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Around here, “additions” almost always include nuts, but if you have your eyes set on a vegan zucchini bread chocolate edition, I fully support you (or do both!). Although I don’t follow a vegan diet, I have many friends who aren’t able to have dairy, so it’s often on my mind when I’m cooking for company. I’ve also received several requests for vegan bread recipes (like this Vegan Pumpkin Bread) as of late, so I suspect you are in the market too....

I was ill prepared for my first Wisconsin concert. I arrived ten minutes before showtime with a half-empty bottle of wine and nothing else. Rookie mistake. In addition to listening to music and eating, the other primary activity at these outdoor concerts is to compare your picnic spread to those of neighboring groups. Forget the solo cups and PB&J—at our hometown concert scene, you best go big or go home....

For most of the last two weeks, it’s been that particular variety of nose-biting cold that orders me immediately back beneath the covers with a pair of wool socks and a heating pad. Ben and I have also been actively engaged in a silent but feisty thermostat war—I turn it up, he turns it down. This (and the “right way” to load the dishwasher) may be the great, enduring debate of our marriage....

Amongst the delicious lineup of pancake recipes on my site (like Coconut Flour Pancakes, Pumpkin Pancakes, and classic Fluffy Pancakes), these easy banana oatmeal pancakes stand out. They’re soft and tender, just as any good pancake should be.The lightning-fast pancake batter is made entirely in the blender.The wholesome ingredient list makes these pancakes fit for busy weekday mornings and lazy weekends alike. Like these blender Whole Wheat Waffles, they have a delightful combination of nutty and sweet elements, and healthy swaps make them nutritious without sacrificing an ounce of flavor....

And please note that celebrations from the couch in sweatpants are also festive and absolutely deserve a batch of Champagne Punch too! I have long loved any excuse for a party. (What’s that? You got a promotion/haircut/made all the green lights on your way to work today? Let’s celebrate!) Combine that ardor with the fact that I now own a punch bowl (a worthy investment made last year for the sake of this Christmas Punch), and this Champagne Punch practically poured itself....

My Grandma Dorothy was famous for her collection of homemade cookies and candies at the holidays. Her chocolate-covered pretzels with peppermint were my greatest weakness. As simple and innocent as white chocolate-covered pretzels might seem to the inexperienced, few treats can bring me to my knees like these salty-sweet gems. With cookies, I can usually limit myself to one or two. Chocolate-covered pretzels? I dare you to pry the bag from my chocolate-covered fingers!...

After discovering the deliciousness that is General Tso’s Chickpeas, I decided to take another dive into meatless (and healthier!) versions of my Chinese takeout favorites. Despite my worst teenage fears, I have learned that, when cooked properly, tofu can be absolutely delicious. It’s become one of my favorite proteins both to order out and to cook at home (these copycat PF Chang’s Lettuce Wraps unleash its potential too). It’s inexpensive, versatile, freezes like a dream, and is a lifesaver on busy weeknights too....

Granola used to lure me at the grocery store. Attractive, smartly packaged bags in assorted flavors promised that if I bought them (and casually ignored their less-attractive price tags), I’d be fit, healthy, and sure to live the kind of active life I associate with REI commercials. One look at the back of those same bags reveals a different story. Most store bought granolas contain an excess of added sugar and oil....

These easy enchiladas were one of the first recipes I learned to make on my own and were one of the earliest dinners I made for Ben when we were dating. They are also my family’s Christmas dinner tradition (because, why not?), and were the FIRST recipe I ever posted on Well Plated. Yes, nostalgia is a big part of why I love these simple green chile chicken enchiladas. However, these cheesy, creamy chicken enchiladas serve up more than memories:...

Lightly charred outside, caramelized inside, and touched by that tantalizing sensation of easy-living that only the grill can impart (Grilled Eggplant, Grilled Broccoli, and Grilled Corn all agree), this healthy method of cooking asparagus takes 10 minutes or less. Season it simply with salt and pepper for a fast, healthy side that can go with any of your weeknight meals.Grilling is one of the healthiest ways to cook asparagus and will add nutritional value to your standard cookout fare....

Tender salmon fillets bathed in a quick honey and soy glaze, then baked to flaky perfection, this healthy salmon recipe is easy to make, yet exquisite in taste! It is worthy of any restaurant menu and perfect for serving with veggies or any of your favorite sides. Had I ordered this baked glazed salmon while dining out (which surely I would have given my aforementioned weakness for dishes involving the word “glazed”—see also Bourbon Glazed Salmon, Pineapple Glazed Salmon, and Balsamic Glazed Salmon), I would have been the envy order at the table....

We’re in our fifth year of hosting Friendsgiving. Every year, we hit the same roadblock: I run out of space in the oven. It’s not the mad chaos of 30 guests jockeying for seats at our table—and couch, card table, and when desperate, the stairs—that irks me (my friends are excellent sports) or even the fact that last year we drank wine out of empty jam jars because I ran out of glasses....

If you’ve been looking for a new salad to liven up your weekly lunch routine, I hope you try this Moroccan-spiced chickpea salad. In addition to being filling and a refreshing change of pace from my standard lunch fare, it gives me a super satisfying healthy meal afterglow. Healthy Meal Afterglow: The affirming feeling of complete adult life domination that follows eating a meal that is both ridiculously delicious and ridiculously good for you....

This recipe is sponsored by Land O’Lakes. Pumpkin is a celebrity flavor whose tenure starts earlier and earlier each year, and for good reason. Its familiar cozy flavor and natural moisture make it a versatile gem in wholesome baking recipes ranging from Healthy Pumpkin Cookies to Healthy Pumpkin Muffins to Pumpkin Sheet Cake with Greek Yogurt Cream Cheese Frosting. Gingerbread, however, is a late bloomer. It’s not until December that I see recipes like these Gingerbread Muffins and my all-time favorite Chocolate Ginger Cookies pop into popularity....

I first made this simple red lentil curry recipe when we moved into our new home and—after two weeks straight of moving-stress-induced takeout dinners—I needed a healthy reset. WELL, here I am again! I’ve spent the last few weeks eating out as often as I’ve eaten in. It’s been delicious and fun and I’m likely to do it again, which is exactly why I need more easy red lentil recipes like this one in my life this week....

In addition to the prospect of spending three days looking at this view, I’m especially excited for Memorial Day weekend, because my newly engaged younger sister and her fiancé are coming to visit us in Milwaukee. I can’t wait to show them around the city, kick it on the pontoon boat, and share a few meals on our back porch. An incurable Type-A personality to the core, I have been known to plan friends’ visits weeks in advance, and even write to-do lists of what I need to accomplish each day leading up to the visit to prepare my home and pantry....

A jammy, ruby strawberry filling that shines in its buttery shortbread crust, this easy strawberry pie recipe is exactly what we need to make this fine summer week. Strawberry pie has been an integral part of my summer since childhood, when I grew up eating my Grammy’s Strawberry Cream Cheese Pie, a whole strawberry pie with cream cheese in the center. My family calls it “Strawberry Super Pie” or just “The Pie....

In the cosmos of pumpkin recipes, it arguably doesn’t get more basic than a chocolate chip pumpkin muffin. Or more delicious. I’m also willing to argue that these Vegan Pumpkin Muffins should be one of the first treats you bake this fall. Even if you think you are set with your go-to pumpkin recipes. Even if you aren’t actually vegan. Even if you, like my crazy husband, don’t think chocolate chips and pumpkin belong together (WHAT?...

I tested every recipe 6+ times (though most were tested many more; you can read about recipe testing here), until each was so delicious, it made me (and my independent recipe testers) DANCE around the kitchen. I agonized over every detail, from making sure each ingredient truly mattered for the recipe and was easy to find, to writing instructions that were crystal clear, to keeping the dishes you’d have to wash to a minimum, to providing useful tips, like how to store, reheat, and repurpose leftovers....

With fried chicken, to me even mediocre isn’t worth it. It needs to be crunchy outside with well-seasoned breading that is present but not overpoweringly thick.The meat must be juicy.It must never be greasy. In fact, you should almost forget that it is fried. While I love tackling homemade versions of my favorite indulgent foods, deep frying is a line I haven’t crossed. It sounds like a hot mess and a splurge I prefer to save for when I’m out to eat....