Last week, Ben and I moved from a 500-square-foot apartment to a full-sized home, and—minus a bed and a few college-era plastic drawers—that home is devoid of furniture. After three, 15-hour days spent furniture shopping, I’m confident that—at least when it comes to couches—we have too many options. Fortunately for us, the vegan caramel sauce recipe I’m sharing today tastes as heavenly eaten standing in front of an open refrigerator as it does sitting on the finest of sofas....

As much as I adore simple recipes that, at first forkful, make me sing with appreciation for the great small joys of culinary life—joys such as ripe, sweet summer tomatoes, creamy dreamy goat cheese, and a bright pop of lemon, all of which you’ll find in this goat cheese pasta salad recipe—creating them can be challenging. “More is more” is a tempting and often pervasive philosophy. In reality (and in pasta salad), however, sometimes a small handful of thoughtful ingredients are all you need....

Our team took turns bringing breakfast on Fridays. We usually had leftovers, which would be left in the common area for scavengers (did anyone else prowl around her office, searching for free extra food?). Except when my co-worker Michael baked his famous blueberry buckle. Not only would our team silently, not-so-subtly try to beat each other to the slices with the max amount of topping, if even a crumb remained at the bottom of the pan, someone would run their plastic fork all around the bottom to catch every morsel....

If you’re not familiar with butter tarts, they’re an old-fashioned dessert that originated in Canada and are similar to pecan pies of the American south. Both pecan pie (and these Pecan Pie Bars) and butter tarts are made with tender, flakey pie crust filled with a sweet, sugary filling. However, there are a few key differences worth noting: Size. Butter tarts are always prepared in miniature, never in a larger pie form....

Oh Snapchat, the Girl Scouts did not prepare me for you. Last Friday, I lured you all to follow me on Snapchat (WellPlated) with promises of seeing Blueberry Pie Smoothies in action and footage so embarrassing, my younger sister texted me to inform me that she needed to give me a Snapchat lesson. As it turns out, no one could follow me until Monday night, when I realized my settings had my username hidden....

If you’re looking for a single side dish to serve at your next holiday gathering or family dinner that pleases just about every taste preference and diet under the sun, look no further than this easy cauliflower casserole. The Vegetable Haters. Tender, caramelized roasted cauliflower florets are hidden amongst indulgent, melting pockets of cream cheese, gruyere, and crispy bacon, a.k.a. you’ll question whether or not this dish actually contains vegetables (same goes for this Broccoli Bake)....

Maybe it’s because I grew up on chicken bacon ranch Subway sandwiches or because I dipped my pizza in ranch dressing as a kid, but the phrase “chicken bacon ranch” makes my heart flutter. Add “pasta” into the equation, and I am a goner! (Same story with these Chicken Bacon Ranch Fries.) This stovetop chicken bacon ranch pasta is the fast-cooking cousin of my Chicken Bacon Ranch Casserole. Better yet, it cooks in ONE POT....

Like this scrumptious chicken stroganoff from scratch, her recipes are decidedly unfussy, stick-to-your-ribs comforting, and will appeal to even the pickiest of palettes. (For another crowd-pleasing favorite, check out How To Make Hamburger Helper.) My grandma and grandpa are no longer with me, but when I read my grandma’s cookbook, I am transported back to the hours I spent in the kitchen with the two of them. Today’s recipe for a lightened-up, healthy chicken stroganoff does vary from my grandma’s more-decadent original, but it maintains every bit of its warming spirit and nostalgia....

While I’ll never get tired of classic banana bread, sometimes when overripe bananas are staring at me from my kitchen counter, I yearn for something with a little more pizzaz. This cream cheese banana bread is the answer. Quick and easy to make, it’s the perfect on-the-fly way to use up browning bananas lingering around in your kitchen. Like these Banana Bread Brownies, this recipe combines the ease of basic banana bread with a little extra decadence and flair....

Beef and broccoli is standard-issue fare on just about any Asian takeout menu (ditto for Beef Lo Mein and General Tso Chicken), but the flavor of this recipe is anything but basic. The beef is tender.The sauce is rich and savory.The broccoli, which benefits from a low and slow “bath” in the sauce, is exceptionally appealing. A true “dump and go” crockpot meal (like my favorite Crock Pot Pepper Steak), 100% of the cooking for this slow cooker beef stir fry recipe happens right in the crockpot....

I’ve long identified myself as an over-eager over achiever who bounds out of bed ready to give the day if not my best, then at least my honest effort. Lately, however, that vigor has been harder to find. Do you ever have mornings where you what to hit snooze until it’s time to go to bed again? I’ve had a few recent mornings like that. I’ve been reflecting more about why I’ve been feeling this way, and honestly much of it has to do with feeling stressed and overwhelmed....

Is the three-day “no-call” rule really a rule? Is it a bad sign if a man doesn’t punctuate his text messages? What does it mean that my husband bought me a toaster for our anniversary (but also made me Flourless Chocolate Torte)? Do the pink Valentine M&Ms demonstrate more affection than the regular colored ones? COMPLICATED. This Valentine’s Day, I say we take a deep breath, set “the rules” aside, and say “I love you” with one of the least fussy and most sincere forms of affection: pie....

This mint chocolate chip cookie recipe tested my perseverance in the kitchen. It took me four tries to get right, but it was worth every single one of them. Lightly golden edges and thick, soft, and chewy centers give them the ideal cookie texture (like these Brownie Cookies).They contain so many green mint chips and dark chocolate chips that the dough can barely hold them together—like my favorite Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookies, that’s mind kind of ratio....

Couscous is a healthy, versatile side that you can serve with anything from Roasted Broccolini to Grilled Cod or Chicken Kabobs. This classic Moroccan-style couscous recipe cooks in 15 minutes (this Roasted Vegetable Salad is another quick couscous recipe).A few simple touches, like subtle spices, golden raisins, and pine nuts, make it taste special enough to serve at a holiday meal. One of my most vivid post-college memories is of a friend cooking a Moroccan-themed dinner for a big group....

Although you can find citrus year round, it’s at its prime in January and February. Isn’t it marvelous that at the time when your soul most needs an orange muffin (ahem, now), oranges are also at their peak? Yesterday morning as I was contemplating the great mystery of why the first settlers to Wisconsin decided to stick around the frozen tundra instead of rolling on west to California, I remembered the pair of orange muffins I had stowed away in our freezer....

A classic Italian pasta for which “authentic” recipes abound, pasta al limone is a simple pasta dish consisting of a long noodle-shaped pasta (usually spaghetti), lemon (zest and juice), butter or olive oil, Parmesan, salt, and a generous amount of black pepper. The origin of pasta al limone is disputed, but it is especially popular in southern Italy and Sicily, regions that are known for their lemon crop. A tantalizing testament to the sentiment “less is more,” pasta al limone isn’t outstanding despite its simplicity—it is sensational because of it....

All those fruits and veggies we haven’t seen in a few weeks? Time to get reacquainted! And, a smoothie is a super-efficient way to do just that, like my 4 Ingredient Mango Green Smoothie. I have a few smoothie rules. The first and most important one is that my smoothies must taste legitimately delicious. This peanut butter banana yogurt smoothie, like all others in my collection of healthy smoothie recipes, is a treat you’ll look forward to sipping, not some bad version of medicine you force yourself to knock back for the sake of being “healthy....

Actually, it was pumpkin EVERYTHING. Pumpkin granola, vegan pumpkin muffins, pumpkin energy balls. You are ready for it all! When I shared this recent recipe for Pumpkin Banana Bread, it felt like a tease. We’d had a few cool mornings but nothing so committal that I was tempted to pull out the puffy vest. WELL. Guess who’s ready now?! ? Vest and coordinating assortment of flannel shirts are at the front of my closet, boots are by our backdoor, and I’m set to join you in all things “P....

This easy Shrimp Corn Chowder recipe was inspired by the corn crab chowder that my grammy serves at Christmas Eve dinner. At our Christmas Eve feast, we have one major rule: do not, under any circumstances, have more than one bowl of the chowder. If you do, you are sure to ruin your appetite for the delicious dishes to come. Fact: no one keeps this rule, because it’s impossible. Every year, we each give ourselves a reasonable ladleful and savor it as slowly as we can, then everyone coyly side-eyes each other, waiting to see who will break first and go back for a second helping so that everyone else can follow suit....

It’s easy to talk a good zucchini pasta game, but let’s be honest. Most of the time if you are cooking with zucchini noodles, it’s because you are trying to save calories or keep things low carb. There’s no harm in this approach, and disparaging zucchini noodles is certainly not my point. Heck, this Healthy Shrimp Scampi, which uses zucchini spaghetti, is still one of my favorite healthy dinners. I’m also all about vegetables as a vehicle for other ingredients, as this Stuffed Zucchini and these Zucchini Pizza Boats will attest....