Swordfish tastes mild, slightly sweet, and not “fishy” (it’s not as strong as Baked Salmon in Foil, for example). It’s firm, moist, and dense, in a good way—the name swordfish “steak” is befitting. It was the first fish I loved as a kid. Other than rare occasions when my grandma treated us to Red Lobster (where I filled up on biscuits and then ordered Cajun Shrimp Pasta Alfredo), I didn’t grow up eating much seafood....

If you are looking for a healthy dinner to add to your greatest hits list—and I think we could all do with more recipes that the members of our household embrace with unanimous enthusiasm—this appealing hamburger casserole is it! I based this hearty hamburger casserole off of my Homemade Hamburger Helper, which so many of you have told me has become a weekly staple. Kids, adults, even picky toddlers think it’s all the rage....

Or autumn. I think it sounds very fancy to call it autumn, don’t you? Today is the first day of fall (or autumn—you do you), a season that I don’t mark so much with a date on the calendar as I do a certain, telltale feeling in the air. I’m not one to rush into pumpkin season (after all, we still have the scrumptious Every Day Apple Cinnamon Pancakes in my cookbook to make), but I will admit to feeling a prickle of excitement the first time I leave my house and think I could use a chunky sweater right about now....

Well, except for that one time he was reading about a shipwreck in the Arctic Ocean, and I kept changing the subject. As someone who is freezing when the temperature dips below 68 degrees, I can only handle so much information about surviving amongst ice caps. Meanwhile, on my side of the bed, the reading material is much warmer. The most recent magazines to land on our doorstep have been filled with gorgeous, glossy photos of a food group that is hitting its peak: VEGETABLES....

I remember the first time I had to carve a turkey. The task seemed tedious, terrifying, and important all at the same time. Learning how to carve a turkey for beginners does not have to be stressful or overly time-consuming. With the right tools and process, you can have a showcase-worthy bird ready to serve in no time! The Best Way to Carve a Turkey These step-by-step instructions for how to carve a turkey with pictures will help you feel like a Thanksgiving pro!...

I’ve had a soft spot for French onion soup since I was a little girl and my grammy treated me to it for lunch. This Instant Pot French onion soup recipe is my attempt to recreate its magic in a faster, less labor-intensive way. If you’re familiar with authentic French onion soup, you’ll know it is a commitment. Onions are slowly (and patiently) caramelized to sweet, sweet perfection (just like this Blue Cheese Burger recipe)....

When a P.F. Chang’s opened in my hometown of Wichita, Kansas, it was A Big Deal. The two-hour wait lasted for months, and when my family finally scored a table, our server insisted that we order the lettuce wraps appetizer. She was SO RIGHT. Today’s lettuce wraps recipe is a copycat version of the illustrious P.F. Chang’s original with a healthy twist. Excess amounts of sugar are why lettuce wraps are high in carbs at restaurants....

Portobello mushrooms that are… soaked in a quick but high-impact balsamic-soy marinade (a riff on my tried-and-true Grilled Portobello Mushrooms) double stacked and stuffed with havarti cheese slathered in pesto (and more cheese) piled inside a fluffy brioche bun, and topped with grilled onions and tomatoes …tend to elicit one of two reactions. Reaction One: GIMME. Or Reaction Two: Why are we calling a portobello mushroom a burger again? Whichever camp you fall in—I grew up in the (meat) burger-loving Midwest, so even though I fall solidly in the Reaction One group, I can hear Reaction Two’s concerns—try this Portobello Mushroom Burger recipe anyway....

While I’ve had New Year’s Eves that fall on both sides of the glittery skirt/sweatpants spectrum, I’ve always enjoyed celebrating it. The eternal optimist and calendar junkie in me relishes the idea of a scheduled fresh start. Plus, I’m a lover of any excuse to celebrate with some bubbly (especially Strawberry Champagne), a cheese ball, and sharing a night with a few people I care about. This year, I’ll be pouring these raspberry champagne floats when the clock strikes midnight (and maybe Hot Buttered Bourbon for a nightcap)....

This post is brought to you by Morton Salt. The truffles are dark-chocolate dipped, then topped with a crunch of coarse sea salt, one of the pro tips shared at the Morton Next Door Chef event I attended last fall. Read on for the tasty details about the recipe and the event too. Getting a homemade salted caramel sauce to a consistency that’s thick enough to enrobe in melted chocolate to create a caramel-filled truffle, yet soft enough to still melt and ooze when you bite into it, is a tricky endeavor that I’d prefer to leave to a French pastry chef....

I believe passionately that enjoying a healthy, balanced diet should never EVER leave you feeling deprived. What inspires my recipes here (and every recipe in my upcoming cookbook) is creating nutritious meals that taste so fabulous, you forget that what you are eating is “healthy.” This Skillet Lasagna with Basil, Italian Sausage, and Butternut Squash is the perfect example. Every forkful delivers the kind of wrap-you-up, grandma’s-cooking comfort that we seek from lasagna, but the ingredient lineup is shockingly good for you (just like in this Sweet Potato Pasta)....

This taco popcorn: Is zippy but not too spicy.Is healthy but leaves you room to add a little butter.Would pair beautifully with a Skinny Margarita. All are qualities to which I aspire (as much as one can aspire to relate to a flavor of popcorn, anyway!) If you love foods with a Tex-Mex twist, I know you’ll love this lightly spicy taco popcorn too. The popcorn is flavored with a mix of classic taco spices such as chili powder, cumin, and cayenne....

While I am usually a French fry girl (especially Air Fryer French Fries), when it comes to bar food with a serious W-O-W factor, a tall, piping-hot stack of onion rings is hard to beat. As much as I enjoy them, unless I’m with a large group to assist with the takedown, I rarely order them. As yummy as onion rings are, anything more than a few leaves my tummy in a less-than-happy place....

Pork chops cooked in the air fryer are juicy (NOT DRY) inside and crispy outside (without the need for egg and flour or panko breadcrumbs). A simple pork seasoning rub made with a reasonable list of spices you likely already have on hand gives the pork chops a rich smokiness and a little bit of a kick. To the pork chops skeptics: I see you. Until I perfected Crock Pot Pork Chops and Grilled Pork Chops, my only experience with the cut was as a hard-to-saw (and even harder to chew) piece of protein I did my best to pick around....

This colorful blend of peppery arugula, juicy cherry tomatoes, and colorful carrot ribbons (plus giant shavings of Parmesan because YUM) is pretty enough to be worthy of the weekend. It’s so easy to make, I never feel too tired to throw it together, even at the end of a long weekday when my brain is saying hi, I’m done. This salad is flexible, fast, and makes me feel both wholesome and creative at the same time....

Fork-tender, filling, and layered with Italian spices and herbs, these healthy turkey meatballs want to be your mealtime cheerleader. They are easy to make and won’t make you hunt through the grocery store for ingredients.Once you have your ground turkey and Parmesan in the fridge, you’re likely to already have everything else in your pantry to make this simple turkey meatballs recipe. The end result is so intrinsically satisfying, you’ll feel like a true dinner hero....

While I’m all for a scrumptious loaf of Healthy Banana Bread, it’s not the kind of thing you can put candles on with the same festive air as you can a mega-moist, frosting-slathered banana cake. When the occasion calls for dessert—be it a birthday, a dinner invitation to a friend’s, or a potluck when you want to bring everyone’s favorite dish—this easy moist banana cake delights. It’s homey and familiar—just like grandma’s banana cake—but also a little unexpected....

The Bonefish Grill restaurant is a nostalgic destination from my college years when a friend’s parents would come to town and treat us students to a non-cafeteria dinner. On these lucky occasions, I said my prayers that someone would order Bonefish’s famous appetizer. At Bonefish, the Bang Bang Shrimp is made of fried shrimp with a cornstarch and creamy buttermilk coating.Bang Bang shrimp sauce is made of mayonnaise, sriracha, and sweet chili garlic sauce; it’s drizzled all over the top....

Lasagna is quite an accomplishment. The moment when you reach your biggest spatula down through the layers to reveal the masterpiece of stacked cheese, meat, and noodles within is one of glory and pride. Lasagna layers do take some time to prep, but this easy recipe streamlines them wherever possible. The meat layer is made with spaghetti sauce to keep it easy.The slow cooker means all of the work happens earlier in the day, giving you more flexibility before dinner....

A shortcut in every way except for how wonderful it tastes, this ham and cheese quiche recipe is what my mom lovingly refers to as a “none o’ yo’ business” recipe. As in, none of your business that I didn’t have time to: Fuss with homemade Whole Wheat Pie Crust or Oil Pie Crust.Precook any of the filling ingredients (let’s save cooking Oven Baked Bacon for another time).Shred cheese (cubes are where it’s at!...