Don’t tell my doctor this, but I firmly believe that bread’s only purpose in life is to act as vessel to get butter from a dish and into my mouth. I eat — and buy! — a lot butter. I’ve bought generic sticks, super-fancy small-batch containers from a farm in upstate New York, the Trader Joe’s stuff, and everything in between. So, earlier this year, when I was working with the rest of the Kitchn editors to compile this list of the 100 groceries that were making us the most excited, I was curious to see what picks everyone would have when we got to the butter category.

Turns out, we were all in agreement!

There are two butters that belong in every home in America. And we’re not just talking about the basic salted and unsalted varieties, although these do check both of those boxes. We’re talking about the specific brands. (Yes, you can have other butters — like this Vermont Creamery Butter with Sea Salt — but those are more like bonus butters. Who doesn’t love a bonus butter?)

These are the butters every home cook needs in the fridge.

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Fact: The convenience of having a pre-portioned, pre-packed snacks in your fridge or pantry to grab and go anytime, whether you’re packing up for work or school, is undeniable. And so I remain eternally grateful to the companies that make the little hummus-and-pretzel packs and sacks of olives. (They’re much healthier alternatives to picking up a bag of chips at the convenience store!)

And yet. As you already know, with convenience comes a price. Yeah, we’ve all known for a while that the price for pre-portioned snacks is going to be higher than if you were to buy the individual items and pack them up yourself.

I wanted to know how much more money we were talking about. Turns out, the convenience prices are nearly double — or more. To figure that out, I perused the aisles of my local Harris Teeter.

Here’s how three of the items broke down.

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Hoping to take your fruit salad from good to absolutely outstanding? You need this easy honey-citrus vinaigrette. Once you try this tangy three-ingredient dressing, I guarantee you’ll never serve just plain ol’ fruit salad again.

It’s a vibrant mix of orange juice and lime juice, with just enough honey to balance the tartness without adding too much sweetness. Because, hey, that’s what the fruit’s for, right?

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When it comes to essentials, like tomato sauce, originality is overrated. Marcella Hazan’s classic tomato sauce is famous and adored, and justly so. Scads of bloggers and food writers have written about it, so I’m just following along. This is one of the best sauces I know, and it only needs four (yes, four) ingredients.

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We almost always try to choose function over form. (We don’t care how cool a coffee machine looks if it doesn’t actually brew coffee to our liking!) If we can get form and function at once? Well, forget it! There are few things better than when that happens!

You may remember that we lost our minds over these oh-so-beautiful kitchen organizers. And a similar thing happened when we saw these leftover containers on Amazon. (We seriously gasped!) While we totally get — and appreciate — an easy, clear container, it’d be nice if, sometimes, we opened the fridge to find something extra pretty.

So here goes: three of the prettiest food storage containers we’ve ever seen.

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My dream of cooking with Ina Garten just became a little more real. Last week Williams Sonoma released a bunch of custom spatulas from your favorite celebrities, including the likes of Gwen Stefani, Questlove, Giada De Laurentiis, and of course Ina Garten. Are you ready to cook like a pro with your favorite Food Network star? Gimme!

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I am very worried, friends. Worried that the fear of pie crusts may be keeping a great many of you from making your own pies at home. Is this true? Does this sound like you? Do debates over butter vs. lard or tender vs. flaky make you want to run and hide? Well, take a deep breath and grab your notebook — today we’re going to go over how to make a pie from start to finish, one step at a time.

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Get ready, fellow lunch packers! Your bento boxes are about to be bursting with vibrant veggies and creative meat-free mains. Whether you follow a vegetarian diet full-time or are simply interested in cutting meat from your midday meal, these veg-heavy boxes are sure to satisfy.

Our 10 quick and easy ideas for vegetarian lunches feature an assortment of ingredients rich in iron, fiber, and protein (including quinoa, beans, nuts, and nut butter), ensuring you’ll stay full and won’t get bored. No sad salads here — we promise!

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This week my big kid starts first grade, and my littlest heads back to pre-k. I’m welcoming the return of our routine with open arms, despite the fact that back to school also means back to packing lunches and snacks, and getting up a little earlier to prep breakfasts and dinners before drop-off.

Of course, we’re still in the midst of warm weather that is keeping me from cranking up the oven and sweating during dinnertime, so this week I’m reaching for my slow cooker to assist me in making five easy dinners.

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You’re almost guaranteed to find a salad on my dinner table every night. It’s the easiest way for me to add vegetables to the meal and round things out, no matter what I am serving. And these 10 recipes, in particular, feel extra healthy to me: They’re heavy on the vegetables, dressed in light vinaigrettes that embrace good fats like olive oil, and are dotted with wholesome things like avocado, nuts, and fresh fruit.

They’re also fast to assemble and pair with everything from chicken and fish to pasta and pizza — and anything in between!

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