Posted in #Recipes

Crockpot Goulash

f I could have it my way, I’d spend the day cooking. I often envision a perfect scenario where my morning begins with coffee and breakfast, followed by a leisurely stroll to the grocery store. There, I gather delicious ingredients to bring home to create an incredible meal for my family to enjoy. Yes, this happens occasionally on the weekend, but my weeknights are anything but leisurely. There’s barely time to even think about dinner, let alone romanticize the process.

That’s why I rely on recipes that are delicious and efficient, think one-panone-pot, or slow cooker. I’ve got recipes like these tabbed everywhere. One of my family’s new favorites is crockpot coulash. It’s a cozy dish made with pantry and fridge staples like canned tomatoes, ground beef, and elbow macaroni. 

Why You’ll Love It

  • It’s mostly hands-off. Aside from browning some ground beef and softening up some onions in a skillet, there’s not much cooking. Just add the remaining ingredients to the crockpot, set it to low, and let it do its thing.
  • You can customize it. I’ve always considered recipes suggestions. You know your palate (and your family’s palate) best, so have fun and customize! Add your own spices and herbs, finish with a big glug of balsamic vinegar, or add a Parmesan cheese rind to season and flavor the dish as it cooks low and slow.
Bowl of macaroni pasta with ground beef, tomatoes, and shredded cheese on top.
Credit: Photo: Alex Lepe; Food Styling: Rachel Perlmutter

Key Ingredients in Crockpot Goulash

  • Ground beef: Opt for 80% or 85%, which adds fat and also stands up well to the long cook time. 
  • Canned fire-roasted tomatoes: Brings in more flavor than just regular canned diced tomatoes.
  • Garlic: I like the flavor of two minced cloves, but you can add more and even omit altogether based on your preference. I recommend skipping the pre-minced jarred versions; they’re convenient, but their flavor doesn’t compare to freshly minced.
  • Onion: Usually I cook onion first to soften it a bit before adding my ground meat for browning. But for this recipe, I speed things up by cooking them together. 
  • Macaroni: Elbow macaroni is the most used pasta shape for goulash, and I agree it’s a good choice. If you’d like a different shape, go for it, but stick with something small so that it cooks evenly.

The Kitch’n

Posted in #Recipes

Cowboy Butter-Swim Biscuits

ve lived in the South for most of my life, but baking biscuits wasn’t common in my family’s kitchen. Instead, I’ve learned from others how to make tender and flaky biscuits that would make any Southern grandma proud. I’ve also learned that there’s more than one way to make a biscuit, from simple drop biscuits to cracker-like beaten biscuits (best eaten with a slice of salty country ham). 

My current favorite biscuits, butter-swim biscuits, are baked in a pool of butter. This rustic bread is so easy to make because there’s no cold butter to work in, dough to fold, or rounds to cut. In this recipe, I’ve swapped plain butter for cowboy butter infused with zippy lemon, grainy mustard, fresh chives, and smoky spices, making these cowboy butter-swim biscuits even more delicious than the original.

Why You’ll Love It

  • Buttery biscuits, made cowboy-style. Cowboy butter made of melted butter, whole-grain mustard, horseradish, smoked paprika, lemon juice, and other seasonings infuses these biscuits with blue-ribbon flavor.
  • They’re so easy to make. If you’ve shied away from making biscuits because they appeared too complicated, give this recipe a try. Stir together the cheesy buttermilk batter, then spread in a baking dish of melted, flavored butter, and bake. It’s that simple.
Golden, fluffy biscuits stacked together on a plate
Credit: Photo: Alex Lepe; Food Styling: Rachel Perlmutter

Key Ingredients in Cowboy Butter-Swim Biscuits

  • All-purpose flour: Measure all-purpose flour using the dip and sweep method. Stir the flour to lighten it, then scoop it out with the measuring cup, making sure to overfill it. Use the flat edge of a knife or spatula to scrape off the excess flour and level the top off. 
  • Buttermilk: Adds a tangy flavor to the biscuits and reacts with the baking soda to give them a light texture. 
  • Unsalted butter: Most biscuits, like our Southern-style biscuits, call for working cold butter directly into the dry ingredients. Butter-swim biscuits are different because the dough is placed in a pool of melted butter, absorbing it as it bakes. 
  • Seasonings: Add delicious flavor to the biscuits with whole-grain mustard, fresh lemon juice, prepared horseradish, fresh herbs, and savory spices. 
  • Cheese: Toss shredded sharp cheddar cheese into the dry ingredients. Other cheese, like Monterey Jack, pepper Jack, or smoked provolone can be substituted. 

The Kitchn

Posted in #Recipes

4-Ingredient Melt-in-Your-Mouth Chicken

We’ve all been there: It’s 4 p.m. and you’re staring down a pack of boneless chicken breasts with no idea of what recipe to make. Or maybe you’re in a total dinner rut because it seems like you make the same meals over and over. I could keep going on and on, but you get the point. The next time these scenarios pop up, know that melt-in-your-mouth chicken is the answer — trust me!

This four-ingredient recipe makes the absolute juiciest, most flavorful chicken. And best of all, it comes together in three simple steps with just five minutes of easy upfront prep, so dinner is on the table in under 30 minutes. Pair it with some steamed broccolirice pilaf, or roasted green beans, and you’ve got an easy weeknight dinner.

Why You’ll Love It

  • The most incredibly juicy chicken. Not only does this prove how flavorful lean chicken breast can be, but every bite is also unbelievably tender and juicy. 
  • It couldn’t be easier. With just five minutes of prep, four ingredients, three simple steps, and hands-off cooking, it doesn’t get better than this in the middle of the week.
Pan-seared chicken fillets garnished with chopped herbs, golden brown and juicy.
Credit: Photo: Alex Lepe; Food Styling: Janette Zepeda

Key Ingredients in Melt-in-Your-Mouth Chicken

  • Chicken: Cut 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts in half to turn them into thinner chicken cutlets. 
  • Mayonnaise: Hear me out! This is the secret to keeping lean chicken breast super juicy. The mayo also contributes to the flavor, so it’s worth using a good-quality jar of mayonnaise.
  • Parmesan cheese: A generous amount of finely grated Parmesan adds flavor, holds the sauce together on the chicken, and picks up a beautiful brown color under the broiler.

The Kitch’n

Posted in #Recipes

Our Most Popular Dinner Recipes of All Time

Meet our MVP dinners. These are the recipes our readers can’t stop making — the ones that have stood the test of time and earned a permanent place in weeknight dinner rotations. They’re the dishes people come back to again and again, whether for a busy Tuesday night or a special-occasion meal with friends. Each recipe has something that keeps it memorable: comfort, flavor, and a touch of everyday magic.

You’ll find the classics everyone loves, like hearty beef chili, creamy chicken Alfredo pasta, and what many call the most delicious lasagna of all time. We also have newer favorites that have quickly risen to the top: one-pan Tuscan chicken with its creamy sun-dried tomato sauce; cheesy French onion meatballs that turn a favorite soup into a cozy dinner; and a 4-ingredient kielbasa and sauerkraut skillet that’s pure deliciousness in a pan.

The Kitchn

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27 Delicious Recipes to Make with Leftover Canned Pumpkin Purée

hile there are many pumpkin recipes that use a full can of pumpkin purée, there are others that don’t. Finding a good use for leftovers can sometimes prove challenging. When in doubt: freeze it! Simply spoon the leftover purée into an ice cube tray and place it in the freezer. After the cubes are frozen, remove them from the tray and store in a freezer container or zip-top bag. Defrost them in the fridge the night before you’re ready to cook.

Pumpkin purée is an incredibly versatile ingredient. You can stir pumpkin purée into your favorite chili, add it to your morning smoothie, stir it into oatmeal, or jazz up mac and cheese.

Whether you find yourself with a one tablespoon or one cup of leftover canned pumpkin purée, here are 27 delicious ways to use it up.

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Pumpkin Mug Cake

very autumn, as piles of pumpkins appear on porches, I start adding pumpkin purée to every recipe I can. I happily trade basic drip coffee for a pumpkin spice latte, and there’s often a Dutch oven filled with creamy pumpkin soup simmering on the stove for dinner. My favorite way to feature pumpkin in the fall is with a treat that’s just for me. 

Pumpkin mug cake is the most delicious combination of pumpkin bread and coffee cake, and it’s made right in my favorite mug. The batter uses canned pumpkin purée for a moist texture, and the warm flavors in pumpkin pie spice of cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. The cake is topped with a buttery streusel that’s made from a portion of the batter. The best part is that the cake is made right in a coffee mug and baked in the microwave. From start to finish, this pumpkin mug cake is ready in just 15 minutes — ready for you to enjoy at any time of the day. 

Why You’ll Love It

  • It tastes like fall. This single-serve pumpkin mug cake is moist, warmly spiced, and topped with a sweet and crumbly streusel. 
  • Make it right in the mug. The cake batter is mixed right in the mug, and the spiced streusel topping is made from the same batter, which means it’s super simple to make.
Creamy dessert with crumbled topping and drizzled icing in a light-colored bowl.
Credit: Photo: Alex Lepe; Food Styling: Rachel Perlmutter

Key Ingredients in Pumpkin Mug Cake

  • Pumpkin purée: Canned pumpkin purée gives this mug cake its fall flavor. Make sure to use pumpkin purée and not pumpkin pie mix.
  • Pumpkin pie spice: This spice blend is a mix of warm spices including cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, and ginger. It’s easy to make pumpkin pie spice at home, use a store-bought spice blend, or add just ground cinnamon to the batter. 
  • All-purpose flour: This ingredient gives the cake and its crumble topping structure. 
  • Baking powder: This is the leavening agent that gives the batter its lift in the microwave. Baking powder and baking soda are not the same thing, so make sure you measure from the correct package. 

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Posted in #Recipes

Mechado (Filipino Beef Stew)

Mechado is one of those Filipino dishes that always tastes like home to me. It’s a slow-cooked beef stew with potatoes and carrots simmered in a tomato-based sauce. My mom used to make this for us when I was growing up, and it’s still one of my favorite meals. Whenever the pot was simmering on the stove, I knew dinner was going to be something comforting and delicious.

A lot of Filipino stews share similarities, but each has its own character. Afritada uses chicken and usually has a lighter tomato base, while kaldereta is known for its richer flavor and sometimes includes liver spread. Menudo is usually made with pork, along with smaller diced vegetables. Mechado sits somewhere in between — still tomato-forward, but with tender beef chuck that makes it especially satisfying. It’s cozy, hearty, and one of the most comforting meals you can make.

Why You’ll Love It

  • The best comfort food. With tender beef, rich sauce, and hearty vegetables, it’s a classic Filipino stew that the whole family will love.
  • Make it two ways. You can cook it low and slow on the stovetop, or in the oven. It’s perfect for making ahead, too!

Tips from Our Recipe Tester

This recipe tastes like my childhood. The beef was tender and the veggies were well-cooked. My daughter couldn’t get enough of the sauce. It was rich with depth and very flavorful. I appreciated that there were two cooking options, which gives flexibility to the cook. Kristina, September 2025

Savory beef stew with chunks of potatoes, red peppers, and rice in a white bowl.
Credit: Photo: Alex Lepe; Food Styling: Brett Regot

Key Ingredients in Mechado 

  • Boneless beef chuck roast: Trim the excess fat and cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces.
  • Aromatics: Yellow onion and garlic build the foundation of flavor.
  • Vegetables: Use a combination of Yukon Gold potatoes, carrots, and red bell pepper for the stew.
  • Tomato sauce: This creates the rich, tangy base that mechado is known for.
  • Soy sauce: Adds umami and savory flavor.
  • Bay leaves: When simmered in the sauce, they add their signature aroma that ties the whole dish together.

The Kitchn

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Alfredo Baked Spaghetti

Baked pastas are among my family’s favorite dinners. Homemade lasagna has earned the title of “Most Requested Birthday Dinner,” but since it is a labor of love to prepare, I reserve it for special occasions. But just because I won’t layer noodles and sauce on a weeknight doesn’t mean that pasta casseroles aren’t on the menu. 

When requests for lasagna start rolling in, I turn to recipes like baked spaghetti for inspiration. It has all of the essential elements of a family-friendly dinner, from the quick-cooking sauce to the tangle of spaghetti and cheesy finish. In this version of baked spaghetti, I’m tossing the pasta with another beloved Italian-American sauce, alfredo sauce. Alfredo baked spaghetti comes together with just 15 minutes of prep and tastes extra-creamy, cheesy, and delicious.

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