Pillowy, crisp, and buttery, Texas toast is barbecue’s answer to garlic bread, ready for mopping up every last bit of brisket or beans. If you’ve never had the pleasure of eating Texas toast, here’s what you can expect: Thick slices of soft white bread are coated on both sides with peppery garlic butter, then each slab is toasted or grilled until golden and crisp. Every bite boasts a soft, buttery interior and a crackled, caramelized, garlicky crust.

Luckily you don’t have to travel to Texas for this delectable toast. All you need is a loaf of white bread and a few kitchen staples.

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Ever since I discovered all the wonderful things you can buy at Aldi on a budget, I’ve come up with a slew of go-to items that are always on my list. And surprise! This list always includes frozen foods. I actually prefer to buy most of my fruits and veggies frozen versus fresh. I find the frozen stuff to be much more budget-friendly, less wasteful (at least some fresh stuff always goes bad before you can get to it!), and easy to use in oh-so-many recipes.

While I do get most of my frozen foods at Costco, there are some things I don’t necessary need in bulk, so I get them at Aldi. Here’s what on my shopping list.

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I first picked up a pack of ground chicken a few years ago on a whim, and boy did I wish I’d been cooking with it all along. It’s a leaner alternative to beef, lamb, and pork, with a mild flavor that’s all too willing to partner with any herb, sauce, or vegetable. These days it’s my top pick for bulking up rice bowls for dinner. If you regularly cook with ground turkey, ground chicken is a nice way to change things up.

When I can get the meat freshly ground at the butcher, I opt for a mix of light and dark meat. The light breast meat keeps the mixture lean, while the dark leg meat adds a boost of fat and flavor. For this bowl, the ground chicken is quickly browned and broken into crumbles on the stovetop, then mixed with a Thai red curry peanut sauce.

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There’s a lot to love about one-pot dinners — namely, how quick and easy they are to prepare and clean up. But one-pot meals also have a reputation for being a little … indulgent (I’m looking at you, creamy chicken skillet with bacon and cheese).

These 10 recipes are packed with healthy ingredients like vegetables, lean protein, and whole grains, so you can feel good about serving them to your family on busy weeknights.

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Mondays, right? Not today. Well, today technically is Monday, but it’s also the launch day of IKEA’s new 2019 catalog — so the day isn’t all bad.

“This year, we wanted to celebrate how differently we all live,” the catalog explains. “To do that, we created seven homes each with its own story to tell. From a 52-square-foot apartment to a home totally dedicated to eco-friendly choices, they can inspire a better everyday life at home, no matter how you live.”

In addition, the catalog promises lots of new products and fresh ideas. And we’ll cover lots of that later today (keep checking back!). In the meantime, there’s one thing we just had to call out.

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We ran a story last month featuring some suggestions on what to buy at Costco with a new membership. The tips came from one of our contributors, Patty Catalano, who happens to be a long-time member. She had some great suggestions, but we realized we also wanted to hear from you guys.

So we asked our readers on Facebook to tell us about the first things they bought at Costco. Here are some of the top responses.

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Firing up the grill doesn’t mean you’ve got to stick to the traditional meat-filled spread. There are plenty of veggies and vegetarian dishes that are made better by some time over the open flame.

These 18 vegetarian BBQ dishes will have you convinced that burgers might not always be the answer when it comes to summer cookouts. Plus, once you master a few of these, you’ll win the esteem of your vegetarian friends forever.

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Several years ago, I decided that I’d start the lengthy process of becoming an Italian citizen. Several years later, I sat in an aggressively hard chair at the Consulate General in Philadelphia, waiting patiently while a woman whose English was better than my Italian (and my English) thumbed through the stack of birth, death, and marriage certificates that outlined my connection to her home country.

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I used to associate slow cooker meals with soups and stews and comfort food, best enjoyed during the fall and winter months. But this summer my slow cooker has become one of my most-used appliances, thanks to its ability to churn out incredibly delicious meals without heating up the kitchen.

It’s especially satisfying when the slow cooker helps me turn a somewhat-involved recipe into one that requires almost zero work — which is exactly the case for this slow cooker shrimp boil.

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Thirty minutes seems to be the magic number when it comes to a dinner we can pull together and still feel good about. It leaves room for prep, cooking, and some cleanup if you approach the whole effort with some smart multitasking.

These recipes fall under the umbrella of things that can be made in 30 minutes (and indeed some of them you can make in even less time). Even more, they are made exclusively on the stovetop — a boon for those nights when you’d rather stick to the stove. This batch of recipes relies on methods that specifically lend themselves to this kind of cooking, so you’ll find a handful of wok recipes, fast and fancy pantry pastas, and quick-simmered soups.

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