The Queen Is a “Total Chocoholic,” Former Royal Chef Reveals — Pop Culture

I’m grateful that the British royal family exists, because it allows the rest of us to procrastinate at work by wondering, “What does the Queen do all day?” When de facto British cultural ambassador and famed cartoon pig, Peppa Pig, considered that question, she came to the conclusion that because a queen can do whatever she wants, queens must spend all their time eating chocolate cake.

It turns out she’s not that far off, because a former British royal chef says Queen Elizabeth is a tremendous fan of chocolate — and chocolate cake in particular. Queens, they’re just like us!

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How To Make Slow Cooker Veggie Burrito Bowls — Cooking Lessons from The Kitchn

Veggie burrito bowls are a one-stop shop, delivering the best part of a burrito — the filling — without the fuss. With the slow cooker, this one-pot meal is completely hands-off, easily filling in for Meatless Monday or Taco Tuesday. Fill your bowl with tender brown rice, smoky pinto beans, fresh veggies, and a dollop of citrusy sour cream, but make sure to leave room on top for your favorite burrito fixings.

This recipe will teach you how to use your slow cooker’s constant and gentle heat to cook veggie burrito bowls. While your first instinct might be to chop the vegetables, sprinkle in the rice, pour on the broth, and stir, this recipe shows you how simple strategic steps guarantee the vegetables cook evenly while the rice plumps.

With smart use of your slow cooker, the rice, beans, and a crisper drawer full of vegetables cook in one pot without so much as a second glance until it is time to scoop and serve.

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What Is Tulsi? — Herbalism 101

As an herbalist, most people I talk to are seeking relief from a spot in their lives that feels out of hand; some kind of environmental, physical, or mental stress has pushed them far from the familiarity of having manageable and comfortable lives.

What if instead of reacting to our lives once they reached a place of unbearable imbalance, we had the tools to avoid those places all together? This is the goal of herbalism. When we work with plants we aim to bolster and defend the parts of our lives and bodies that keep us feeling “normal” — relatively in balance, stress-free, and comfortable.

When it comes to stress, the group of herbs referred to as adaptogens are crucial allies in preventing chaos and regaining balance. Tulsi, or holy basil, is a plant that most of us can benefit from when we feel stressed.

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Yes, You Can Make Risotto Without Wine. Here’s How. — Tips from The Kitchn

Take a look at pretty much any recipe out there for risotto and you’ll notice it calls for white wine, usually about 1/2 cup or so. It’s one of risotto’s signature ingredients so you may think, given that it’s in so many recipes (including ours), using it is nonnegotiable.

What if, for whatever reason, you’d like to leave it out, though? Maybe you don’t drink or you’re cooking for kids (while the alcohol does cook out, you’d feel more comfortable not using it). Or perhaps you happen to have everything in the house to make risotto except the wine and you’re in no mood to run back out to the store.

Well, the good news is you can definitely make risotto without wine. Here’s how.

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20 Dinners to Work into Your Meal Plan ASAP — Recipes from The Kitchn

Need a little help with next week’s meal plan? Not only do we have some fresh and truly delicious dinner inspiration, but these are also the meals everyone around the table will be excited to tuck into.

You’ll feel good about getting a wholesome, nourishing meal (and some extra veggies) on the table with the low effort your weeknights ask for. The kids will enjoy fun twists like rainbow pizza, crunchy quesadillas, veggie stir-fry, and a winning chicken Parm skillet.

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How Top Chef’s Gail Simmons Saved (and Splurged!) on Groceries in One Week — Shopping

“Grocery budgets are easy to stick to,” said no one ever. There’s always the temptation of some expensive gooey cheese, a super-nice cut of steak, or even the little indulgences that somehow add up. For Top Chef’s Gail Simmons, her budget buster could easily become a fancy yogurt she just found out about.

Keep reading to learn, in Gail’s own words, what’s so great about it — and what she did to offset the cost of the nearly $7 breakfast treat.

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Recipe: No-Bake Salted Chocolate Oatmeal Bars — Quick and Easy Baking

There are good no-bake bars, and then there are really amazing no-bake bars that people gush over and remember for months to come. These are most certainly the latter. Take my word on it for now, but one bite and you’ll become a believer.

What makes this double-layered treat of brown butter- and marshmallow-coated oats so special is the streak of salted chocolate through the center. Best of all, we make these on the stovetop the same way we do Rice Krispies treats so, yes, they are just as easy to make!

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5 Easy Dinners with Help from the Instant Pot — Next Week’s Meal Plan

Are you on the Instant Pot train yet? The Instant Pot is a type of multi-cooker — it can slow cook, make rice, and even ferment yogurt, but its superpower is pressure cooking. While I fully admit the Instant Pot hasn’t replaced my slow cooker, and it isn’t always a magic bullet for faster meal times, it does one thing incredibly well: meal prep.

Meal prep is the final step of meal planning and the one that puts your plan into action. You can spend a few hours meal prepping on Sunday night or you can do a little meal prep in spurts throughout the week.

This week I’ll be your meal prep guide and show you how I’m using the Instant Pot to prep healthy staples and how I am turning them into dinner throughout the week.

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You Can Now Buy Cauliflower Gnocchi at Trader Joe’s — Grocery News

I must admit that I am a latecomer to the whole “loving cauliflower” thing. When I was a child, my first taste of cauliflower was a watery, steamed, poorly prepared version of it, so I just assumed I hated it for the rest of my life.

There never seemed to be a reason to try it again, either. Brightly colored vegetables seem vibrant, healthful, and flavorful, but cauliflower just looked like dead broccoli.

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