8 Readers Share the Recipes They Know by Heart

For me it’s a Belgian waffle recipe from a blog I found years ago. Every Saturday morning I make waffles with my 2 year old, and he loves to help me mix the ingredients together. It’s really amazing to see how good he’s gotten at helping over the past year. I love that we have this special activity to do together every weekend.

I have the Mother-in-Law Salmon recipe memorised that you published like a decade ago! It’s my favourite way to do salmon!

Carolina Gelen’s Beans Alla Vodka are a staple in our house! It’s quick, and so SO good. Most of the time I slice up some kielbasa and add that in for some added protein.

Made the tomato sauce this weekend and my goodness gracious!! It’s going in my regular rotation! Thanks Ashley!

When I’m craving “Mid-West style Mexican” (midwesterners IYKYK) but want veggies, I make these Sweet Potatoe and Black Bean Enchiladas. I’ve shared this recipe a million times over with friends and family, and it never misses! Ingredients: -2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed -1/2 red onion finely chopped -1 can black beans drained but not rinsed -3 garlic cloves minced -1.5 tbsp cumin -1 tsp chili seasoning -Red enchilada sauce (usually about 4 cups) -Mexican style shredded cheese (1 bag give or take) -Large flour tortillas 1. Preheat oven to 375. 2. Heat 2 tbsp oil over medium heat in your largest pan. Add sweet potatoes and onion, season with salt and pepper, a saute for 3 min. 3. Add garlic, 1 tsbp water, and cover for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened. 4. Remove lid, lower heat to medium-low, and add spices, cooking for 1-2 min. Add black beans, stirring occasioanlly for 3 min. Turn off heat. 5. In 9×13 casserole dish or baking pan, pour half cup of red enchilada sauce and coat bottom of pan evenly. 6. To assemble: 1 spoonful of filling into a tortilla, a drizzle of red sauce, a sprinkle of cheese. Roll up and place seam side down into pan. 7. Once enchiladas are assembled in pan, take remaining red sauce and pour over evenly to coat enchiladas. Take remaining shredded cheese and cover evenly on top of sauce. 8. Bake at 375 for 25 min. 9. Top with plain greek yogurt or sour cream and avocado slices! Enjoy!

NYT One Pot Coconut turmeric rice with greens that steam as the rice cooks–broccoli or baby bok choi work well too, and I add frozen edamame. The toasted coconut-sesame topping is crave worthy! That with a side of Love & Lemons air fryer tofu. Its an easy, quick meal that doesn’t taste like a shortcut. My 9 yr old twins ask for it so often I started making it from memory.

A new recipe to me, but one that I already have memorized, is the NYT Cooking broccoli/egg/rice bowl. It’s stupid easy, and so delicious. Plus, if you have a rice maker you use weekly (like us), that means you’ll already have rice so you just need to pan roast some broccoli, fry an egg, and add a dribble of soy sauce. We throw on the TJ chili flakes too, and it it’s umami all over the place.

This ugly-but-delicious cabbage farro soup from Six Seasons (reviewed by Smitten Kitchen https://smittenkitchen.com/2019/01/cozy-cabbage-and-farro-soup/) slaps so hard. I make it with bone broth, feel like a thrifty peasant nonna, and want seconds every time

I got this crockpot chicken tortilla soup recipe from a coworker almost two decades ago and have made it multiple times a year since. I have no idea where it originated from, but it is amazing and it freezes well and tastes even better the next day. I don’t even know if you’d consider it a recipe it’s so easy and so good! :) 1 chopped onion (1) 16 oz. can chili beans (1) 15 oz. can black beans (1) 15 oz. can whole kernel corn (drained) (1) 8 oz. can tomato sauce (1) 12 oz. can chicken broth or beer (2) 10 oz. cans diced tomatoes with green chilies 1 pkg. taco seasoning 3 spoonfuls hot sauce (optional) 4 or 5 frozen boneless/skinless chicken breasts (or approx. 10 boneless/skinless chicken tenders) Pour onion, all canned items, taco seasoning & hot sauce in a crock pot and stir to blend. Lay frozen chicken breasts on top of the mixture, pressing down slightly until just covered by the other ingredients. Set crock pot on low heat, cover and cook for 5 hours. Remove chicken and chop/shred. Put chicken back into the soup and continue to cook for 2 more hours. Garnish with whatever sounds good or whatever you have: shredded cheese, sour cream, tortilla chips, bread…

I have my bread recipe memorized. It makes 2 loaves so I make it a couple of times a week. My hubby and kids (18 and 23) also know how to make it…. though I think they dig out the recipe. My kids even made bread when hubby and I were gone for a week instead of buying it!

Our household makes Dorie Greenspan’s Swedish Visiting Cake often enough that none of us needs a recipe anymore https://newengland.com/food/desserts/dorie-greenspan-swedish-visiting-cake/

Turkey Burgers 2lbs ground turkey 2 eggs 1 tsp onion powder 1tsp garlic powder 1 tsp worshestire sauce 2 Tblspn Dijon mustard 2/3 cup bread crumbs salt/pepper Mix all ingredients in a bowl until combined, form 1/4 in patties, place on oiled pan over medium heat about 6 minutes each side. Easy to freeze as well. Also NYT sheet pan gnocchi with sausage and broccoli

I rarely cook from recipes. One easy favorite that comes to mind is for roasted broccoli. Spray a sheet pan or pyrex with oil. Place frozen broccoli on top in a single layer. Bake at 450° F until you see the tips of the broccoli turn brown/ there’s no water left in the pan. Let cool and drizzle with oyster sauce. This is my go to when I bring a side somewhere. Easy peasy crunchy and yummy.

My dad’s garlic spaghetti! The original version came from the “Blue Collar Food” cookbook years ago , but Daddy could never let a recipe go untweaked. His version is my perfect comfort food, and so easy (other than slicing all that garlic) but you can’t have too many crispy garlic pieces!

I’ve been making this salmon for so many years now, I have it memorized. Started cooking it when my husband and I first moved in together in our 20’s and now our 4 year old eats it with us! She claims to hate carrots but she eats every bite of this dinner. https://www.bigoven.com/recipe/lemony-roasted-salmon-with-white-wine-couscous/1607666

Salad looks good but IMO it’s not a Caesar salad without anchovies!

I’ve memorized the recipe (and ratios) for baking powder biscuits, pancakes and a basic muffin recipe. Knowing the ratios makes it easier to scale up or down, so that I can make biscuits for 2 people or 10 without having to get out a calculator. It’s low-key kitchen magic. (As far as cooking, I am in the “make it once, riff on it forever” club. At the end of the workday I’m tired; I don’t need a recipe bossing me around!)

Eggplant Pamesean: my go to comfort food all fall and winter. Might make one last batch this week!

Friends go gaga whenever I make these Snickerdoodle cookies. It’s silly how simple yet delicious they are. 1 box yellow cake mix 2 eggs 1/2 cup vegetable oil 1/4 cup sugar 1 tbsp ground cinnamon Instructions In a large bowl, combine the dry cake mix, eggs and oil until well incorporated. Refrigerate the dough for about an hour (optional but they won’t flatten as much if you chill the dough first). Preheat oven to 350° F and line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. In a small bowl, mix together the cinnamon and sugar. Shape the dough into about two dozen 1 inch balls, then roll them around in the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Place the dough balls onto your baking sheets with plenty of room to spread. Bake for 8-12 minutes or until done. Resist over baking them! The cookies should still be super soft when you take them out of the oven.

Smitten Kitchen white pork ragu from her most recent book, Smitten Kitchen Keepers. This is the BEST THING I MAKE. It’s very few ingredients that I try to always have on hand – onion, garlic, carrots, celery, milk, ground pork, chicken broth (I just keep a jar of better than bouillon), white wine, bay leaf, pasta. It calls for milk AND heavy cream but I rarely have either in my fridge – my routine is to buy a large carton of heavy cream, freeze it in quarter cup portions (I know they make silicone trays but I usually just use those foil cupcake holders, freeze on a cookie sheet, then peel off and put in a gallon bag) and then use water to thin some of that cream out for the milk part. It is better and better the longer you cook it, if the meat gets a tiny bit overbrowned, just perfection. Great for guests or a solo night on the couch, nothing better than a bubbling pot of sauce on the stove on a Sunday afternoon. Leftovers are good not great reheated, I often will eat them cold for breakfast but I’m a weirdo. The recipe is posted online but you should really buy the book! https://kristinsfavoriterecipes.wordpress.com/2023/02/05/smitten-kitchen-fettuccine-with-white-ragu/

Hetty Lui McKinnon’s Soy Sauce Noodles with Cabbage and Fried Eggs! It is pure comfort food while also being nourishing and endlessly adaptable – it is my go-to dinner when I’m cooking for myself, to the point where my husband refers to it as the home-alone-noodles :-)

Hi Cup of Jo community! I am in search a recipe for cakey chocolate chip cookies (preferably with cocoa powder, so the whole cookie is brown). Would anyone happen to have any recommendations? Instead of cookies that are gooey in the centre or crispy throughout, these cookies should almost crumble when bitten. I had it in a cafe once and fell in love with the texture, but couldn’t find similar cookies elsewhere!

Easy Vegan Paneer with Tofu. https://youtu.be/QIO4dbK64tc?si=XwrxhQzdLgpyD_uk . I’m not a Vegan but I have this on repeat because it’s easy and yummy

Alison Roman’s blueberry muffin recipe. Best with fresh from the farm blueberries in July but frozen works just fine too. I sub sour cream for the buttermilk/yogurt https://www.alisoneroman.com/recipes/blueberry-muffins-3/

I made the cookies today, waiting for my little boy to come home from school and we’ll have a picnic in the garden, enjoying the rare british sunshine!

I know my recipe for chili by heart, It is sometimes a weekly recipe in my house and originally got it from a Disney T1D cookbook but have made so many changes to it since then. I can also make my mother in law’s Portuguese Rice, although don’t know how authentic it is, it is pure comfort food in my house. Also her beef rice soup.

My husband is the cook of the house, but one of the recipes that I make and know by heart is a quiche. Reheats so well for lunches at work and has impressed many people for brunch at our house even though it’s so simple! I don’t even know where the recipe originated from at this point, and I’ve modified it to fit my 10″ glass pie plate. Preheat the oven to 375 F Pillsbury pie crust, rolled out over flour and placed in the pie plate, press the edges down and fold them under for any excess pie crust Bake the pie crust for 8 minutes on the bottom rack In a 4 cup measuring cup, crack 5 large eggs and mix Add milk (we have 1% on hand) to the measuring cup so the wet mixture is 2-1/4 cups total Pour into a mixing bowl Add 8 oz shredded mozzarella cheese, diced canadian bacon (one package), a generous amount of pat-dried diced roasted red pepper (about half of a large jar) Saute a large spoonful of minced garlic in butter. Optional to add diced mushrooms Add garlic mixture to mixing bowl Sprinkle with Italian Seasoning, maybe a 1/2 to 1 tsp? This is to taste! Mix everything together In the bottom of the pre-baked pie crust, add a layer of fresh spinach. Pour the egg/cheese/meat/vegetable mixture over the spinach Bake at 375 on the bottom rack for 35-40 minutes, until the center is no longer jiggly Allow to continue to set once it comes out of the oven. Usually not ready to serve for at least 30 minutes We usually eat it with a side of roasted broccoli (Ina Garten’s recipe! Also know this one by heart!) or a side salad with balsamic vinaigrette dressing.

I just learned that I can make quinoa in our rice cooker, and it’s been life-changing. I rinse the quinoa, pop it in the rice cooker, walk away, and return to perfect quinoa. Also- I use my kitchen-aid stand mixer to massage kale salad (using the dough hook).

Thirty years ago, I learned to make crepes from a Belgian woman, and I still use the same recipe. !/3 c milk 1/3 c flour 1 egg dash of salt Mix with an immersion blender

Molly baz’s caesar salad is a family favorite. my adolescent boys actually DEVOUR it? I used to be so afraid of making caesar dressing but now I have it on and in my brain. ooh going to make it tonight…. our family’s pancake recipe is an old Martha Stewart whole wheat buttermilk pancake recipe that is just perfect. makes great waffles too. but it’s hard to find online sadly…

I made those beans tonight with a green salad and also baked potatoes with lots of butter. So good!

Biscuits for breakfast most Sundays, so have the recipe memorized. I have to get the ingredients all out at the start after forgetting the salt once…and only once.

I know Catherine Newman’s Marzipan Blondie recipe by heart and make them all. the. time. I even blurted this fact out her at a book reading I attended! She was so gracious (of course) but was probably like, huh?

I get inspiration from recipes, but don’t ever really follow them. Another ‘freestyle cook.’ Also, I just wanted to say, the sandwich Elizabeth shared looks amazing and made me want to reread Catherine Newman’s book ‘Sandwich’. <3

I love seeing all the Smitten Kitchen fans here, as I am one as well. My favorite recipe I know from heart is the cream sauce from Kathleen Flinn’s “Kitchen Counter Cooking School,” a wonderful memoir/cookbook/skills book recounting Flinn’s time teaching women basic cooking skills and recipes. All her recipes and flavor profiles are excellent, and I highly recommend the book as a starting point if you want to learn how to cook a few basic things very well.

Mine is my 6 ingredient pancake recipe: 1 cup flour 1 tsp baking powder 1 pinch salt 1 Tbsp sugar 1 egg 1 cup milk It’s a great base to add whatever ingredients or flavors you like. You can toss in chopped fresh or frozen thawed fruit, a handful of rolled oats or other grains, or whatever floats your boat. I love that it’s easy to remember, foolproof, and infinitely customizable.

This is probably an unpopular opinion, but I really do not like Marcella Hazan’s tomato sauce. In our house, we are obsessed with Melissa Clark’s Simple Tomato Sauce. 1/4 extra-virgin olive oil 7 good-sized cloves of garlic, thinly sliced 28-oz can crushed tomatoes (regular or with basil) 1 teasp salt a shake or two of red pepper flakes 2 sprigs fresh basil (best for pasta, meatballs, etc) OR 2 teasp dried oregano (best for pizza) Heat oil on medium low. Add garlic until it’s fragrant (don’t let brown). Add tomatoes, salt, and red pepper flakes. Nestle basil sprigs in and cover with sauce (OR add dried oregano and stir). Turn heat down and simmer for 20 minutes. Fish out basil sprigs if using. Even my husband has it memorized! We often pair it with Smitten Kitchen’s Everyday Meatballs (https://smittenkitchen.com/2016/02/everyday-meatballs/).

I often make a lasagna from scratch with no recipe and people are usually amazed, which I do not understand! Lasagna could not be easier! My keys for making it dead easy: – use the oven-ready noodles (slippery noodles have attitude – no thank you) – I blend cottage cheese in the food processor and use that as the cheese! Ricotta gets too watery and cottage cheese unblended is unhinged-looking. You can blend it up with pesto if you have any. – I often use my own marinara sauce – which is tomatoes simmered with lots of other sneaky vegetables and blended up – but I also have zero qualms about using jar sauce if needed! – The final piece is to use shredded mozz AND a little parm on top! Sprinkle on some thyme leaves and live your best life! No recipe required!

Chana masala from Molly Wizenburg’s blog Orangette Coconut-milk braised chicken thighs from Bon Appetit Grain-free chocolate zucchini cake from Pamela Salzman Miso-coconut milk salmon curry from NYT

There’s not much I bake without double-checking the recipe because I’m afraid of misremembering the leavening, but there’s not much I cook (at least on weeknights) with a recipe. A few of our standards are Ali Slagle’s cheesy white bean tomato bake from the NYT, broccoli+tofu+peanut sauce over rice, sipping once, sipping twice, sipping chicken soup with rice, black bean tacos, various iterations on tomato sauce for pasta, chicken schnitzel with mashed potatoes. Oh, and as others have said, granola, a batch nearly every week. 4 cups oats:2 cups nuts:1 cup seeds:1/2 cup coconut: 1/2 cup honey: 1/3 cup olive oil: 2 tsp cinnamon: 1 tsp salt. 300 for 45 minutes, stir every 15 minutes.

As someone who enjoys cooking (most of the time), and has been largely responsible for feeding the fam for many years, I have quite a few recipes committed to memory (Nigella Lawson’s teriyaki marinade, standard beef stew, classic chicken soup, etc.), but here I give a particular shout-out to the Swedish pancake recipe from The Little Library Cookbook by Kate Young. It’s a great recipe for crepe-style pancakes, generous enough to feed all four of us, including two hungry teenage boys, but the book itself is a treasure. The author, an avid reader all her life, has picked 100 books in which food is mentioned, whether in passing or as a plot point, and has devised recipes for those that took her fancy. As well as the recipes, Kate has written charming explanations for each inclusion, so not only do you have 100 recipes to try, you have an extensive list of book recommendations! I feel like there are folk in the Cup of Jo community who might really love this book …

I once had a chicken chili that my mom’s friend made and loved it so much I was astounded when she gave me the “recipe” and it’s literally so easy that it barely counts as a recipe. In your slow cooker chuck in: boneless skinless chicken thighs (I usually use 4-6), a jar of salsa (whatever is your favorite), two cans of cannellini beans or great northern beans with whatever liquid they have, a bunch of shredded cheese (cheddar, cheddar jack, spicy jack, all work great). Stir it up, let it cook all day, shred the chicken with two forks. Serve it with sour cream or hot sauce, green onions, crusty bread or tortilla chips. Plus, I love coming home from work and dinner is already done!

This fabulous, crispy baked tofu recipe: https://www.gimmesomeoven.com/baked-tofu/ The cornstarch works crispifying miracles, and even my meat-loving father gets excited about “those tofu dodgers,” and grabs them by the handful to pop into his mouth. Pretty much anytime a recipe calls for tofu, I do this instead. I don’t bother with pressing the tofu. I just cook it longer (at 15-20 minutes, stir, then 12-20 more probably) and hotter (425 degrees F), until it has reached perfection.

Sandwich looks amazing. But…how do you make a fresh sandwich like that without wasting a ton of produce? And if you’re not wasting it, then you’re eating the same sandwich for like a week, as the ingredients get less and less fresh… if you’re feeding a crowd, then it makes sense!

If you have a package of flour tortillas and some chicken preferably cooked and ready to go in your fridge you can make many things with it! My go-to with the tortilla/chicken is a quesadilla, a buffalo chicken or chicken salad wrap. You can have delicious and tasty in a snap!

Very simple but Change Your Life Chicken by the Lazy Genius is one I can do by heart. I often switch up the vegetables. It’s crowd pleaser!

I make these cookies weekly in my house- they are one of my absolute favorite things to snack on. I bring them to girls weekends, make them for my sisters quite frequently… they are so incredibly versatile – use whatever flour you have, add a nut butter, swap the fruit, swap the nuts. I’ve added an egg before (didn’t love), used butter instead (fine), used canola oil (really good…). Highly highly recommend. https://cupofjo.com/2024/09/04/morning-cookies-for-the-backpack/

I have an old Crepes of Wrath recipe for chocolate chip cookies memorized (which is good because her blog is no longer active, though I think she has posted it on social media). It is perfection with so many little specific things (an extra egg yolk, bread flour, melted butter, baking soda only, a tiny bit of corn syrup thrown in for texture and crackle tops, topped with sea salt). They are great fresh, but the dough is even better aged a few days. If I have a bad day, I make them from memory and eat several spoonfuls of dough. Pure comfort and makes me feel like a kid again. I feel like it is just good for your mental health to have a few comfort food recipes memorized so you don’t have to use your brain decide what to make and how to make it.

Elisabeth’s sandwich, wow! I love these stories so much, to be able to cook at least one thing well is to have the tool to create anchoring memories, nourishing ourselves, our beloved and even strangers joining at our table. My contribution is Felicity Cloake’s Basque Cheesecake -straightforward and utter perfection. https://www.theguardian.com/food/2021/dec/01/how-to-make-the-perfect-basque-cheesecake-recipe-felicity-cloake

I make pancakes out of my brain all the time and have recently started adding ricotta or yogurt when i have it. i use a small mug for measuring flour and liquid and then eyeball the baking powder and baking soda and add an egg and whatever flavoring (currently orange blossom water) and some honey or sugar. they always turn out even if their crumb and tenderness differs on the day. I also make okonomiyaki to use up veg—it is more a veggie pancake with sauces but enh. I love it.

Oh! That’s the tomato sauce recipe my husband uses! He started making it a couple months ago and I swear we have it every 7-10 days.

Here’s another kale salad recipe that’s so easy to make. 2 tbs evo, 1 tsp fish sauce, squeeze of half lemon. Mix and then massage the kale in this dressing dressing. Sprinkle 1/2 cup grated Parmesan with a cup of smashed croutons.

Olive oil granola from Food 52 Genius; goat cheese lemon pasta (adapted endlessly) from Smitten Kitchen; and the cocoa powder brownies (plus basically every other recipe) in Yossy Arefi’s Snacking Bakes

NYT Everyday Pancakes Shutterbean’s bacon friend rice Smitten Kitchen’s potatos that go with her turkey meatloaf recipe.

I know Smitten Kitchen’s “Greens, Orzo and Meatball” soup by heart, slightly adapted to fit my needs. If it’s been a few months, I’ll pull up the recipe to check, but that’s rare. The others I know by heart are Jenny’s “Avgolemono” (aka, the 15 minute keeper) and Love and Lemon’s “Shells & Roasted Cauliflower” pasta. Finally, I have my aunt’s ex-husband’s spiked eggnog recipe down pat. It’s soooo good.

In high school I had the Toll House Chocolate Chip cookie recipe memorized and I felt like a rockstar. I’d make it almost monthly, leaving in my unlocked locker for classmates. Now I absolutely have my go-to recipes, but memorizing anything with measurements…not for this frazzled mom brain! I’d say the closest I am is Smitten Kitchen’s Favorite Brownies. I know it requires 3 oz of unsweetened chocolate, so that’s what I make sure I have when the craving strikes.

Ella Risbridger’s easy minestrone: Put the kettle on. Sautée mirepoix (2 carrots/2 celery/lg onion0 add some minced garlic/chili flakes/crushed thyme then add a 14 oz can diced tomatoes to pot & add a t of Better Than Bullion to the empty tomato can with your hot water from the kettle. Don’t put that water in just yet–instead, add a can of cannellini beans and swish the broth into that can–now dump water into pot, plus any addition veg you need to use up. Bring to a boil, add in a handful of orzo or other tiny pasta, maybe a Parm rind if you have one and some bay leaves, salt & pepper to taste, bring to a boil; simmer till pasta is cooked.

Ina Garten’s Lemon Chicken with Croutons! It’s the best comfort food. https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/lemon-chicken-with-croutons-recipe-1943429

I’ve perfected my super easy, low prep veggie burger game with some Trader Joe’s shortcuts. An earlier version of me would never dare buy pre-cut veggies but the version of me with a baby in the house would pay double for the convenience. I saute 1 container of the TJs mire poix with salt and pepper, then give it a few blitzes in the food processor along with a box of their pre-cooked lentils. Add in an egg and some breadcrumbs, then form into patties and bake on a sheet pan. I usually do 375 for like 25 min? Who really knows, I just bake em until they’re done! We enjoy the first two for dinner and the rest get frozen for future meals. It’s super easy to add in whatever languishing fridge/freezer veg needs using up too!

I make these lentils almost every weekend, we put it over salmon and eat with some greek yogurt. it’s a super easy pantry recipe, solid hit with the family and guests, including littles! https://rainbowplantlife.com/red-lentil-soup/

Mine is probably Helen Rosner’s recipe for Roberto, A Soup from a New Yorker article (which, thankfully, I memorized before it got paywalled–I think it was freely available during the pandemic, when it was originally published). Basically: Dice an onion and chop some garlic. Brown all that off in some olive oil. Add a pound of Italian sausage taken out of the casings and brown that. Add 4 cups of liquid (water, stock, wine, whatever–I usually use chicken stock), a can of drained and rinsed white beans, and a can of crushed tomatoes and salt and pepper. Bring it to a boil, then turn the heat down and let it simmer for 20 minutes or so. While that’s happening, chop some kale. After 20 minutes, add the kale to the soup, cover it, and let it go for about five minutes or until the kale’s all wilty. Add a squeeze of lemon and some grated Parmesan. Soup! I’m single and live alone and will happily eat this for five or six meals in a row.

Pinch of Yum’s air fryer tofu, local milk’s biscuit recipe, and Sally’s artisan bread!

Always have on hand homemade granola to sprinkle on yogurt or give away as needed: Preheat oven to 350 degrees 3 cups oats 1/4 cup olive oil 1/4 cup honey or maple syrup tsp vanilla dash salt a pile of nuts added, maybe pumpkin seeds, sometimes coconut. mix well, spread on a silpat or baking sheet. toast for about 35 minutes Cool and add some dried fruit of choice.

Julia Turshen’s braised red cabbage and green apples from her cookbook, Simply Julia! Sometimes I add a big handful of raisins.

This is a favorite in our family: https://food52.com/recipes/68405-harissa-chicken-with-leeks-potatoes-and-yogurt. I have the Melissa Clark cookbook and it look so used by now, with handwritten notes, stains and creases …

Many of my favourite recipes that I make without a recipe use the “dreaded” cans of soup. They r seriously the most comforting, quick and easy meals to make. One example is mini meat loaves= 1 lb ground beef plus 1 can of condensed vegetable soup. Mix together. Put into muffin tin and bake. Serve with rice and veggie of choice.

The recipe that is my husband’s favorite (and everyone else who eats it), is sausage, beans and kale (SBK) that I found right here on your blog! Thank you :)

I have a kale salad recipe that I love – kale, pear, red onion, cucumber, the dressing is 4 parts lemon juice, 2 parts oil, 1 part maple syrup. Add some goat cheese and some croutons.

Instant Pot Chicken and Rice! Olive oil – enough to cover the base of the coat in a thin layer 2 cups-ish of diced onions, carrots, and celery 2 minced garlic cloves 1.5 cups of white rice 3 cups of chicken broth 2 lbs of BL/SL chicken thighs 2 tsp dried thyme + 1 tsp salt rubbed on the chicken Cooked in the Instant Pot on the poultry setting at high heat for 12 minutes! Once finished, add 1 cup of frozen peas This is the base recipe – there are so many variations (different spices, different veggies, brown rice or quinoa instead of white rice, etc.), but when we’re craving something simple and comforting, this is what I make.

Granola, which is obviously flexible anyway, but I’ve been riffing on the version in the classic Mennonite “More With Less” cookbook that my mom started making 50 years ago. Once you know the baking temp (around 275 degrees depending on your oven) and the proportions of oil+sweetener to dry ingredients you never have to look at the recipe again. Also, I truly do not understand why anyone buys granola. The pre-packaged stuff is insanely overpriced and usually terrible tasting. It takes 3-5 minutes to mix and 30 minutes to bake. You can leave the pan in the oven overnight to cool down and dump it in a serving box in the morning, especially if you baked it on parchment paper so it doesn’t stick.