Last Thanksgiving, we were especially grateful for our smoke alarms. No, we didn’t burn the turkey, as you may have suspected! Our chimney malfunctioned when we tried to light a fire in the fireplace, and started to spread smoke through the house. Our neighbor, who is a fireman, heard the alarms and ran across the street to scoop the fire into a bucket and run it outside, inspiring hero-worship among my kids and their cousins.

Shortly after, the street was filled with fire trucks and my home was filled with fireman and industrial fans. Fortunately, everything was fine. The kids thought it was pretty much the best day ever. They even got to sit in a fire truck! And we were grateful that the alarms warned us to get out of the house and start reacting before the adults even realized it was a problem.

But sometimes the smoke alarm goes off for seemingly no reason. And that can be both worrisome and just plain annoying. So if your fire alarm is constantly going off, do some investigating to see if it’s because of one of these reasons.

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In case you didn’t already know, you can shop Costco products without buying an actual membership. (See all the ways here: Should You Get a Costco Membership?) One of the best and easiest ways to do so is by using Instacart, a grocery delivery service that sends personal shoppers to stores to carefully pick out all of your items and bring everything to you. You can shop from all sorts of stores that happen to be near you, including Costco — even if you’re not a member.

It’s a great workaround if you haven’t coughed up the $60 to join the warehouse store. It’s also super useful if you are a Costco member and just happen to be very busy. Note: Prices on Instacart are typically higher than they are in stores, but that’s the tradeoff you make

Keep reading to check out what we’re buying from Costco — via Instacart — this summer.

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What would you do with the food scraps that someone left behind? I’m talking about the piece of pizza with a bite haphazardly torn off before it was sent to coagulate in the fridge. The takeout packets of soy sauce scattered across a stranger’s coffee table. A pile of oily fries, stiffening in the glow of a refrigerator light.

In “We Love Leftovers,” episode five from season 17 of Chopped, contestants face a pile of mismatched leftovers. A wedge of German chocolate cake cozies up to a container of leftover chili. Old corn on the cob bumps up against half a pitcher of sangria. Four chefs are given three challenges where they are expected to transform leftovers into something that shines in presentation, taste, and creativity.

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Whether you only use your freezer for ice cream or it’s currently stuffed to the brim with leftover chili, bagged vegetables, and homemade cookie dough, there are a few surprising things that should absolutely be in there.

Stash the stuff on this list in the freezer and you’ll save money, cut down on food waste, and prolong the flavors of summer for just a little longer.

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We’re not ashamed to admit how much we rely on freezer aisle staples when it comes to getting breakfast, lunch, or dinner on the table. The freezer aisle rocks (and is making a comeback too)! But there are a few items that Kitchn staffers are not so inclined to buy, for various reasons. Sometimes we can make a dish better from scratch, prefer the texture of a fresh version, or just simply can’t trust ourselves to not inhale certain items in a fraction of a second.

Here’s a list of items Kitchn staffers just can’t bring themselves to buy.

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Why is it that lazy Susans are basically the automatic go-to when it comes to corner cabinets in kitchens? (Fun fact: The pros call them blind corners, which definitely isn’t a good sign!) Lazy Susans usually still result in a lot of dead space and, let’s be honest, have you ever turned one that didn’t screech something awful every inch of the way?

We get that they’re relatively inexpensive (especially compared to those special shelf systems that are designed to effortlessly glide all the way in and all the way out of corner cabinets) and they’re just what people know. Chances are, this is the system your parents had when you were growing up and you can’t think of what else you’d even do with that space. Well, if you’re renovating your kitchen, we have some ideas.

Here are three things to do with the corners in your kitchen — and none of them involve a lazy Susan.

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Let me be perfectly honest with you: I failed at last week’s meal plan. Trying to cook (even no-cook) dinners on vacation while traveling with kids was not my best planning at all. The silver lining is that coming back from vacation to an empty fridge is the best clean slate for meal planning; there are no leftovers to use up and I can put almost anything on the meal plan.

This week is packed with five meals that are getting me excited to cook and eat meals at home, but are also summer-centric with tomatoes, corn, and some slow cooker prep to keep things tasty and cool. Here’s what a week of dinners to give me my summer meal-planning mojo back looks like.

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Everyone needs a go-to recipe for summer cookouts and potlucks, and this fresh cucumber salad is absolutely the answer. Crunchy cucumber slices, sharp red onion, and fragrant fresh dill are tossed in a tangy sour cream dressing for a summer side that’s impossible not to fall for. It pairs well with whatever’s on the grill — burgers, hot dogs, chicken, or steak — and I guarantee your family and friends will ask you for the recipe.

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Perhaps one of the most coveted looks in kitchen design right now is the modern farmhouse vibe. Championed by the likes of Chip and Joanna Gaines, the look is popular for its timeless charm, rustic finishes, and lived-in appeal. One of the hallmarks of the style? A nice, deep farmhouse sink.

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Tossing some chicken on the grill is an easy dinner solution just about any night of the week throughout the summer months. But once you’ve got that covered, how do you round things out in order to call it dinner? A simple side or two should do the job and satisfy the crowd. We gathered some of our most favorite recipes to serve alongside grilled chicken, all of which are no sweat to prepare. From flavor-packed salads to crisp and caramelized grilled vegetables, here are our 17 of our best.

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