there’s really only so much you can put between two regular ol’ slices of bread. Swap that sandwich bread for a pita, however, and it’s a totally different ballgame. Sure, you could fill a pita with cold cuts as you would your usual sandwich, but that’s really just the start: Your options go way beyond that.

The most delicious leftover sandwich starts here.

It's like a cloud.

There are many ways to cook carrots, but roasting them is hands-down my favorite method. It’s one of the best vegetable side dishes that pairs well with anything for dinner. Roasted carrots might seem simple, but when done right, they can rival just about any other vegetable side, be it Brussels sprouts or sweet potatoes. When it comes to glazed carrots, some recipes call for cooking them on the stovetop, but I opt for the oven so that the carrots can do their business while I do mine.

Pronounced poh-taazh, potage is a fancy term for a thick and comforting soup cooked in a pot. Typically, it also infers that the soup is made of vegetables and is puréed until smooth. Like many French dishes, it originates from peasants and farmers who were using the ingredients they had available — in this case, any mix of vegetables. Potage is often enriched at the end with some kind of dairy.

Get ready to make these on repeat.

The no-bake cake that goes for the gold!

And they're ready in less than 30 minutes.

Use fresh or frozen peaches.

It’s just creamy enough.

It’s all about the fresh herbs.

I've been making it for years.

It’s bound to become an instant classic.

Here’s how to use up that bumper crop.

It's probably in your pantry.

It’s all about the marinade.

All that’s missing is the ocean breeze.

It’s dangerously delicious.

It’s so fresh.

Cool, briny pickles straight from the fridge are one of the simplest pleasures of summer. Quick pickling is also a brilliant solution for preserving a plethora of summer vegetables from the market or your garden. Quick pickling doesn’t require canning or a bushel of vegetables. Best of all, you can adapt this simple formula for any fresh vegetables; try a mixture of vinegars and spices for a truly custom pickle pleasure. Here’s how to make these easy quick pickles in just 20 minutes.

Calling all banana bread lovers.

Juicy summer bruschetta meets easy, one-pan chicken dinner.

My grandmother kept a tidy little vegetable garden outside her New England home. While she did a decent job of growing summer squash, cucumbers, and some tomatoes, her best results always came out of her snap bean plants. This also meant my annual August trips to visit her were filled by snapping beans on her porch (a job reserved strictly for grandchildren) and putting jars of quick-pickled green beans in her refrigerator.

Just add fries and a Diet Coke.

It’s so delicious.

No special ingredients needed.

It puts the yee-haw in every dish.

Cooler than the original.

It’s so good.

Bonus: a zippy lemon frosting!

Creamy, dreamy, cold, crunchy perfection.

It’s shockingly simple.

It's the no-cook dish of my dreams.

This basic chicken breast technique gets meal prep done faster!

Ice cream is great and snow cones are good, but for me the ultimate summer dessert is halo-halo. The refreshing, multi-layered, shaved-ice-based Filipino dessert is packed with incredible flavors and textures — icy, creamy, chewy, crunchy, sweet, syrupy. I’ve been lucky to eat halo-halo here in the United States and all over the Philippines and it still thrills me every time.

It takes just 15 minutes to prep.

I firmly believe a good 4th of July meal is as much about all the summery sides that fill up the plate as it is about the grilled burgers and grilled hot dogs. Whether you’re having a big backyard cookout or keeping things small, your outdoor feast is worthy of the all the best side dishes that you can possibly handle⁠—just don’t forget the dessert! When it comes to side dishes to round out the meal, there are so many delicious options to choose from.