During these shopping excursions, my mother taught me how to pick the best fruits and vegetables. Heavy oranges meant they were full of juice. If grapes were plump, they were good to go. Simply Recipes / Getty Images Anything with bruises was a red flag. Always pick the slender and long ones, she told me in Cantonese. Not the heaviest or biggest ones? Simply Recipes / Getty Images In the oven, long, slender sweet potatoes cook more evenly....

The easy one-pan meal will remind you of childhood dinners. As my kids got older, I wanted to introduce them to this classic meal from my childhood. Thats how this one-skillet cheesy hamburger pasta came to be one of my familys favorite recipes. Simply Recipes / Ciara Kehoe This recipe comes from years of experience with one-pot minimal-ingredient pastas. Everything cooks in a single skillet and takes less than 20 minutes to cook....

It’s already in your fridge. Ive traveled to Japan a few times, and the egg salad sandwiches are really that good. I was born in Montreal, so this Canadian pantry staple has always tasted like home. Simply Recipes / Mihaela Kozaric Sebrek For every two tablespoons of Kewpie mayo, shed balance it with one tablespoon of maple syrup. This mixture was enough to season four hard-boiled eggs. Another trick to making Mom’s egg salad is separating the egg whites from the yolks....

The best meatloaf ever is made with ground beef and pork sausage. Here’s how my dad always did it. This classic meatloaf recipe is one of the first recipes we put on Simply Recipes over ten years ago. Elise Bauer The Secret to a Great Meatloaf, According to Dad My dad’s trick to meatloaf? He mixes Italian pork sausage (half sweet, half spicy) in with ground beef. It’s no ordinary meatloaf....

Simply Recipes July is birthday month in my family. I dont blame her. Growing up, I wished that I could have a birthday to myself too. When I was young, every birthday was the same. The poor cake decorator squeezed every single name onto the surface of the cake. Those birthdays were beautiful. But those birthdays never belonged to justme.I envied my cousins and their birthdaysthey got to choose their own cake....

With a few key tips, youll nail it every time. You may be asking yourself, Why would something that came out of Seattle be called aDutchbaby? The reason I love this style of pancake so much is how fast it is. Simply Recipes / Mark Beahm Embrace your inner Rembrandt (see what I did there?) and let the crisp-yet-pillowy Dutch baby be your canvas. Foolproof Dutch Baby A Dutch baby is a perfect blank canvas for toppings of your choice....

Theyre crackly and crispy on the outside, creamy-dreamy on the inside. Add the sweet potatoes and toss to coat fully. Carefully remove the baking sheet from the oven. Simply Recipes / Photo by Robby Lozano / Food Styling by Julian Hensarling / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen Pour the sweet potato mixture onto the preheated baking sheet and spread it into an even layer. Remove from the oven and let cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then serve immediately....

Its all about the amount of chips. They can be soft and chewy, thin and crisp-edged, or thick and gooey. There are literally millions of CCC recipes out there. Simply Recipes / Getty Images I mean, not to roastSimply Recipes(okay, maybe just a little! Still, lets be honest for a second. Sometimes, even the so-called best CCC recipes leave you a bit underwhelmed, right? Simply Recipes / Getty Images Wheres the heavenly bite of chocolate promised?...

It starts with a secret setting on your Instant Pot. Simply Recipes / Getty Images What are the appliances that have a permanent spot on your kitchen counter? While others have come and gone, for over 10 years my Instant Pot has been a mainstay. Simply Recipes / Getty Images Of course, the food doesnt actually cook for zero time. What If it’s possible for you to’t Set Your Instant Pot to Zero Minutes?...

You probably already have these two ingredients on hand. Its such a big deal that we had three stuffings on the table one year. My brother-in-law brought his familys German-style stuffing, which involved liver sausage and about 20 other ingredients. Simply Recipes / Ciara Kehoe My sisters and my mom had to havecornbread and sausage stuffing. I broughtbread stuffing, but with my mother-in-law Jeannes two secret ingredients: apples and raisins....

The kids and adults don’t agree on their favorites. Simply Recipes / Nick Evans My local grocery stores have a large selection of hot dogs. (My family includes my wife, my two kids, and me!) Simply Recipes / Nick Evans We had clear favorites and let me just say, I was surprised by our top picks. Some brands have extra-long or extra-thick hot dog optionsI stuck to the bun-length, standard-sized hot dogs....

Its a rapidly growing space thatjustcaught my attention. They seem to be competing against the classic chicken nuggets and strips my family loves and find nostalgic. Are these plant-based versions actually any good? Simply Recipes / Wanda Abraham We needed to find out, so we set off on a taste test. My family is a chicken nugget family and my kidsages six and eightare expert nugget eaters. I wasnt picky and had no real qualifiers other than being able to find it in a store freezer....

From Whole Foods 365, Trader Joe’s, Bell & Evans, Tysons, Applegate, and more. Simply Recipes / Mark Beahm Frozen chicken nuggets arent just desperate kid dinners in our house. Id even argue thateveryonenot just parentsshould keep frozen chicken nuggets on hand for quick weeknight dinners. Simply Recipes / Mark Beahm Theyre delicious, nostalgic, and can be satisfying in both texture and flavor. This got me questioning the ones I had been buying for the last few years....