Posts

Preparation The anticipation of every season results in a sweet payoff when it finally arrives—but there is nothing quite like the first few days of summer. There are longer stretches of sunlight, warmer temperatures, and the invigorating sense that you can, and should, do everything in open air. Martha, of course, keeps her calendar full with seasonal activities and tasks, from updating her home for warmer weather to entertaining al fresco and taking trips to the coast....

Preparation The right speakers can do more than supply superior sound quality: A great speaker can actually upgrade the music you’re listening to. “High-quality speakers can pick up more detail and enhance the musical listening experience, by providing full range sound and reproducing the content as it was intended to be heard,” says Lynne Jaeger of Audio Experts. Whether you’re an audiophile or a serial host (or will be, pending the pandemic’s end), good speakers are essential when playing music at home....

Preparation A good pint of ice cream is one thing you are guaranteed to find in our food editors’ freezers. Whether they are eating it by the spoonful or scooping it over pie à la mode, they know that everyone needs a go-to vanilla and chocolate ice cream. That goes for those who don’t eat dairy, too. So, what about plant-based ice creams? Supermarket shelves are stocked with all kinds of options made with plant-based ingredients like nuts (cashew especially), coconut milk, extra-virgin olive oil, and even avocado, and these alternative ice creams are available in all kinds of flavors, from banana cream pudding to salted caramel....

This is a cookbook exclusive recipe! This recipe is exclusive to my debut cookbook Dinner which includes a how-to video for every recipe. Just scan the QR code! Just to explain…. I know, it’s confusing! You’re so used to getting recipes on my website – there’s over 1,200 of them, after all. And here you are looking at a tasty recipe video and I haven’t provided the recipe. 🙀 I’m not just doing this to torture you, I promise....

I wanted to create something with an autumn vibe. And since I haven’t created a new flavor of cheesecake cake for such a long time (my readers have been requesting a new one!), it was time to make that happen. This dessert has two layers of a moist and delicious apple cake with a complete layer of cheesecake tucked in between. The whole thing is covered with caramel frosting to create the “caramel apple” theme....

Are we eating light for the New Year? And by “we,” I mean you and me? It’s a given for me. I’ve got this beach vacation coming up… and there is nothing more awful than feeling fat on the beach. So I’m doing my best to shed whatever poundage I can before I hang out at the beach! Recipes like this Carrot Orange Soup are perfect for those who are watching their calories as the New Year begins....

This Chicken Rice Soup is made by cooking chicken pieces in the broth which yields a beautiful savoury, golden, flavour infused broth without having to man handle a whole chicken. Skip the rotisserie chicken – this is better! Chicken and Rice Soup I know there are plenty of quick and easy Chicken soups “out there” that will have you using pre cooked chicken or poaching chicken breast quickly then stirring it into the soup....

Crispy Cheesy Sausage Hash Browns You’ve been really good all week, right? Plenty of salads, keeping it clean, minimal meat, been to the gym, cutting down on carbs and only had the odd very small sweet treats. OK, maybe you haven’t. But it doesn’t matter!! The weekend is here, you deserve a treat and it’s time to stop counting calories! 🙂 Besides, you know what I just realised? Four of the five essential food groups are present:...

This salad is satisfying enough to be a complete meal because I like to pile on alot of flatbread ribbons – it’s my favourite part! So I used 2 whole flatbreads which makes this quite a satisfying meal for 2, or a side salad or appetizer for 4. The flatbread I use is called Lebanese Bread here in Australia and it is like pita bread in that it is a “pocket” (i....

1 tsp canola oil ½ cup corn syrup, light 3⁄4 cup brown sugar, light 1⁄4 cup water ½ tsp salt 1⁄4 tsp vanilla extract 16 oz popcorn, (1 package) 94% fat-free, microwave Combine oil, corn syrup, brown sugar, water, salt in a small saucepan over med heat. Stir while bringing to a boil, then use a candy thermometer to bring to 300 degrees F or hard crack stage. When it reaches about 275 degrees F, start cooking the popcorn according to package directions....

This is the after-picture, so I’m giving you a sneak peek! But if you look at the photos following, you’ll see what a big change this was. This is our living room fireplace. We have a rustic-style, mountain home… and this fireplace has never really fit in. White plaster isn’t the best choice for a fireplace anyway– it gets dirty every single time we had a fire in the fireplace… and you can see that the plaster was starting to crack along the bottom of the fireplace too....

One of my dinner choices this week: Greek-Style Shrimp Scampi over Whole Wheat Spaghetti (adapted from a Cooking Light recipe). Here’s the How-To: Saute garlic in a little bit of olive oil. Add canned chopped tomatoes and chopped parsley- let that simmer for a while. Add shrimp (I used ‘jumbo-sized’ for this recipe) and let the sauce cook the shrimp. Spoon the shrimp & sauce over cooked spaghetti into a casserole dish....

Preparation You already know how important it is to sanitize those high-touch areas you come into contact with daily—think light switches, door knobs, and appliance handles—but something else you regularly handle harbors just as many germs, if not more. Though often left out of your cleaning routing, your wallet and its contents are exceptionally dirty. In a 2017 study, researchers analyzed one dollar bills from a bank in New York City and found thousands of microorganisms, including acne-causing skin bacteria, microbes from mouths, and DNA from pets and viruses....

Preparation If you’re an omnivore with a grill, then it’s likely you already have chicken in your easy summer meals rotation. But when it comes to perfecting favorite grilling recipes, there’s always a little room for improvement, right? We already shared our guide to grilling chicken breasts, and here we’re providing guidelines for getting grilled chicken thighs just right. We turned to cookbook authors (and husband-and-wife team) Marge Perry and David Bonom, whose most recent book is Hero Dinners: Complete One-Pan Meals that Save the Day....

Preparation Wine and cheese are old friends—they have been paired together for hundreds of years. Traditionally, wines from a region would be paired with cheeses from the same region. The symbiosis between the two delicious treats is undeniable, and the old pairing rule of “what grows together, goes together” still rings true today. Anywhere wine is made across the world, you can usually find a local cheese producer somewhere nearby. Next time you’re shopping for a happy hour spread, find a cheese or wine and let that inspire the night....

Whether you’re having it as a side dish or as a snack, corn on the cob is always a sweet and juicy treat. But don’t you just hate sinking your teeth into unevenly warmed corn? On one side it’s still a bit cold, while on the other, it’s so hot, it burns your tongue. No fun! You don’t want to overheat it, either. Dried-up corn on the cob isn’t nearly as a-maize-ing as when it’s perfectly reheated!...

Preparation Our dogs will generally not be able to tell us when they are not feeling well. Instead, they will have changes in their behavior as well as physical signs and symptoms that can provide clues into their health—including a fever. “Normal body temperatures in dogs range from 100 to 102.5 degrees Fahrenheit, but an elevated body temperature in your dog may be due to a true fever or simply nonfebrile hyperthermia [becoming overheated from high outside temperatures or over-exertion],” explains Dr....

Preparation Actress Lana Condor and her now-fiancé actor Anthony De La Torre are officially planning their walk down the aisle. After six years of dating, the couple announced their engagement on their respective Instagram accounts. The To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before star posted a series of sweet photos on social media—and noted that accepting De La Torre’s proposal was a no-brainer. “Saying YES was the easiest decision I’ve ever made,” she wrote....

Vegetarian Pasta Salad Who would’ve thought those random veggies you’ve got left in the bottom of your fridge could be transformed into something as incredible as this Vegetarian Pasta Salad?? Forget limp, bland veggies sitting sadly amongst tasteless, soggy pasta. THIS cold pasta salad is the polar opposite of that. It’s vibrant, it’s flavour loaded, it’s JUICY, and will make even green-haters scoff down a weeks’ worth of veggies in one sitting!...

6 oz pasta 1 chicken breast ⅔ cup red peppers, roasted, drained 2 cloves garlic , ⅓ cup walnuts , or pine nuts 1 cup basil, fresh, packed ½ cup extra virgin olive oil salt and pepper , to taste Fill your big pasta pot up with water. Add some oil to the water so the pasta doesn’t stick to itself. Turn it on to boil. Put the chicken in your skillet....