Lemon and chicken are just a match made in heaven, and it’s clear that I’m not the only one who feels that way. Anytime I share recipes that involve lemon and chicken (like Baked Lemon Chicken, Chicken Piccata, or Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup), readers just seem to eat them up… figuratively and literally. However, this creamy lemon butter chicken recipe may just be the best of the bunch: Made in under an hour in only ONE pan (like this Skillet Tomato Chicken), it’s an easy lemon butter chicken that is simple to prep, easy to cook, and a breeze to clean up....

Although I’m not a vegan or vegetarian, I have a deep love and appreciation for vegetables. It’s easy for me to prepare them at home—you’ll find a big pan of simply roasted mushrooms, broccoli, or Brussels sprouts in our oven almost every night of the week—but when I go out, I’m often disappointed by how much of an afterthought the vegetables seem. Even when restaurants do have a decent selection of vegetables, they are usually deep fried, slathered in cream, or similarly disguised via butter and cheese....

If I ignored the dishes, I’d feel a little like I had a personal breakfast chef. I discovered this method for cooking steel-cut oats in the crock pot the year a series of unfortunate events left us without a stove for almost three months. I’ll spare you the details, but suffice to say that without a proper cooktop or oven, I embraced my slow cooker with a passion I didn’t realize I could muster for an appliance....

Hence my surprise when an old roommate (who in our past life could barely microwave her way out of a popcorn bag) invited me over for dinner and served pan fried salmon. I lifted my fork, steadied my face to disguise any negative reaction, took a bite, and oh my goodness what is this delicious fish? As with many dishes that intimated me in the past—namely anything stuffed (Stuffed Salmon, Stuffed Chicken Breast, Stuffed Pork Tenderloin, Stuffed Pork Chops), grilled (Grilled Salmon in Foil), or involving proteins I thought were fancy (Red Wine Braised Short Ribs)—pan seared salmon is shockingly straightforward to make and the results are superb....

Crostini is one of the most straightforward, yet brilliant appetizer concepts (as Whipped Feta Crostini already knows). It’s a radically simple idea—small slices of toasted bread heaped with yummy toppings.It’s an appetizer that’s somehow equally appropriate for a bare feet, backyard affair as it is for a black-tie bash. It’s universally appealing—carbs + tasty toppings = food love for all (basically a cold, miniature variation of Ricotta Pizza). AND it’s endlessly adaptable....

Made with whey protein and covered in promises to be low carb, high fiber, and delicious, these protein cookies sounded too good to be true. Upon closer inspection, I discovered that not only did most of these protein cookies contain nearly as many calories as a full meal (well beyond my needs for a cookie), they cost almost $3 each and the ingredient list left quite a bit to be desired....

To make potato pancakes, shredded potatoes are mixed with flour and seasonings, bound together with an egg, shaped into patties, and then pan fried to perfection. Potato pancakes are versatile and make a tasty side with hearty soups and stews and meaty mains, or alongside a hot breakfast.Like homemade Tater Tots, potato pancakes provide a fun, individual potato serving.While this recipe is easy, if you are looking for more of a shortcut, Hash Brown Casserole utilizes pre-shredded, frozen hash browns, cooked in one go in a casserole dish....

Broccolini, also called “baby broccoli” is similar to broccoli but with smaller florets and a milder taste. Broccolini has long, thin stalks that, unlike mature broccoli stalks, are tender all the way through. That means that you can eat the stems right along with the florets. You do need to trim off the very end of broccolini before cooking, which takes all of 20 seconds (I line up the stems and trim the whole bunch at once)....

Thanksgiving is a BIG DEAL in my family. We pull out the good china, agonize over which pumpkin dessert to make (my vote is Pumpkin Pecan Pie), and disagree over whether to serve Homemade Scalloped Potatoes or Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes (we usually make peace by preparing both). One recipe that never ever changes is the stuffing. While I’m all for stuffing creativity (Cornbread Stuffing, Stuffing Muffins, etc.), this is THE one, true homemade stuffing recipe my family comes back to again and again....

Juicy shrimp tossed with a medley of fresh vegetables and pantry herbs, topped with a shower of feta cheese, and livened up with a squeeze of lemon, it’s exactly the recipe to freshen up (and help out!) your dinner plans for the week. The vibrancy, nutritional value, and general sensation of being surrounded by blue water have long made Mediterranean food one of my favorite genres, whether I’m dining out or cooking dinner at home....

Just like my Italian Farro Salad with its wholesome, simple, and healthy ingredients, this summer farro salad was what I was craving on Tuesday night, my one evening at home during a multi-week travel spree. While I absolutely adore traveling and dining out, when I’m gone for long periods, I miss being in my kitchen and eating well-balanced meals like this healthy summer farro salad (and this Southwest Farro Salad)....

Cheesy, saucy, and bursting with hearty Italian zest, this easy vegetable lasagna does justice to the Italian classic. With its declarative hug-you-from-the-inside vibe, this vegetarian lasagna is a pan of comfort, exactly what you need when you find yourself craving lasagna in the first place. It’s meatless, yes, but this lasagna recipe is about far more than the absence of meat. It is a vegetable party! Spinach. Sweet potatoes. Bell peppers....

Meatball night started when we first moved downtown and found ourselves within walking distance of a truly stellar Italian market. The weekly Friday night routine became walking over there to pick up wine, homemade pasta, red sauce, and charcuterie. We’d then sip and snack while I made a new meatball recipe to go along with our spoils. Plus, I am not sure when you last cooked meatballs, but they are SO GOOD and so rewarding....

If ever a meal were made for weeknights, this easy baked lemon chicken recipe would be it! This healthy lemon chicken recipe is one of the easiest dinners I’ve ever made, and I wouldn’t change a single thing about it. The only major flavor players are lemon, garlic, and rosemary, because that’s all the recipe needs.The potatoes and asparagus are ideal for spring, the chicken is tender and juicy, and the sheet-pan cooking method is near foolproof....

If you’ve been intimidated by cooking fish in the past, I totally get it! I spent years avoiding buying salmon because I thought it would be too complicated to make, or that worse yet, I’d mess it up and ruin a beautiful piece of fish. All of that changed after I discovered this easy foil-baking method. This easy baked salmon takes less time to prep (five minutes) than I spent sleepily scrolling through Instagram this morning while brushing my teeth (much more than five minutes)....

You know when you want to bring a side to a potluck but you don’t actually want to spend that much time making it? You want it to taste phenomenal, of course. People could gush. That’s nice too. You just don’t want to actually spend more than 15 minutes in the kitchen. I’ve been there! Your secret is safe with me. This black bean corn salad is a recipe for these low-effort, max-reward times....

Easy overnight breakfast casseroles such as this blueberry French toast or my Hash Brown Casserole are my go-to, especially when I’m making breakfast for more than two or three people (or want lots of leftovers). Not only do recipes like this score full points with my guests, but because the prep work all takes place the night before, in the morning I can focus on spending time with my guests (or making Air Fryer Bacon and Sweet Potato Hash Browns)....

The bread bowl my mom let me order the soup in probably helped too (thank you, Panera!). Now that I’m the one doing the cooking, healthy soup recipes appeal to me more than ever before. Soup tastes great leftover for lunches and dinners, and it stores and reheats like a dream. Be sure to indulge in some well-deserved back patting when you pull a container of this broccoli cauliflower soup from the freezer (assuming you have any leftover to freeze that is)....

The fact that this recipe is super-duper easy, satisfyingly creamy, and even low carb certainly heightens its appeal too! As I shared with this recipe for Buffalo Baked Salmon, Buffalo sauce traces its history back to a bar in Buffalo, New York. Buffalo sauce is essentially Frank’s RedHot sauce mixed with melted butter, with a few other spices added. The bar served it, and it became a legend. The butter adds a rich flavor and balances the heat of the sauce....

Grandma Dorothy has made several appearances on my blog. One Christmas, I shared these Candy Cane Snowball Cookies, which are based on her Swedish tea cakes. Before she lost her battle with Parkinson’s disease, my grandma painstakingly recorded her most treasured recipes in a home-printed cookbook she called Lovin’ from the Oven. Included in that cookbook is the base recipe that I used for these orange drop cookies. These melt-in-your-mouth, traditional orange cookies are pillowy soft and float away on your tongue....