Month: January 2025

Posted in #Recipes

15 Slow Cooker Recipes That Will Be Ready by the Time You’re Done Sledding

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

Snow days are upon us, which means no school for the kiddos and lots of time spent outside playing in the freshly fallen snow. But after a long day spent sledding and building snowmen, the kids (and you) are sure to be cold and hungry. So why come back inside and start cooking when your slow cooker can do all the work for you while you’re out having fun? These recipes are sure to warm you up, and they’ll be ready to serve by the time you are done outside—just set your slow cooker and let the magic happen. Scroll through to find these quick and delicious recipes for dinners, desserts, snacks, and drinks that only take a few hours to make in the slow cooker.

Allrecipes

Posted in #Recipes

72 Quick & Healthy Meals That’ll Also Save You Money

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

Though we’re always the first to shout from the rooftops about wildly impressive recipes that are sure to wow guests or loved ones, making it seem like all we do is have constant elaborate dinner parties or romantic date nights, in reality… not so much. Really, most weeknights we turn to easy, healthy dinners that come together quickly and for low effort. If they don’t cost an arm and a leg, even better! We firmly believe saving money doesn’t have to mean giving up flavor or convenience. Check out our list of 72 quick and healthy meals that won’t break the bank for easy weeknight dinner inspiration.

When it comes to healthier meals, we LOVE a veggie for pasta ingredient swap. Cauliflower and zucchini are forever faves, but we’re branching out into other veggies too, like spaghetti squash and butternut squash. We swear, you’ll barely miss the pasta (and can enjoy multiple servings, no problem).

We’re a big fan of the ease of Mexican-inspired tacos, quesadillas, and tostadas for simple weeknight meals. You can fill them with pretty much anything—like we did in our fish taco bowls, our black bean tostadas, or our taco salads—and every member of your household can add as few or as many toppings as they like.

Another great option? Grain bowls and bakes. All you need is a great sauce, like our herby green goddess, our salsa verde, or our tahini sauce; some rice (brown, white, or cauliflower all work), quinoa, or even noodles; some protein; and any combination of vegetables. Add some crunchy nuts or seeds and you’ll have a solid, satisfying dinner. Bonus: They’re GREAT for cleaning leftover ingredients out of your fridge. Check out our warm tahini ramen noodles, our goddess bowls, our cheesy salsa chicken & cauliflower rice skillet, or our one-pan chicken & quinoa for variations, then get creative and make them your own.

delish

Posted in Kitchen Tips

14 Biscuit Tips from Our Test Kitchen Pros

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

We all love biscuits straight from the oven. Make your go-to recipe even better with biscuit tips from our Test Kitchen pros.

Make no substitutions

In a pinch, milk with a squeeze of lemon juice is a fine buttermilk substitute. However, in a simple recipe like biscuits, Prep Kitchen Manager Catherine Ward advises against it. “This is not the time for substitutions,” she warns.

Instead, be sure to add buttermilk and all the appropriate ingredients to your grocery list. Your biscuits will taste better for it. If you run out of it, then here are a few substitutes for buttermilk that taste the same.

Use good butter and dairy

“Use the best butter you can afford,” Catherine recommends. Because biscuit recipes call for so few ingredients, it’s important that every one is high quality—you’ll really taste the difference.

Catherine recommends splurging a bit on a grass-fed butter or European-style butter (now’s the time to reach for Kerrygold!). Same goes for buttermilk and cream. Snag a pint of the good stuff.

Taste of Home

Posted in #Recipes

23 High Protein Dinners Guaranteed To Power You Through The Hectic Holiday Season

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

The holiday season can get HECTIC, to say the least. It’s easy to feel like you’re hurtling from the big Thanksgiving meal straight to Christmas party potluck season; then before you know it, it’s time to make a big Christmas dinner again. But what about all those weeknights in between? Don’t just end up subsisting on leftovers and Christmas cookies! Instead turn to this list of cozy and hearty weeknight dinners—they’re all full of ingredients guaranteed to keep you fueled through whatever the season throws at you. Christmas movie marathons? Caroling? Present wrapping extravaganzas? School and church plays galore? These high-protein winter dinners have your back.

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Posted in #Recipes

50 Dump Dinners for Your Slow Cooker

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

Even on crazy days, you can make Crockpot dump dinners happen fast! In the morning, just throw everything in your slow cooker—no browning, no sauteing, no searing.

Taste of Home

Posted in Kitchen Tips

Everything You’ve Ever Wanted To Know About Meal Prepping Like A Pro

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

Meal prep used to be something you either did religiously or had no idea about. Or at least that’s how it used to be. While the basic concept behind this trend has been around forever, it’s certainly picked up steam in recent years as regular meal preppers say that they’ve saved money and time and have generally been eating healthier since they adopted the habit (more on that later). If you’re looking at photos of colorful and satisfyingly divvied up meals that your friends have posted—don’t be intimidated, it’s actually pretty easy to get started yourself.

What is meal prepping?

Well, it’s exactly what it sounds like! Basically, meal prepping is dedicating a chunk of time every week to preparing for your upcoming meals in advance. The most popular types of meal prep include:

  • Batch cooking: This is when you prepare recipes that would typically feed five or six people, portion out and freeze the meal directly after cooking, then defrost and eat throughout the week.
  • Meals for one: This is when your prepare your meals and store them in individual containers to eat throughout the week. (Unlike batch cooking, you usually create different recipes for each day and don’t freeze them). People usually use this method for lunches.
  • Ingredient prep: Despite what you might have thought, if you like cooking and serving your meals at once, you can still meal prep! Just do all your chopping, slicing and dicing beforehand, and refrigerate your ingredients until it’s time to use them.

The biggest backlash to meal prep boils down to one idea: Some people just get sick of leftovers. However, meal prep has gained popularity in recent years because fans of it have noticed that it helps them save money, reduce waste, and if you’re on a diet—it helps you stick to it!

delish

Posted in Kitchen Tips

PSA: You’re Probably Washing Your Mushrooms Wrong

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

Mushrooms are an undoubtedly versatile ingredient. You can sauté them on their own, turn them into a garlic butter masterpiece, throw them into a divine omelet, and virtually use them in any dish that you feel needs a plant-based boost. Store-bought mushrooms range widely in variety, with some of the most popular types being white button, shiitake, and portobello.

If you’re like us, you may have skipped a thorough washing a time or two in favor of a simple rinse. But that’s actually the No. 1 mistake people make when washing mushrooms—because mushrooms grow in dirt, it’s important to wash them as thoroughly as possible before cooking with them.

Allrecipes

Posted in #Recipes

These 67 Meal Prep Recipes Help Me Feel Like My Life’s In Order (Even When It’s Not)

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

We can all agree that meal prepping sounds like a great idea, right? It saves time and money, takes the guesswork out of what to eat, and can lead to making healthier choices over time. The trouble is deciding what to make. It’s got to be interesting enough that you’ll want to eat it over and over again, easy enough that it can be prepped in one go, and simple enough that the idea of prepping it isn’t overwhelming. Phew! Good thing we’re up to the challenge, for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Check out our 67 best meal prep recipes for ideas—you’ll become a master at it in no time.

If you’re unfamiliar, the idea of meal prepping is just what it sounds like—making multiple meals ahead of time rather than cooking each meal individually. It’s not a novel concept (hello, leftovers!), but it can be tricky to plan to do it for all of your meals. To start, you’re going to want to get some good meal prep-ready containers. The goal is to make you more organized, not less, so we definitely recommend getting a matching set.

Once you’ve got those ready, get to prepping! We recommend starting with a base like pasta or rice (try it in a rice cooker to make it extra easy on yourself). Then get in some veggies and legumes, like our sweet potato salad, our Mediterranean chickpea salad, or our roasted vegetables. Next up should be protein, like our slow cooker Korean beef, tofu scramble (not just for breakfast!), or sheet-pan sausage & vegetables. Speaking of, we’ve got a number of other recipes that include nearly everything you’ll need (including protein, carbs, and veggies) too, like our BBQ sheet-pan chicken, our sheet-pan garlicky shrimp & veggies, or our Thai-inspired basil beef. Just add something to go with them, and you’ll be all set. Check out our halal cart-style cauliflower bowls, our avocado breakfast bowls, our copycat Chipotle burrito bowls, or our salmon quinoa bowls to see examples of what a perfect meal prepped dish looks like, then get creative in making your own.

It should be noted, SO many of our recipes are already meal prep-ready (we love making things easier for you in the kitchen). Check out our favorite one-pan meals, our sheet-pan dinners, our slow-cooker recipes, our top quick dinners, and our best air fryer recipes too.

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Posted in #Recipes

93 One-Pot Meals You’ll Keep Coming Back To

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

Satisfy your craving for a home-cooked meal—without making a sinkful of dirty dishes.

Dinner, with Less Mess

There’s no denying that the least exciting part of cooking is cleaning up the mess afterwards. Whether you tackle a good, old-fashioned Sunday supper or a simple weeknight meal, it feels like the dirty pots, pans and plates always pile up fast. That’s where these one-pot wonders come in. Grab your favorite casserole dish to make a dump dinner, break out the cast-iron skillet and whip up rustic chicken and dumplings or turn to your Instant Pot for shrimp scampi in just 20 minutes; whatever you decide, you’ll find that these recipes are wonderfully delicious—and make cleanup a breeze. Take this American version of goulash, for example. It features hearty pasta and plenty of aromatic spices (including paprika as a nod to the traditional Hungarian dish) for a comforting and complete meal that can be made entirely in your Dutch oven. What could be easier?

Food Network

Posted in #Recipes

25 Slow Cooker Classics for Your Next Tailgate

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

Whether it is the final big game of the season or just a small gathering of devoted fans at your home, sports require a certain commitment to tailgating food. Tailgating is more of a style, really. It doesn’t require you to commit to actually entertaining in a parking lot. In fact, most “tailgating” happens in the comfort of people’s homes, gathered around a television instead of an open hatchback.

No single tool is more of a game-changer for tailgate-style cooking than the slow cooker. Whether you are using it to prepare dishes ahead, keep them warm on the buffet, or even transport them to the game attached to a small generator, these recipes are all just what you want for any big game. With these 25 slow cooker tailgating recipes, you’ll be prepared to serve up only the best food for any game.

Allrecipes