To make this soup you will need chicken or vegetable broth, red lentils, potatoes, onion, garlic, tomatoes, salt, pepper and, obviously, chicken. I’ve tried chunks of chicken and ground chicken and have always come back to ground chicken. I just love the texture of ground chicken in this soup. If you are going to grind your own chicken, you have the option of using dark or white chicken meat. White chicken meat is leaner and healthier but dark chicken meat definitely makes the soup tastier....

These dark chocolate banana muffins are supremely moist and fudgy, packed with double the chocolate in the form of both chocolate chips (inside and on top) and cocoa powder (a lot), and their high-rise domed tops are prime for picking, munching, and licking off your fingers. If you’ve been following this blog for any stretch of time you—and, this expansive collection of healthy muffin recipes—can attest that I take my muffin game very seriously....

This post is sponsored by ChocZero. All opinions are my own and I only share products I personally love. Thanks for supporting the brands that make this site possible! These coconut flour chocolate chip cookies bake up impossibly rich, buttery, and chewy. My almond flour chocolate chip cookies are a staple on regular rotation around here, but for those with nut allergies or just looking to use this lighter flour, I thought we needed a coconut flour recipe....

(This is a sponsored post written in conjunction with The Brooklyn Creamery Company and a campaign for Sverve. All opinions are 100% my own.) Being the good Brazilian that I am (is that such a thing of bad Brazilian? Oh yes, there is!) my heart flutters at any mention of the word “cream”. So many Brazilian dishes require some sort of cream and, after moving to the U.S., I always have trouble finding the right kind....

Like my family, Ben’s extended family usually makes a big, delicious to-do of holiday meals, but the past few weeks have been so frantic (surgeries, illnesses) that the fact that Easter is this very Sunday has just now registered. We may end up getting the larger family together last minute, or Ben and I may just go out to brunch with his parents. In either case, I’ll be with people I love, eating good food....

From quesadillas to even salads, we haven’t run out of ways to use this crockpot chicken yet. I’m not concerned. It’s so darn tasty and healthy to boot, I am content to continue to brainstorm more ways we can enjoy it. So far, I’ve come up with 10 different ideas—be sure to check them out later in the post! Making Mexican chicken in the slow cooker is one of those “coming of age” foundational kitchen hacks that will suit you at any and every phase of life....

This recipe is a riff on my favorite Crockpot Beef Stew. (If the Instant Pot is your preferred appliance, be sure to check out its cousin Instant Pot Beef Stew too.) Compared to my original beef stew, this homemade soup has a few more vegetables and a little less prep. Most of the action happens in the slow cooker while you aren’t paying attention, so you can get back to more pressing matters—like trying your hand at an at-home baking project (No Knead Focaccia anyone?...

Maybe it’s the later sunsets, the melting snow, or the first signs of decent-looking fresh produce (hello, Pea Salad) that made me giddy enough to look at broccoli stalks and conclude, “These need ribbon. Make it satin.” In Wisconsin, we wait a long (LONG) time for spring. So whenever I start to sense its fresh, damp, floral scent breaking the winter air at last I get a little carried away in the kitchen with fresh spring recipes....

Bruschetta is a classic Italian antipasto. While most of us identify bruschetta as toasted bread topped with tomato, the word “bruschetta” actually refers to the preparation of the bread itself. Traditionally grilled bread is covered with olive oil and garlic. You can then top bruschetta with lots of extras (pesto, mushrooms, ricotta etc) but my favourite way is chopped fresh tomatoes with a drizzle of balsamic glaze. Making bruschetta this way is so quick and easy....

These Instant Pot short ribs are delectably flavorful, fall-apart tender (without the long time commitment that’s normally needed for cooking boneless beef short ribs), and SO EASY. Let me show you how to cook short ribs in the best and fastest way with this easy beef short ribs recipe. When I first got my Instant Pot, I spent a lot of time experimenting with pressure cooker recipes. And when it came time to figure out how to cook boneless short ribs, I was pleased to discover that using the Instant Pot makes this a quick short rib recipe — no hours upon hours of braising time necessary!...

Anyway, Thanksgiving is not only about the Turkey. The side dishes are also very important and often neglected! Ever since I started celebrating Thanksgiving – which only happened after I moved to the U.S., 5 years ago – I noticed that there’s always a plate of green beans on the table. So now I kinda associate green beans with Thanksgiving. Especially this recipe of Green Beans with Garlic and Almonds....

It’s flavorful enough to hold my attention, satisfying enough to keep me full, and nutritious enough to be a worthy addition to our healthy dinner rotation. A mixture of potatoes, lean ground beef, onion, bell pepper, and spices, this beef and potatoes skillet will appeal to picky eaters and discerning palates alike. Most often, the phrase “meat and potatoes” means a lack of eating adventure. A “meat and potatoes” person shies away from green vegetables, plant-based proteins like tofu, and spices....

The day we moved into our new house, my friend Maggie arrived in our barren kitchen with a pan of peanut butter rice krispies treats. “I don’t know what it is about rice krispie treats,” she said by way of explanation, “but they really hit the spot.” She was right. It had been ages since I’d had one, and I forgot how satisfying a simple rice krispie treat can be....

I simply cannot resist a fresh basil bunch. Every time I’m browsing through the fruits and vegetables in the grocery store and I see super fresh and green basil, I grab it. As soon I smell this herb, all I can think of are the wonders I could make with it: pesto, bruschetta, pizzas, tomato sauce, soups, salad, desserts, cocktails…I can even make some herb butter or infused oils! God, there is nothing like cooking with fresh herbs… (I wish my mother-in-law would succumb to my pleas and plant some herbs in her beautiful garden, including a huge basil plant!...

My Homemade Chili Recipe with Ground Beef and Beans takes just 35 minutes to make from start to finish! It uses simple ingredients and is low in fat, packed with protein and fiber, and so delicious! This is the best quick chili recipe! Best Ground Beef Chili Recipe My family and I love beef chili recipes, but so many of them can take all day to make! Sometimes, when you’re in a hurry for comfort food, you just need an easy, quick chili recipe to work with....

If your reservation about pizza dough is because it is time consuming, don’t worry! The dough is a breeze to make and only needs to rise for one hour. If even an hour is too much for you, make the dough in the morning and let it rise in the fridge during the day. According to Joel, rising the dough in the fridge improves the flavor! All that will be left to do when you get home is to roll it out and top it with whatever you want!...

But first, what are tamales? Tamales are a popular dish made from corn dough (masa harina) and a savory or sweet filling. The dough is wrapped in a corn husk or banana leaf and steamed. While they originated in Mexico, several other regions and countries, such as the Caribbean, USA, and Philippines, have their own versions. Tamales are best eaten right away. But in case you have leftovers, it’s essential to know how to reheat them properly....

This easy copycat Starbucks egg bites recipe takes less than 20 minutes, using just 4 main ingredients and mostly hands-off cooking. Without much special equipment, Instant Pot egg bites are an easy way to meal prep your healthy breakfast quickly. Plus, just like many egg recipes, this one is easy to customize with your favorite flavors. My family has had a weekly tradition of getting Starbucks egg bites ever since my kids started swim class on Sundays a couple years ago....

Since this time of year is especially busy (and I expect a few of you might have an Instant Pot on your wish list!), I wanted to take a moment to share this lentil curry coconut recipe. It takes mere minutes to prep, the entire thing cooks in one pot, and it yields a generous batch that reheats beautifully. Like my Tofu Curry, this creamy lentil curry also manages the tricky feat of being both stick-to-your-ribs warm and comforting (what my body wants) AND feel-great nutritious (what my body needs)....

Or rather, you haven’t tried this Instant Pot mac and cheese. After having multiple recipe fails on a dish that the internet assured me was foolproof, I can now attest this is the best, creamiest, most (actually) foolproof recipe of them all. Water, noodles, four minutes of pressure cook time, add the cheese. BOOM. Better-than-the-blue-box bliss is yours! Part of what made this mac and cheese recipe tricky to get right is that I couldn’t let it be just any mac and cheese you can make in a pressure cooker....