Ree Drummond (aka The Pioneer Woman) is everybody’s favorite aspirational rancher. When she’s not busy testing out recipes with her family or taking care of her sprawling ranch, she’s building her booming food empire that has amassed leigons of loyal fans. So when looking for a simple chili recipe that would please a crowd, I knew Ree would have something up her sleeve.
So you’ve been invited to a dinner party. There are some rules for this type of social situation that you’ve definitely heard before: For instance, you should always bring a bottle of wine or some other token as a gift for your host. But these occasions can be tricky to navigate and it’s important to make sure you arrive fully equipped to make a good impression on your fellow guests. Thankfully, Twitter users recently stepped in to offer their advice on what to avoid doing during dinner with the hashtag #BadDinnerPartyEtiquette.
We’re just over three weeks into 2019, which means that most of us haven’t completely abandoned our New Year’s resolutions yet. In addition to trying to cut down on my LaCroix intake (it’s not even that good, you guys) and trying to stop obsessing about mistakes I made in, like, 2004, I’m trying to really focus on – and stick to – my monthly budget this year.
Because I am SERIOUS-in-all-caps about this, I made an Excel spreadsheet to try to determine where every paycheck goes. Although most of my monthly bills are pretty consistent, my grocery receipts can fluctuate like crazy, depending on how well I’ve planned my meals in advance (spoiler alert: I am a poor planner) and whether or not I buy whatever impulse-in-a-box is currently being showcased on the end-cap. Fortunately, a not-quite-new but increasingly popular and free phone app can help me – or force me – to make a grocery list ahead of time, and it can also calculate which store has the best price on those items.
Everyone has their own weird food quirks. Much to the consternation of my entire family, for years I only ate vanilla ice cream with a drizzle of olive oil and a dash of sea salt because a men’s fitness magazine told me that it would cause me to eat less of it (it did not). My father used to eat scrambled eggs every morning with a heaping helping of ketchup and melted butter, which for some reason as a teen grossed me out to no end. And on Fridays (until the entire family begged her to stop), my mother used to smoke her own herring, knowing full well it’s already sold pre-smoked at the store. My siblings and I would climb into the car like clockwork and drive every Friday to wander the mall for two hours while she cooked, which gives you an idea of how strongly it smelled.
Still, in comparison to what you’ll see below, these are minor food sins.
I am usually the biggest proponent of eating as much ice cream as possible. At least in theory. But I think we can all agree that there are moments when a waffle cone stuffed with three heaping scoops leaves you feeling stuffed and a little sick. That’s why the idea behind Hold the Cone! Vanilla Mini Ice Cream Cones from Trader Joe’s is so ingenious: If you’re craving ice cream, but you don’t want to overdo it, a mini ice cream cone should be enough to satisfy your sweet tooth. And for $3 for a box of eight cones, they’re very well-priced.
The mini cones were recently dubbed the “best” dessert at Trader Joe’s, according to their loyal customers, so obviously I had to try them out for myself. Would they really satisfy my ice cream craving?
I’ve always wanted to be that person who has a morning or nighttime ritual — who sits with the newspaper every morning when sipping their coffee or meditates for 10 minutes before bed. Sadly, rituals are usually lost on me. I get bored or just forget to partake. That’s slowly starting to change, however, as I’ve begun to practice a little more self-care.
It started as an effort to keep my cool and feel my best through the busy holiday season, and since then it’s stuck — I have a real, true ritual! It’s an herbal tea habit that not only helps me wind down at night, but also lets me practice a little mindfulness and connect with my husband at the same time.
Whether you’re following Whole30 or not, this is an easy, flavor-packed dinner that deserves a regular spot in your meal plan. Chicken thighs are slicked with a tangy, bold-flavored pantry sauce, and yet they’re still versatile enough to pair with a variety of sides and veggies.
There are two things that drive me absolutely crazy about my kitchen: I basically have to crawl into the corner cabinet to fish my slow cooker from its depths and one of my utensil drawers does not open unless I open the oven first.
These are very clear indicators of a poor kitchen design. And, as we get ready to renovate our very dated kitchen, you better believe I’m keeping notes. To avoid making the same mistakes the previous owner did, I asked architects, contractors, interior designers, and other industry experts for the biggest kitchen design faux pas you can make.
Here’s what they had to say.
If you told me a year and a half ago that I wouldn’t have just one, but two vegan cakes on the site, and that I liked them so that I honestly question from time to time why any cakes have any eggs in them, ever, I’d have thought you lost your mind. Let me explain: I know there are amazing and delicious vegan cakes in the world, but I believed I’d need flax eggs or the liquid from a can of chickpeas or some other magic to pull them off; I figured I’d leave it to the experts. Plus, I suspect my devotion to butter and buttermilk is well-established by now.
But that was before I learned about Wacky Cakes, a.k.a. Depression Cakes or Cockeyed Cakes, if you’re a Peg Bracken fan, which of course, everyone should be. They typically have about 7 completely basic, everyday ingredients and they’re usually chocolate-flavored, but never enough for me. So in my version, I used a higher proportion of cocoa powder and olive oil, whose fruitiness is exceptionally cozy with chocolate. The cake is so good, we recently found in the fridge a chunk of the one I made in late November (five weeks later) and my husband refused to let me throw it away, taking his life in his hands to eat it right then and there. If you’ve made it, maybe you understand.
Everyone celebrates their birthday differently, but if there’s one common thread, it’s the presence of a cake (or, at the very least, a birthday-inspired dessert). Whether you’re baking a celebratory treat for yourself, your kids, your best friend, or a coworker, here are our eight all-time favorite birthday cakes and birthday-inspired desserts.