Kitchn

This food icon's first cookbook recipe did *not* disappoint.

Par-baked, almost-from-scratch, and gluten-free options!

These thick and chewy oatmeal cookies are packed with sweet and chunky mix-ins, and are hearty enough to serve for breakfast.

It's low-key, low-stress, and lots of fun! And, obviously, super-adorable.

Fall is a great time to renew your commitment to prepping meals ahead of time, and we’ve got three recipes that will keep your prep light, your stomach full, and your family happy this season.

You're left with plenty of leftovers for future dinners so you can get a reprieve from cooking.

It's the ultimate savory-sweet snack.

The very best way to make the state fair favorite at home.

It's like a souped-up loaded baked potato. (Get it?)

Who says Christmas is the only holiday that gets a cookie house?

I couldn't stop smiling.

After spending an entire day baking, I finally found the absolute best vanilla cupcake recipe.

The winner had perfectly juicy chicken and a crispy exterior that rivaled popcorn chicken morsels.

We'll be eating this every morning from now until Halloween.

The tangy buttermilk batter is the perfect contrast to the rich chocolate and decadent toppings, making this the very best recipe there is.

It's called rapping, and it's a serious game-changer.

My sister-in-law was right!

Who doesn't love a good, saucy pasta bake?

Of course, they're as stylish as they are effective!

It's part crepe, part pancake, and part popover — and as delicious as it sounds.

This recipe combines the best of two breakfast classics — cinnamon rolls and pancakes — into one picture-perfect dish.

How one humble vegetable reveals so many lessons...

Here's how to make one big-batch breakfast, two lunch options, and five slow cooker dinners for a busy week.

A week of delicious, no-cook meals from this family.

It's absolutely foolproof.

I didn't set out to give my son his first bite of pizza made by a Michelin-rated chef in Italy — it just happened.

Just stick to this simple formula.

Both my 2-year-old son and my boyfriend gobbled it up and asked for more!

Put your own spin on the classic.

It's a simple — but ingenious — twist on a cheeseburger.

The votes are in, the scorecards have been checked, and the champions await their medals — but we’re not talking about the Olympics here. This is a whole different kind of competition: the Aldi Fan Favorites survey. For the third year, the grocery store asked its shoppers to vote on their most-loved products in a variety of categories — you might remember that back in May we told you about how you could participate and also win yourself a $1000 gift card.

Whenever I’m scrolling through TikTok, I can count on coming across a handful of new recipe trends. I don’t usually run to my kitchen to make many of them (instead, I simply share them with my foodie BFF), but when I came across these crispy jumbo fries I was intrigued — not only because they are made with mashed potatoes (one of my favorite side dishes), but also because I am a sucker for french fries, tater tots, and everything in between.

Why choose one when you can have both?

It's done before the coffee is even ready!

Finally, an omelet that not only looks simple to make, but actually is easy to make.

Orange Julius recipes have been floating around for years, but I was always skeptical about them. I thought they could never be as good as the “real thing,” and even though I haven’t had the real thing in at least 25 years, that drink was still on a pedestal in my memory. But I recently tried making an Orange Julius at home. Turns out, it’s not only as good as the “real thing” — it’s better.

If you can resist filling up your Trader Joe’s shopping cart with just snacks and cheese, the cult-favorite grocery store is actually a brilliant place to help you meal prep for a super busy week. It’s a one-stop-shop for breakfast essentials like coffee and oats, and their already-prepped ingredients like hard-boiled eggs and frozen stir-fry blends make quick work of lunch boxes and weeknight dinners.

Getting kids to eat veggies is often a challenge. Pasta, rice, and bread are easy, but lots of kids shy away from the more complex — and healthy — stuff. I’ve been lucky with my girls: They mostly eat their vegetables (sometimes even with gusto!). Still, if they had a choice between cheese and crackers or spinach? Yeah, they’re going for the crackers.

For many families, back to school means a return to packing lunches. Making sure that your children are well-fed 365 days of every year is hard enough, but adding 180 school lunches can feel downright relentless. I understand and am here to offer relief. Get ready for the most liberating school lunch advice you’ll ever receive: Let your kid pack their own lunch box.

Some kids are notorious for craving predictability at dinnertime. They like the same pasta served in a particular bowl. Or they only eat tofu pho, which sounds adventurous, without green things, from one Vietnamese restaurant, and only on Thursday nights. (We’d like the table by the window, please.) Or they eat gyoza, but only at a certain friend’s house, because her dad really does make it best, and in that case he’ll have 20. I have one of these children.

It won’t officially be summer until you’ve had your first watermelon of the season. Chances are, though, that it’s been about a year since you’ve bought your last watermelon. Do you remember how to pick out a good one? Did you ever really know? There’s a definite art to picking the very best watermelons. But don’t worry, once you know what to look for, it’s easy.

There is no stronger bond than a shared, nostalgic food memory. That’s why when I saw all the buzz over the cinnamon toast recipe recently shared by the New York Times, I felt incredibly excluded. Cinnamon toast … crunch? Like the cereal? What is cinnamon toast and why is everyone suddenly coming forward that this was their go-to after-school snack? I have not one single memory of ever making this. Is everyone around me secretly making this at home and not telling me?

Kids think it’s funny to mess with adults. It’s just the way of the world. They think it’s hysterical to prank call their parents, hide their grandparents’ remote controls, and hide from the teacher during roll call. They also think it’s adorable to not try new foods at the dinner table that they will willingly eat at the cafeteria at lunch. So, how are you supposed to get your kids to eat new things? I have a slightly sneaky way that actually works.

Last year I publicly declared my love for nectarines over peaches, causing a little stone fruit drama. Nectarine season hasn’t started here in Washington yet, but we’ve got the first few weeks of peaches under our belts. Plus, I have a giant box of Georgia peaches I ordered online to see if there really was something I was missing. I am pleased to report that while my mind remains unchanged on the superiority of nectarines, peaches are still close behind.

For most of my life, I took breakfast for granted. Heck, I took eating for granted—until I had a baby. He taught me that even a food writer could lose her kitchen footing in the relentless deluge of spit-up (his) and tears (mine). But eventually I figured out enough clever work-arounds to fill a cookbook. For the book, I assembled a group of more than 100 new moms, who tested my recipes to make sure they worked amid real-life challenges.

There is a time and a place for jarred pasta sauce: The time is all the time and the place is my kitchen. (Can someone print that on a wooden sign and sell it in Home Goods? Thanks.) That’s not to say that I don’t have a deep love and appreciation for the homemade stuff, which pretty much courses through my Italian American, New Jersey-born veins. It’s just that in a pinch, jarred pasta sauce feels like a gift from up above.

As disappointing as it is when Trader Joe’s discontinues a favorite product, the one thing that makes up for it is finding out what took its place on the shelves. Every Trader Joe’s shopping trip is an opportunity to discover an exciting ingredient, packaged good, or some other surprise that will pique your curiosity.

Packing for a trip with my daughter means a suitcase that’s equal parts clothes, entertainment, and food. The food part is oh-so-necessary to keep little (and big) tummies full and blood sugar levels steady. We bring stuff from home so that we don’t succumb to the expensive snack kiosks at the airport.

This mall-inspired treat is low-effort and infinitely customizable. Just add ice cream!

Serious question: How is it nearly August already? We hate how quickly the days seem to be flying by. But. But! We love when it’s time for a new batch of Aldi Finds. See, our sources always share the upcoming list toward the end of the month and it’s always so much fun to see what will be hitting store shelves. Next month there’s going to be lots of breakfast items, dinner shortcuts, bold snacks, and more.

The last year of lockdowns (and beyond-the-norm grocery shopping that’s come with them) has taught me a few things about my shopping habits and my family’s food preferences. After discovering the supreme value of a second refrigerator and my kids’ deep abiding love of ramen, I’ve also come to terms with my love-hate relationship with Costco.Once an “event” to distract the kids on a rainy day, it’s now become a necessary, grin-and-bear-it activity.

The other day, I got phone calls from two out of three of my children’s schools. I’ve already violated their privacy enough, so I won’t divulge the content of those phone calls, other than to say no one had broken the law, but no one had won a prize, either. I was annoyed. More than annoyed, mad. Those phone calls made it hard for me to get back to work. Why, then, did I text them to ask what they wanted for supper? And why did I make exactly what they wanted?

While it’s my duty as Kitchn’s Unofficial Costco Critic to peruse the wide warehouse aisles in search of the best deals, hottest new products, and just-for-fun bulk buys, it’s also my pleasure. On a recent visit, I spotted the single best product I’ve seen all year for parents — and I can’t keep it to myself any longer. The best thing parents can buy right now at Costco is The Ice Cream Party Box.Find it in stores: The Ice Cream Party Box, $17.

I didn’t grow up shopping at Aldi, the wildly popular grocery store that is known for great deals and fun products. In fact, it’s only in the last five years that the budget grocer has opened locations in Southern California where I live. While I used to shop a lot at Costco, I eventually started making the switch over to Aldi in 2016. It took me a few trips to get my bearings and learn the Aldi ways (yes, you’ll get your quarter back), but I’m a firm believer in it now.

A classic American summer wouldn’t be complete without long nights spent in the backyard chasing fireflies, making s’mores, sipping cooling drinks, and, yes, enjoying hot dogs fresh off the grill. When you’ve had a good grilled hot dog — juicy on the inside with a little char on the outside — you’ve experienced true savory bliss. But when you’ve had a not-so-good one — burnt, burst, shriveled, dried out, or undercooked — the letdown is huge.

If there’s one section of Costco I never, ever skip, it’s the frozen food aisle. I can easily fill up my cart in that aisle alone. (The organic fruits! The vegetables! The breakfast foods! The treats!) In fact, I’m such an avid Costco freezer-aisle shopper, I’ve even purchased a separate chest freezer so that I have lots of extra storage at home.What have I been stocking up on lately? I’m glad you asked!

Last summer we were taken by the phenomenon that was whipped coffee. Millions of people had to give it a try, including myself. This summer, whipped lemonade has popped up all over TikTok, so naturally I was intrigued. After trying out the latest whipped drink, I propose we trade in the coffee beans for lemons for a concoction that makes for the perfect creamy-sweet-tart-chilled libation.

Name: ConstanceLocation: Winchester, MAAge: 38Number of people in household: 2 adults and two 5-year-oldsOccupation: Project AssistantHousehold income: $30,000 Grocery budget: $200 for two weeksGrocery stores of choice: Costco, Stop and Shop, and the farmers marketStop and Shop is just down the road from our house so it’s the most convenient location for us to buy groceries from.

I’m kicking things off with a week of easy, mostly healthy dinners for my family of two (two and a half?), as we gear up for the arrival of our first baby in a few months. While my eating style — veggie-heavy, wholesome, and comforting food — hasn’t changed much since becoming pregnant (save for my frequent tater tot cravings), I do have less energy at the end of the day now and am much more inclined to seek out low-stress, low-effort quick and easy dinners.

Costco trips make my registered dietitian heart skip a beat (in a good way). While I am sometimes tempted by a two-pound container of chocolate-covered raisins or a monster-sized wheel of cheese, I typically stick to a few go-to staples that feed my family of three for quite some time. Stacked with nutritious and cost-effective options, this tried-and-true grocery list helps me create nourishing meals in a simple way.

Here’s how “mom life” is supposed to work: You get home from long days of (fill in the blank: work, school, play, travel, life), open the fridge, and find an abundance of fruits and vegetables for a perfect nutritious meal. (You’re doing such a good job of planning ahead these days!) The kids play quietly while things come together in about 30 minutes, and someone else takes over the dishes while you have a few minutes to relax before the bedtime routine begins.

Lately, it seems like every parent I know, both in real life and online, says that they have a picky eater. And while I totally get the sentiment — my 3-year-old certainly doesn’t always eat everything I put onto her plate — I won’t call her picky. Here’s why. The word “picky” has become a catchall for every type of eater — from the tot who didn’t eat his broccoli that one time to the child with severe sensory issues.

I have been thinking for a long time about all the voices that tell us we’re Doing It Wrong in the kitchen. We wanted to bring you a column about the ways that you’ve actually been doing it right all along. My friend Cheryl Sternman Rule is bringing us this occasional dose of reassurance. — Faith More fruits, more vegetables, less processed food. Homemade, wholesome, whole family around the table.

I still remember the sweet sense of victory I felt when I cooked one dinner that my whole family — including my toddler — adored and gobbled up. I’m still new to this, but have learned that feeding toddlers is tricky business that requires patience, understanding, creativity, and persistence. These days I put my meal-planning efforts into building a roster of easy dinners that my whole family enjoys.

Welcome to summer, where the sunshine keeps everyone outside until the last minute, it’s too hot to turn on the stove at dinner time, and everybody wants a quick meal so they can get back to playing. None of these things makes feeding a family easy in the hottest months, so it’s helpful to have some make-ahead meal ideas stashed away so you can cook dinner before the kids go to bed the night before, or maybe even over the weekend before work gets in the way.

Hitting the road with kids in tow? You are in for an adventure! After 20 years of motherhood, I know that vacationing with children is not without its challenges, but I’m equally convinced that it’s worth the effort. We’ve found that getting outside our comfort zone provides us with huge bonding moments.