Spiral pasta catches and hold the bits of basil pesto. You can dress up the pesto and pasta with any number of ingredients. Cherry tomatoes, nuts, peas, and olive tapenade are what I had on hand for this particular version, but you could also add goat cheese, slivered almonds, sun-dried tomatoes, or snow peas. What’s your favorite summer pasta salad? Let us know in the comments. Never made pesto? Try our Basil Pesto recipe, a favorite!...

The casserole has ground beef, onions, peppers, and mushrooms. It’s tossed with cream cheese and provolone, topped with crispy croutons, and baked until the filling is piping hot and melty. Personally, I think of this as a hearty weekend dinner that I can casually prepare in the afternoon and pop in the oven while I’m doing chores or playing games with the kids. What’s in a Philly Cheesesteak Casserole? The sandwich version just has steak and onions, but I decided to boost it a bit for this casserole....

Wow! My tummy does a happy dance just thinking about making and eating this again. Radicchio is naturally a little bitter, but it loves being grilled or roasted, and it has a special affinity for balsamic vinegar and Parmesan cheese (see our grilled radicchio salad recipe). Combine those ingredients with the sweetness and substance of butternut squash and onions, and now your palate is firing on all levels - sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and umami....

I wanted it to be comfortingly familiar, yet exciting with a new twist. I added bursts of flavor and notes of caramel by using rum soaked raisins, warm spices, and turbinado sugar all of which are readily available in Jamaica. We served this bread simply sliced as part of the welcome spread of snacks for arriving guests, and it’s seriously perfect any time of day. Video: How to Make Rum Raisin Banana Bread This video is part of our Simply Kids Cook YouTube series....

Here, chicken is cut into thin strips and then bathed in a citrus marinade seasoned with chili powder, oregano, and cumin, the usual suspects in Mexican cooking. The orange and lime add sweetness, which also helps brown the vegetables and meat so they have a little charred flavor, too. An Easy Sheet Pan Supper One-pot and one-pan meals have been around for a long time and for good reason. Who doesn’t want to fix it and forget it with only one pot to clean?...

This sheet pan ratatouille is perfect for summer, when you don’t want to stand in front of a hot pot of classic ratatouille. It’s a mostly hands-off recipe—the vegetables roast for about 45 minutes—perfect for a weeknight supper. It’s easy enough for a casual family gathering and impressive enough for dinner guests. What is Ratatouille? Ratatouille is a classic French vegetable stew made with squash, eggplants, bell peppers, and tomatoes....

What we in the states usually call salsa fresca, a chunky salsa with chopped fresh tomatoes, onions and chiles, is something completely different. Looking for similar recipes in some of Diana Kennedy’s books I find several references to “salsa de jitomate” or simply, “tomato salsa”, and none for salsa fresca. But that’s not surprising. The names for dishes, and even ingredients, can vary widely, depending on where you are in the country....

I should have known, though, that nothing is 100 percent at the dinner table. Plus, it’s possible that I used hot chili powder for my version instead of mild chili powder, making my version on the spicy side. Good for me! Not good for children! But even if your fickle children boycott this one, the fajitas are still worth making. You can prep the shrimp in advance, toss everything on a hot grill pan or cast iron skillet, and have wonderful homemade fajitas in under 30 minutes....

Yep, I’m back with another barbecue creation. This time it’s a dark, rich sauce loaded with smoky flavor. I designed this to go with red meat, preferably beef, venison or bison, but I bet it’d work with pork or poultry, too. The two key ingredients in this sauce are chipotles in adobo and liquid smoke. Liquid smoke, which is essentially distilled smoke collected from moisture added while burning hickory — and it’s hickory smoke I use here — is available in most supermarkets....

The process is straightforward and repetitive, but it takes a long time. Creating a mature, active starter takes at least two weeks, maybe more depending on the exact conditions in which it is created. I’ve found that more than anything else, a lack of patience is what makes people give up on their Sourdough Starter. At first it may seem like nothing is happening, you’ll question why your starter isn’t rising or why you’re not seeing any changes at all but persevere and you’ll be rewarded with an active starter, one that if cared for will feed you for a lifetime....

This is a beloved sweet treat throughout England as soon as strawberries are in season. One bite tells you why. Soft clouds of unsweetened whipped cream envelop crunchy sweet chunks of broken meringue and barely sweetened strawberries. What could go wrong? As it turns out: nothing! With only 6 ingredients and 15 minutes of your time, this is a dessert you’ll want to make for any lazy summer meal....

Why wait for the fair? For a quick fix, make this kettle corn recipe at home in minutes. It’s a snack and a dessert all in one. Those who treasure variety from bite to bite will adore its occasional, delicate pockets of caramelized sugar and scattershot hits of salt. It keeps well, so you can make batches and parcel them out for lunchboxes or on-the-go energy boosts. What Is Kettle Corn?...

The soup is so hearty and flavorful, and the beef gets so tender over the long hours of cooking. Let it cook all day and it just gets better. How to Make Taco Soup Note that you’ll need a few minutes to brown the beef before putting this soup into the slow cooker. Even briefly browning the beef gives it a better texture and flavor in the finished soup, and it also helps render out some of the fat before it goes into the slow cooker....

This small yet powerful kitchen appliance that every home chef should have. It works by convection, which is circulating hot air around a perforated basket containing food. This browns the exterior of food, which makes it perfect for cooking foods that are usually fried. To determine which should be in your kitchen, we put 10 popular models to the test. We made French fries, chicken tenders, and even a few whole chickens, judging each on crispiness, versatility, and evenness of heating, plus how easy it was to use and clean throughout the process....

While plastic containers can offer what Coffeeble’s Health & Wellness Advisor Nadia Charif says is “superficial convenience in terms of storage, they are hardly as versatile as glass containers.” Glass can be easily warmed up in a microwave (and most times, the oven) since it can deal with heat better than plastic. If you’re using tempered glass, it can also store your favorite no-churn ice cream or frozen meals. Plus, glass is definitely more environmentally friendly....

My unique candy-hating little one has some sensory processing challenges, so he prefers crunchy textures. Anything gummy or fruit-flavored with a strong aroma is a hard no. The only candy he likes is dark chocolate bars or Kit Kats (the crunch!). So when we trick-or-treat, he digs through the bowl to find a Kit Kat or politely says, “No, thank you!” to confused and sometimes annoyed strangers. I’ve learned to accept and celebrate his quirks, and I find Halloween treats that get him excited....

Once I learned about single-use plastic pollution, I bought my first set of reusable straws. With so many brands and lengths to choose from and a variety of materials to consider — glass, silicone, metal, and even plastic — the sea of options was overwhelming for such a simple purchase. Still, I put a lot of thought into making the decision since it would be something I would use at least twice per day....