(Image credit: Joe Lingeman)

There are as many variations on cooking chicken breast as there are cooks, and I’d say that is a very good thing, as it ensures we never grow tired of this dinner staple.

Pan-seared chicken breast, cooked in a little oil with salt and pepper and finished with a generous knob of butter, is the first way I learned to cook chicken and a technique I always go back to. The resulting chicken has a golden-crisp exterior with a still-juicy interior, and is just as welcome served with steamed vegetables as it is atop creamy Alfredo pasta.

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(Image credit: Lauren Volo)

As you prepare next week’s meal plan, take this opportunity to swap out your regular pack of chicken thighs for some juicy drumsticks. This equally budget-friendly cut is part of the leg so, like the thighs you already love so much, it has a rich, meaty flavor and is super versatile.

From the ultimate fried chicken to drumsticks hot off the grill, here are eight totally tasty ways to turn a pack of chicken drumsticks into dinner.

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(Image credit: Charity Burggraaf)

My evening checklist for my toddler son goes something like the following:

1. Did you say any new words today?

2. Did you injure yourself or others today?

3. Did anybody try to screw with you on the playground today? Because if they did, Mama’s not afraid to give them a piece of her mind (mostly kidding).

4. Did you poop today?

5. What did you eat today?

That last thought is an important one. After a year of primarily breast milk and formula, my son forayed into the wonderful world of food. Now, at 18 months, he is a full-on food-eater. An eater who doesn’t like avocado, chicken breast, or blueberries, but an eater nonetheless. My basic theory is if he gets a little protein, carbs, fats, and veggies throughout the day at (at least) one meal, I’m winning.

Here’s what he ate throughout the course of a day last week. Please note: I’m not perfect and I’m not a nutritionist or pediatrician. I’m just a mom doing the best she can. Some days my kid eats more, some days he eats less; some days he’s all scrambled eggs and mushrooms, and other days it’s mostly bananas and almond butter. This is about what fits into my family’s lifestyle and what I believe provides my son with what he wants and needs from food. My mantra and the mantra I urge all caretakers to use is “whatever works.”

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Young or old, who can resist peanut butter? When paired with jelly and made into a sandwich, this creamy, nutty spread it takes us back to our childhood. It has a place baked into cookies, stirred into oatmeal, and blended into smoothies. Not to mention eating it straight from the jar. (It’s OK — we do it too!)

We tried seven well-known brands of natural peanut butter and ranked them from our least to most favorite. Want to see how they ranked?

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(Image credit: Joe Lingeman)

This deceptively simple mix of cabbage, peanuts, and rice vinegar with oil is one of the easiest ways to round out a meal. It’s all in how you cut the cabbage: the mix is light and feathery yet satisfying at the same time. This is my attempt to imitate it, and it’s also a basic element in one of my favorite meals for a crowd, slow cooker hoisin pork wraps.

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Ugh. The other day I walked away from a pot of sautéing onions for all of two minutes (okay, maybe more like 10 minutes), and came back to find this blackened, burned-on mess. Not only was my soup recipe ruined, but I also worried that my enameled pan was, too.

Happily, the method I’ll show you here not only saved my pot, but it also kept me from having to soak it for hours or, worse, risk ruining the enamel with an abrasive scrub. All that’s needed is one secret weapon I already had in my kitchen.

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When challenged to track down the best Barefoot Contessa episode, I was sure it would feature beach picnics, themed dinner parties, or the company of much-adored Jeffrey, sighing into pasta. I hadn’t watched a new episode in years, preferring to treat Barefoot Contessa like a security blanket or comfort food. I returned to the early episodes again and again, ready to be soothed by the dulcet tones of “How bad can that be?” and the crinkle of linen shirts.

Then I watched episode four from Season 23, “Cook Like a Pro: Fearless Food.”

Never before have I felt like a Food Network star was peering directly into my soul and telling me exactly how to sort out my life alongside my pastry dough.

I want this for you, intrepid viewer. To watch that swingy quasi-lob, to bliss out on the ASMR scrape and clink of metal teaspoons, to get a weird and powerful infusion of courage from watching a woman eat soufflé with a giant ladle.

Lets dig in, shall we?

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(Image credit: Colin Clark)

Whether served hot or cold, brimming with meat or completely vegetarian, the beet soup known as borscht has become a staple of the Ashkenazi Jewish repertoire. Perhaps that is because, amidst a sea of brown, heavy dishes — potato kugel, challah, cholent, latkes, and so on — borscht’s ruby color and tangy-sweet flavor offers a bright counterpoint.

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(Image credit: Chelsea’s Messy Apron)

As long as you’ve got a sheet pan in your kitchen, an easy dinner is always at your fingertips. With this one pan you can cook a whole meal — main and sides! — in a flash. When you need to get dinner on the table on a hectic weeknight, these 10 chicken sheet pan meals will be here for you.

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Yes, you’ve had apple cider vinegar (or ACV, if you prefer) in your cabinet for years, but it’s currently having a moment. Whether you’re drinking it straight or getting ready to pickle everything in sight, apple cider vinegar is truly a pantry staple.

If your bottle has sat unused and unloved for too long, you probably just need some new ways to use it. You’re in luck! These 15 recipes rely on ACV to varying degrees, but they all wouldn’t be the same without it. Now the only question you have to answer is filtered or unfiltered?

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