A really good bowl of chili delivers tender beans, seasoned beef, and a savory tomato base laced with just enough spice to wake up your senses. And better yet, all of this can be made in the slow cooker. But with so many ways to make this classic dish, it’s often hard to find a simple, straightforward technique for making chili that delivers exactly what we expect in a bowl. If you invest your prep time in making chili powder from scratch and browning the beef really well, you’ll have the best bowls of simple, tasty chili waiting in the slow cooker when you get home.

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Here’s what is good to know about making crackers. First, the dough comes together in mere seconds with the help of a food processor. Second, you have to roll and cut out every single one. So I suggest you enlist little hands to help if you can!

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Sunday prep is to meal planning what long rides and runs are to an Ironman training schedule, which is to say it’s totally essential. It’s the step that makes the puzzle complete. Without it the other pieces (think: meal planning and shopping) aren’t as strong. With two to three hours in the kitchen, and the help of my husband, Sunday meal prep means we have prepared foods and meals at our fingertips for a whole week. Here’s how I make it happen.

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Potatoes are pretty perfect. My grandpa has been saying for as long as I can remember: “Did you know the potato is the only food man can actually survive on alone?” Well, he’s almost right — you would need to add a pat of butter or wash it down with a glass of milk, but then you’d be good to go. So not only does this soup taste amazing, but between the potatoes, kale, porcini mushrooms, and cheese you also might just be able to call this soup perfect. It has all the major nutrients in one bowl, and it is delicious!

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Spend eight months training for a race where you swim 2.4 miles, cycle 112 miles, and top it off with running 26.2 miles, and I guarantee you’ll learn a lot more about yourself than you expect. I sure did.

What I didn’t quite expect is the way that training for an Ironman reshaped the way I thought about food. It also gave me some of the best kitchen lessons I’ve ever had. Turns out, participating in a 140.6-mile race is one of the best ways to perfect meal planning, figure out what kitchen tools are essential, and decide how to stock a pantry for success. This is what I learned on my Ironman journey.

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A cast iron skillet is a staple in any good cook’s home. Half workhorse and half badge of honor, it’s a classic piece that’s just as home over a campfire as it is in a five-star kitchen. If you’ve just bought or been gifted your first cast iron, congrats! Before you use it, read through these tips and no one will find out that you’re a rookie.

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Soup is my favorite thing to eat this time of year, but it’s not always enough to make a complete meal (sorry, lentil soup). Sandwiches and big salads are great additions, but sometimes I want soup to be the star of the hour. That’s where these 20 side dishes come into play.

Your side dish of choice, of course, is going to depend on the type of soup you’re making. If you have a relatively smooth soup, like tomato, you might want something with great chewy texture like a grain salad. If your soup calling leads you to a turkey tortilla number, then maybe you want to take it easy with pan-seared butternut squash. The choice is yours, dear friend.

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Cold weather conjures memories of my mom’s creamy potato soup, with its tiny pools of melted butter and black pepper flecks on the surface. It was rich and sating, but also simple and balanced.

That simplicity and balance was front and center as I invented my own take on my mom’s recipe. A cache of lemons on my countertop presented the chance to push the envelope. I wanted a soup that was creamy, sure, but also tangy and vivid. My potato soup is every bit as comforting as the recipe I remember, but the hint of zest and generous squeeze of lemon enliven the dish, making for a happy, almost playful soup that pops.

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Emma and Matt bought a home in Ipswich, Australia for its old-world character and its affordability. But you know what that means: Most of the time, “character” often comes with a huge list of DIYs and needed renovations. This home had a particularly dated living area and kitchen that, despite having big windows to let light in, usually felt quite dark.

The kitchen, especially, was stuck in the past with the yellow walls, green trim, ugly tile, and dark kitchen cabinets. While the couple did a full makeover on both rooms, they kept the existing cabinets — so it’s really the fresh coat of white paint that makes the biggest difference here.

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How do you plan on enjoying your old age? I’ve always hoped for a future that involves wine, coffee, and lots and lots of chocolate. Unfortunately, that might not be possible for many of us, because climate change is affecting the earth’s food producers, and a lot of those favorite foods could be gone in our lifetimes. In the case of chocolate in particular, scientists say chocolate as we know it is on track to be extinct as early as 2050.

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