crispiest chicken cutlets

Whether you call them milanese, schnitzel or “they’re just big chicken tenders and you like chicken tenders, please try them!”, I absolutely love perfectly seasoned, craggy bread-crumbed, deeply golden, crispy chicken cutlets…

Whether you call them milanese, schnitzel or “they’re just big chicken tenders and you like chicken tenders, please try them!”, I absolutely love perfectly seasoned, craggy bread-crumbed, deeply golden, crispy chicken cutlets but I absolutely hate making them. Which, as you can imagine, leads to a bit of an impasse. We’ve bought them at our local grocery store, but I disagree with the store on seasoning, in that I believe in it and they do not. Maybe it’s just that my kitchen counter is small, or maybe I’m just kind of lazy, but I find the whole process interminable: pounding the cutlets if you want them thin, dredging them in flour, then egg, then breadcrumbs, then frying them, then draining them on endless paper towels or paper bags, then trying to either reuse or dispose of the oil properly, and somehow, after all of this, dinner isn’t made. We still need salad and/or another vegetable. That is me, throwing my hands in the air, 370 days into a global pandemic, wondering why anyone bothers cooking at home.

old bread = best crumbsdip in eggroll in crumbsready to go

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Maple Cranberry Sauce

This delicious Maple Cranberry Sauce recipe is quick and easy to make in about 15 minutes, it’s naturally sweetened with maple syrup, and easy to customize with any of your favorite add-ins. Anyone else trying to cut down on refined sugar for Thanksgiving this year? Give this simple maple cranberry sauce recipe a try! ♡ It’s […]

This delicious Maple Cranberry Sauce recipe is quick and easy to make in about 15 minutes, it’s naturally sweetened with maple syrup, and easy to customize with any of your favorite add-ins.

Maple Cranberry Sauce Recipe

Anyone else trying to cut down on refined sugar for Thanksgiving this year?

Give this simple maple cranberry sauce recipe a try!

It’s naturally sweetened with real maple syrup (or you’re welcome to sub in honey, coconut sugar, or any other favorite natural sweeteners).  It super quick and easy to make in just 15 minutes.  And it’s also a great recipe to make ahead of time and reheat on Thanksgiving, if you’d like to prep it days (or weeks) in advance.

I like to keep my cranberry sauce pretty simple and typically just add in the zest and juice of a fresh orange to complement those tart cranberry flavors.  But I’ve included ideas below for lots of other fun ingredients that you can add in.  So please feel free to get creative and customize your own cranberry sauce recipe however you might like!

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Poblano White Chicken Chili

This Poblano White Chicken Chili recipe comes together quickly in less than 30 minutes and is so flavorful and comforting. As soon as the weather begins to cool off each fall, I have a bit of an obsession for making sure that we always have some sort of chili all meal-prepped, stocked in the freezer, […]

This Poblano White Chicken Chili recipe comes together quickly in less than 30 minutes and is so flavorful and comforting.

Poblano White Chicken Chili Recipe

As soon as the weather begins to cool off each fall, I have a bit of an obsession for making sure that we always have some sort of chili all meal-prepped, stocked in the freezer, and ready to reheat for a quick lunch or dinner whenever those last-minute soup cravings arise.  We usually meal-prep some sort of plant-based chili to keep on hand, so that my vegetarian husband can enjoy it too.  But this fall, while pregnancy has had me craving so much chicken (lol, if you couldn’t tell by this month’s list of recipes), this poblano white chicken chili has been totally hitting the spot. ♡

It’s loaded up with tons of beans and chicken for protein, plus lots of zesty poblano peppers to add some extra flavor and a touch of heat.  And when piled high with all of my favorite toppings (you know me and chili, the more the merrier!), this white chicken chili is so cozy and flavorful and hits the spot every single time.

I’m also extra-partial to this recipe because it comes together very quickly in less than 30 minutes.  And instead of adding any extra flours or cornstarch as a thickener, I just puréed a can of beans in the blender and added it to the soup, which adds some nice extra protein and works like a charm.  (And also keeps this chili gluten-free!)  Oh, and if you can’t find poblano peppers at your grocery store, I’ve included an option below to just use canned diced green chiles instead.

Let’s make some white chicken chili!

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whole wheat chocolate oat cookies

Because I am happiest when I let cakes be cakes, and cookies be cookies in all of their real-butter-and-refined sugar bliss, I rarely swap whole wheat or other ingredients in desserts in an effort to put a health halo on them, with two excepti…

Because I am happiest when I let cakes be cakes, and cookies be cookies in all of their real-butter-and-refined sugar bliss, I rarely swap whole wheat or other ingredients in desserts in an effort to put a health halo on them, with two exceptions. The first is morning baked goods, usually muffins like these I’d make for the kids on a weekday, which just feel more breakfast when they least resemble, say, a birthday cake, not that there aren’t days that require that, too. The second is when I think the baked good is improved by the ingredient swap — more crisp/craggy, dynamic or flavorful. I just never expected it to happen to what we call our House Cookie — a one-bowl oatmeal cookie I’ve probably made many times a year for well over a decade, always putting extra scoops in the freezer, so we can have freshly baked cookies when life demands them.

what you'll needwhip butter, sugars, saltadd the flour, oats, chocolatethick doughscoopedbaked

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carrot and white bean burgers

I’m really enjoying Lukas Volger’s new cookbook, Start Simple: Eleven Everyday Ingredients for Countless Weeknight Meals. It came out two months ago, a positively bizarre time in which we entered and left our homes with abandon, ca…

I’m really enjoying Lukas Volger’s new cookbook, Start Simple: Eleven Everyday Ingredients for Countless Weeknight Meals. It came out two months ago, a positively bizarre time in which we entered and left our homes with abandon, casually hugged friends we were happy to see, and if our nose became itchy, we’d scratch it and not stand paralyzed in panic afterward. What salad days! Volger’s new book wasn’t created with pandemic cooking in mind — what was, really — but it feels just right for right now because each chapter focuses on a staple our local store is miraculously not out of (tofu, tortillas, beans, greens, squash, and more), and the recipes have refreshingly short ingredient lists and unfussy assemblies. Volger’s vegetarian cooking is very doable, the kind of do-ability that comes from the fact that this is clearly the food he cooks for himself at home, so all of the kinks are smoothed out. Everything sounds so good — smoky chickpea salad with olives and lemon and black beans with scallion-lime vinaigrette from the bean section are on my shortlist — you might find yourself wondering why this unwavering simplicity isn’t the goal of every cookbook.

most of what you'll needgrated carrotminced shallottoast crumbsadd carrotsmix it allmix and mashedmixedform into pattiespan-fry

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100+ Easy Pantry Recipes

For all of you working on meal planning right now with pantry staples — I’m here to help! ♡ Below I have compiled a list of all of my favorite recipes made with pantry staples that are legit easy-to-make.  And more importantly, super delicious.  I’ve divided them up into the following categories to hopefully make things a […]

Easy Pantry Recipes for Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner and Dessert

For all of you working on meal planning right now with pantry staples — I’m here to help! ♡

Below I have compiled a list of all of my favorite recipes made with pantry staples that are legit easy-to-make.  And more importantly, super delicious.  I’ve divided them up into the following categories to hopefully make things a bit easier to search, including:

Each category is full of tried-and-true recipes that rely on basic pantry and refrigerator staples.  Plus I have also included notes to help with potential ingredient substitutions/adaptions that you might need to make during the coming weeks.  As well as tips for how to store and freeze these recipes too.

I really hope that this list will be a help to you right now. And of course, stay tuned for many more pantry-friendly recipes to come in the weeks ahead!

Sending lots of love to you all today. ♡  We’re going to get through this together. (more…)

chicken, leek, and rice soup

I hope nobody you know is sick right now. I hope it’s, at worst, a common cold, common boredom bred by self-quarantine, or a stubbed toe because you tried some ridiculous workout video you found online. Or, if you’re me, last week,…

I hope nobody you know is sick right now. I hope it’s, at worst, a common cold, common boredom bred by self-quarantine, or a stubbed toe because you tried some ridiculous workout video you found online. Or, if you’re me, last week, after yet another thing fell out of my chaotic freezer onto my foot (I don’t even get to blame “fitness”) I decided to, what’s that word, it feels so unnatural to type… organize? Right, that. I decided to sift through the freezer and see what was taking up so much space and I realized that Deb Of A Few Months (let’s be honest: probably longer) Ago did a very cool thing and made an excess of chicken stock and froze it in one-quart bags which meant that “wohoo! dinner is sorted!”

what you'll needthinly sliced, never enoughleeks, garlicadd good broth

I’ve published a few chicken noodle soups recipes to date. I’ve got a quite rushed one and a leisurely one for when you want absolute perfection; there’s a grandma-style cozy on in Smitten Kitchen Every Day, my second cookbook, but one thing I’ve not yet covered is the simplest: a chicken soup you make with already-made stock.*

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perfect vegetable lasagna

Here is a theory: There are two types of picky people, those that are totally fine just never experiencing a life with, I don’t know, tomatoes or bananas or pickles or raisins (yes, I’ve read your comments — all of them) and then ther…

Here is a theory: There are two types of picky people, those that are totally fine just never experiencing a life with, I don’t know, tomatoes or bananas or pickles or raisins (yes, I’ve read your comments — all of them) and then there is the kind that finds their epicurean limitations to constrict like an uncomfortable jacket they’d love to shed if they could figure out how. I, a lifelong Picky Person, am the latter. Over the years creating and sharing recipes for this site, I’ve embraced so many things I once thought I didn’t like [insert basically half the ingredients in anything here, ever], but it turned out I just didn’t like the way they were usually made.

And now the time has come for me to get over my lasagna issues. What are you saying? you might ask. There are two lasagna recipes in the archives. You love them both! And it’s true. What I have struggled with is what I’d call The Usual Vegetable Lasagna. I want something as bubbling, bronzed, and brick-like as a classic lasagna should be, but I needed to fix a few things along the way.

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Easy Chicken Chili

This red chicken chili recipe is easy to make on the stovetop in just 30 minutes, it’s naturally gluten-free, and tastes SO cozy and delicious. Who’s ready for a warm bowl of chicken chili? ♡ Well good news — you won’t have to wait long with this easy chicken chili recipe.  It’s easy to make […]

This red chicken chili recipe is easy to make on the stovetop in just 30 minutes, it’s naturally gluten-free, and tastes SO cozy and delicious.

Easy Chicken Chili

Who’s ready for a warm bowl of chicken chili? ♡

Well good news — you won’t have to wait long with this easy chicken chili recipe.  It’s easy to make on the stovetop from start to finish in just 30 minutes, and it’s full of the best cozy, comforting, zesty red chili flavors that everyone around the table is sure to love.  This chicken chili also naturally gluten-free and and a great source of protein.  And if you happen to have any leftovers or are wanting to make a big batch for meal prep, I can vouch (after eating my leftovers for lunch everyday this week) that this one reheats beautifully and gets even more delicious with age.

Anyway, I’ve included lots of tips below for how you are welcome to customize this chicken chili recipe with any of your favorite ingredients.  And as always, I vote that you pile those serving bowls high with all of your favorite toppings.  Because when it comes to chili, the more toppings, the merrier for sure.

Let’s make some chicken chili!

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Beef Stew

My favorite cozy, hearty, comforting beef stew recipe — easy to make in the Instant Pot or Crock Pot, and always so delicious. For years and years, you all have been requesting a classic beef stew recipe here on the blog.  So today, I’m happy to report that I’ve (finally!) photographed my favorite one to […]

My favorite cozy, hearty, comforting beef stew recipe — easy to make in the Instant Pot or Crock Pot, and always so delicious.

Beef Stew (Crock Pot or Instant Pot)

For years and years, you all have been requesting a classic beef stew recipe here on the blog.  So today, I’m happy to report that I’ve (finally!) photographed my favorite one to share with you.

Meet my go-to beef stew recipe. ♡

I’ve been making versions of this classic beef stew ever since I very first started teaching myself how to cook back in the day.  And while there are now all sorts of creative and modern twists you can make on the classic nowadays, I’ve gotta admit that the throwback original will probably always be my fave.  Those of you who grew up with beef stew know exactly what I’m talkin’ about — ultra-tender juicy steak, hearty potatoes, savory mushrooms and veggies, all slowly simmered together in a rich, savory, tomato-herb gravy until dinnertime.  Oh, and while it cooks, this stew also has the added bonus of making your home smell absolutely amazing.

I’ve included instructions below for options to either slow cook this recipe in the Crock-Pot (my old standard) or in the Instant Pot (much speedier).  And of course, I’ve also included suggestions for a number of fun add-ins that you’re welcome to include too.  Bottom line, if you’re craving some meat-and-potatoes comfort food, this beef stew recipe won’t let you down!

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