All Recipes

There’s a certain smell that instantly makes a house feel “settled.” For me, it’s garlic warming up in oil—like the kitchen is clocking in for its shift. Add parmesan to that and suddenly everyone’s wandering in asking, “What are you making?” even if they just ate a snack ten minutes ago. These slow cooker garlic parmesan potatoes are my go-to when I want something warm and hearty but I’m not trying to babysit a pan. Midwest life taught me two things: potatoes are basically their own food group, and the best side dishes are the ones you can throw together …

There are desserts that feel like an event—layers, torches, chilled bowls, the whole production. And then there are desserts like this, the kind that quietly makes your kitchen smell like you’ve got your life together. Banana Foster Pudding takes me straight back to Sunday afternoons at my grandma’s. Not the “Pinterest Sunday.” The real one. Baseball on in the background, somebody opening the screen door a hundred times, and her cooking in that calm way that made it seem like nothing ever stressed her out (which… I now realize was a lie). She didn’t measure with precision; she measured with …

Okay, so… I wasn’t planning to share this. Not because it’s a secret or anything — I mean, it’s literally three ingredients. But because it’s so stupidly simple that I figured no one would care. Except last week, I posted a picture of my dinner on Instagram (with zero intention of bragging, mind you — I was just proud I made something that didn’t involve a microwave), and my DMs blew up. “What IS that?”“Wait, did you cook this?”“You made this?! Like, with real food?” Yes. Yes, I did. And now I’m sharing it, because I want all of us …

ok so listen.i’m not here to sell you on cauliflower. if you’re already like “ehh i don’t know…” — same. i’ve felt that way. cauliflower’s kind of the beige sweatpants of vegetables. it shows up everywhere, tries to be everything (rice? wings? crust?) and honestly… it’s kinda exhausted. but then one day, i just dropped a whole one in the slow cooker. no chopping. no roasting. no making it into something it’s not. just her. in all her weird brain-shaped glory.and. it. slapped. i didn’t expect it. i wasn’t even trying to be creative. i was tired. i had laundry …

There’s something about Midwestern kitchens — the kind with slightly outdated wallpaper, the hum of an old slow cooker on the counter, and the smell of something amazing that’s been simmering all day — that just feels right. This 5-ingredient salsa chicken? It’s straight from that world. I first made it on one of those days where you’re staring blankly into the fridge at 3 p.m. wondering what you’re doing with your life. I was tired. We had chicken. I had zero motivation to cook. But I also didn’t want to hear anyone say “what’s for dinner?” one more time. …

I wasn’t even planning to make bread. Honestly, I was just hungry and tired and not in the mood to make a real dinner. You know those evenings where your fridge is mostly condiments and a questionable lemon? That was me. Then I spotted a lone beer in the fridge and a half-bag of self-rising flour shoved behind a box of cereal, and something clicked. Bread. I’d seen people talk about “beer bread” before, but it always sounded like one of those Pinterest things that ends in disappointment. But I figured — worst case, I waste a beer I wasn’t …

Let me tell you a little secret. In my family, the turkey is not the star of Thanksgiving. I know, I know — that’s basically illegal in some households. But in ours? It’s always been the honey garlic pork loin bubbling away in the slow cooker that people come back for. We even gave it a nickname: Mom’s Thanksgiving Magic. Kinda dramatic, but trust me, it earned it. I remember one year — snow flurries tapping the kitchen window, my uncle trying (and failing) to carve a pumpkin pie with a steak knife — and in the corner, Mom’s old …

The recipe that made me fall in love with cabbage. Again. Alright, can I just say something? I was never planning to write a love letter to cabbage. And yet—here we are. Cabbage, to me, was always that one vegetable that kinda just existed. It showed up in soups, occasionally made a sad slaw appearance, and mostly hung around in the fridge until I forgot about it. But this recipe? This slow cooker garlic parmesan whole cabbage with lemon butter? This changed things. It’s the kind of meal that feels like it’s been passed down, even if you just made …

Let’s just be honest here. Some nights, I feel like I deserve a standing ovation just for putting actual food on the table. Not gourmet, not trendy, not even particularly photogenic—just real food, made by a real person who is tired but still wants to feed people they love. This is one of those recipes. It’s not flashy. There’s no glaze or garnish. But every time I make it—every time—someone at the table leans back, exhales with a little smile, and says, “Mmm. This is really good.” And in that tiny moment, it feels like everything’s okay. Garlic Parmesan Chicken.Slow …

Or: That time I accidentally made something so good it became a tradition. Okay, here’s the thing.I wasn’t trying to impress anyone when I made this. I wasn’t hosting a dinner party, and I definitely wasn’t wearing makeup. It was one of those days — the kind where you wake up tired, the coffee tastes weird, and the laundry has been in the dryer so long it’s just part of the furniture now. But I had a few sweet potatoes sitting on the counter, and I thought: What if I just sliced these up real thin, poured something sweet and …