Category: budget friendly

Perfect Roasted Acorn Squash

Roasted acorn squash deserves a place on your table this season. It’s easy to make, warming and hearty, and almost nutty in flavor. Acorn squash is often…

The post Perfect Roasted Acorn Squash appeared first on Cookie and Kate.

roasted acorn squash

Roasted acorn squash deserves a place on your table this season. It’s easy to make, warming and hearty, and almost nutty in flavor.

Acorn squash is often overlooked when surrounded by its brighter squash cousins. Unlike butternut squash, it’s satisfyingly but not overtly sweet. Like pumpkin, it plays nicely with autumnal spices, including cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger.

If you’ve already had your fill of the other squash varieties this fall, give acorn squash a try!

how to prepare acorn squash for roasting

Halved and roasted acorn squash makes a beautifully simple side dish. It’s worthy of your Thanksgiving table, but easy enough for a regular weeknight dinner.

Today, I’m showing you how to prepare perfectly roasted acorn squash, with caramelized edges and tender insides. The method is very similar to roasted spaghetti squash. Let’s get to it.

Continue to the recipe...

The post Perfect Roasted Acorn Squash appeared first on Cookie and Kate.

Best Baked Potato

Meet the baked potato of my dreams! These baked potatoes are fluffy on the inside and crisp on the outside. They’re exactly the kind of baked potato…

The post Best Baked Potato appeared first on Cookie and Kate.

baked potato recipe

Meet the baked potato of my dreams! These baked potatoes are fluffy on the inside and crisp on the outside. They’re exactly the kind of baked potato I’ve been craving. If you share my definition of what a baked potato should be, you could call these potatoes perfect.

I baked potatoes every which way to arrive at this recipe. I tried various baking temperatures, different crisping methods, and even analyzed how and when to slice open those beautiful baked spuds.

potatoes before and after baking

If you’re accustomed to run-of-the-mill baked potatoes, this might sound like a silly amount of effort. But if you have savored the glorious contrast between a crispy potato exterior and fluffy interior, you know there must be a trick to it.

The good news is that baking the perfect potato isn’t complicated when you follow this method. There’s not much better than a piping hot baked potato on a chilly day, so preheat that oven already!

Continue to the recipe...

The post Best Baked Potato appeared first on Cookie and Kate.

Perfect Baked Apples

Craving something sweet? These baked apples are a delightful dessert featuring seasonal fruit. They taste like an apple crisp but look much cuter. This baked apple recipe…

The post Perfect Baked Apples appeared first on Cookie and Kate.

best baked apples recipe

Craving something sweet? These baked apples are a delightful dessert featuring seasonal fruit. They taste like an apple crisp but look much cuter.

This baked apple recipe is all in the technique, but it’s not complicated. I’ll walk you through it below.

baked apple ingredients

You’ll need a short list of ingredients to make this recipe—apples, oats, coconut or brown sugar, optional pecans or walnuts, and butter. We’ll add a little bit of cinnamon and salt to take the flavor over the top.

Serve these wholesome baked apples with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or creamy yogurt. They’re sweet enough to taste like a treat, but wholesome at the same time. Serve your baked apples as a special dessert, or make them as a fun weekend project!

Continue to the recipe...

The post Perfect Baked Apples appeared first on Cookie and Kate.

Favorite Chickpea Salad

Have you met my all-time favorite chickpea salad recipe? Sure, I have many beloved chickpea salads on the blog already, but this is my tried-and-true favorite from…

The post Favorite Chickpea Salad appeared first on Cookie and Kate.

best chickpea salad recipe

Have you met my all-time favorite chickpea salad recipe? Sure, I have many beloved chickpea salads on the blog already, but this is my tried-and-true favorite from my cookbook, Love Real Food. In the book, I called it the “Outrageous Herbaceous Chickpea Salad,” which is exactly right!

“Here’s a simple chickpea salad that I could eat every single day. It’s bursting with fresh Mediterranean flavors, thanks to chopped bell pepper, parsley, red onion, and celery. Lemon and garlic take it from tasty to transcendent. This salad packs well, so it’s perfect for potlucks and picnics. It’s also a great lunch option, so long as your serving is large enough…”

chickpea salad ingredients

I love this recipe as much today as I did when I created the recipe several years ago. In fact, I stand behind all of the cookbook recipes, and it makes me so happy to hear that you’re cooking from the book!

I’m truly a healthier eater when I have this salad in the fridge. It’s the perfect hearty side salad or mid-afternoon snack. Pile it onto a bed of greens, or cooked whole grains like farro or quinoa, or even onto your scrambled eggs or cheese nachos. You can’t go wrong with this one.

Continue to the recipe...

The post Favorite Chickpea Salad appeared first on Cookie and Kate.

How to Grill Pizza

Grilled pizza is so fun to make! I love grilling pizzas on hot days because I don’t have to crank up the oven to high heat. Grilled…

The post How to Grill Pizza appeared first on Cookie and Kate.

grilled pizza recipe

Grilled pizza is so fun to make! I love grilling pizzas on hot days because I don’t have to crank up the oven to high heat. Grilled pizza makes dinnertime feel like an event, and it’s simple enough to manage on a weeknight.

Grilled pizza is especially doable when you start with my Easy Whole Wheat Pizza Dough, which comes together in a flash—no rising time required—and grills beautifully.

pizza dough for grilling

Today, I’m sharing a full tutorial on how to grill pizza. As you’ll see, grilled pizzas differ a bit in technique from oven-baked pizzas.

Choose your toppings wisely (you’ll find suggestions below) and follow my recipe until you get the hang of it. Then, you’ll be a grilled pizza champion!

Continue to the recipe...

The post How to Grill Pizza appeared first on Cookie and Kate.

Greek Salad Dressing

Who doesn’t love a great Greek salad? Make your own starting with this Greek salad dressing recipe. This dressing is bold, zippy and delicious. It’s super easy…

The post Greek Salad Dressing appeared first on Cookie and Kate.

Greek dressing recipe

Who doesn’t love a great Greek salad? Make your own starting with this Greek salad dressing recipe. This dressing is bold, zippy and delicious. It’s super easy to whisk together at home with basic pantry ingredients.

This Greek vinaigrette is made simply with olive oil, red wine vinegar, fresh garlic, dried oregano and salt and pepper. We’ll add a touch of honey or maple syrup to balance the flavors. That’s it! The end result tastes just like the dressings I’ve enjoyed in Greece.

Greek dressing ingredients

Homemade salad dressings always taste so fresh and vibrant—they’re simply superior to store-bought dressings and keep well for a week in the fridge. Plus, you can use healthy ingredients, like extra-virgin olive oil, and avoid unnecessary preservatives. Homemade dressings are a win all around, and this one is ready in just five minutes!

Enjoy this dressing on my Chopped Greek Salad, or improvise your own salad with fresh ingredients you have on hand. You’ll find a list of my suggested salad ingredients below, and keep an eye out for a fresh summer salad featuring this dressing later this week.

Continue to the recipe...

The post Greek Salad Dressing appeared first on Cookie and Kate.

Margherita Pizza

Pizza always makes a bad day feel better, and there’s nothing nicer than a perfect slice of margherita pizza. Now you can make this recipe at home…

The post Margherita Pizza appeared first on Cookie and Kate.

margherita pizza recipe

Pizza always makes a bad day feel better, and there’s nothing nicer than a perfect slice of margherita pizza. Now you can make this recipe at home any time the craving strikes!

Pizza margherita, as the Italians call it, is a simple pizza hailing from Naples. When done right, margherita pizza features a bubbly crust, crushed San Marzano tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella and basil, a drizzle of olive oil, and a sprinkle of salt. That is all.

margherita pizza ingredients

Sure, you could add some tomato if you’d like, but only if the tomato is truly ripe, red and worthy. Authentic Neapolitan pizza margherita doesn’t require fresh tomato. Try making this pizza as written, and you won’t miss the tomato on top. Sometimes less is more.

This pizza is simple, fresh and a guaranteed crowd pleaser. It’s a delight to make and even better to eat. How about pizza tonight?

Continue to the recipe...

The post Margherita Pizza appeared first on Cookie and Kate.

Roasted Cauliflower Steak

Tired of regular roasted cauliflower? Try cauliflower “steaks” instead! Cauliflower steak makes a strong presentation at the dinner table. Think of it more as a side dish…

The post Roasted Cauliflower Steak appeared first on Cookie and Kate.

cauliflower steak with gremolata

Tired of regular roasted cauliflower? Try cauliflower “steaks” instead! Cauliflower steak makes a strong presentation at the dinner table. Think of it more as a side dish or meal component than a protein-rich steak—after all, we’re talking about roasted slabs of cauliflower.

You can serve these cauliflower steaks as a simple side dish topped with gremolata or a sprinkle of parsley. Or, create a restaurant-worthy vegetarian meal out of them. Start with a simple base of whole grains and chickpeas or lentils, then top it with cauliflower steak and a vibrant homemade sauce. Beautiful!

how to slice cauliflower steak

Cauliflower steaks require careful cauliflower selection and slicing. Know that the outer slabs will likely fall apart into large florets, which are still very nice. Cauliflower steaks are a bit more work than simple roasted cauliflower, but they’re worth the effort.

If you follow my recipe while maintaining reasonable expectations, you’ll be plenty satisfied by your results. Keep reading for all of my cauliflower steak tips and tricks!

Continue to the recipe...

The post Roasted Cauliflower Steak appeared first on Cookie and Kate.

Esquites (Mexican Street Corn Salad)

Are you familiar with esquites? Also known as elote en vaso, esquites are an experience you’ll remember. Esquites are Mexican street corn (elote) cut off the cob,…

The post Esquites (Mexican Street Corn Salad) appeared first on Cookie and Kate.

esquites recipe

Are you familiar with esquites? Also known as elote en vaso, esquites are an experience you’ll remember. Esquites are Mexican street corn (elote) cut off the cob, served in salad form.

Esquites are creamy, tangy, spicy, sweet and savory all at once. In other words, they’re completely irresistible. This elote recipe was the best recipe to come off our grill last summer, and I’m excited to share this stovetop variation with you.

how to make esquites

Esquites share the same ingredients with elote: fresh corn, mayonnaise, cilantro, chili powder, lime and crumbled Cotija cheese. The combination is sublime, and this variation is much easier to eat. I’ve enjoyed both options in Mexico City and love making them at home. I’m going to cook this simple salad all summer and through the rest of the year.

Esquites have one strong cooking advantage over elote—you can start with frozen corn kernels, which really cuts down on preparation time! We’ll just cook the frozen corn in a hot skillet until it’s seared and delicious. If you’re using frozen corn, you can prepare this dish in about twenty minutes, from start to finish.

Continue to the recipe...

The post Esquites (Mexican Street Corn Salad) appeared first on Cookie and Kate.

Simple Strawberry Smoothie

You’re going to love this strawberry smoothie. This recipe is cold, creamy and satisfying, and the nutty strawberry flavor is truly crave-worthy. In their most basic form,…

The post Simple Strawberry Smoothie appeared first on Cookie and Kate.

simple strawberry smoothie recipe

You’re going to love this strawberry smoothie. This recipe is cold, creamy and satisfying, and the nutty strawberry flavor is truly crave-worthy.

In their most basic form, these strawberry smoothies require just four ingredients—frozen strawberries, frozen bananas, almond milk and almond butter.

This smoothie recipe tastes like a strawberry milkshake, and you can make it for breakfast! I’ll be sipping on these pink drinks all summer, and I hope the recipe becomes a staple in your home as well.

strawberry smoothie ingredients

If you ask me, smoothies should be super simple. I don’t want to pull a bunch of ingredients out of my fridge and pantry every morning just for a smoothie. I am not a morning person! Plus, these smoothies are easy to whip up in the afternoon or after dinner if you get a craving for a sweet treat.

You can change up the recipe by adding flax or oats for a nutrition boost, or a light drizzle of maple syrup to make them taste even more dessert-like. I’m plenty satisfied with the four-ingredient formula, though, and I think you will be, too!

Continue to the recipe...

The post Simple Strawberry Smoothie appeared first on Cookie and Kate.