Simple Cooking

Turn these fall-spiced cupcakes into a Pumpkin Patch–themed holiday centerpiece for Halloween or Thanksgiving.

My daughter and I love mac and cheese. It’s a great side dish with dinner and a great lunch served with a crisp salad!

We eat this salad—which is a great way to stretch a piece of beef—all year long for lunch and dinner, but it's particularly good during the warmer months. The thinly sliced meat, the crunch of the cucumbers and red onions, and the heady aroma of mint and cilantro tossed with the chile-spiked salty-sweet dressing seem made for hot days and nights.

Picture your favorite Tex-Mex cheese dip and the ultimate mac 'n' cheese. Now picture them together.

There's something about the pairing of chicken and rice that is so appealing and comforting, and these paella-like dishes are definitely perennial crowd-pleasers.

The chicken, sauce, and pasta for this dish all cook in the same pan. You can add broccoli, mushrooms, herbs, or a little chipotle at the same time that you stir in the Parmesan.

This easy, beach-ready sandwich pairs juicy summer tomatoes with tangy giardiniera and crunchy shreds of iceberg. Bring napkins.

With each bite you get that ideal combo of ingredients—sweet tomato, rich egg, crisp iceberg lettuce.

This zippy, herbaceous drinkable soup is like a trip to the farmers’ market in a glass.

Serve this salad as soon as it is assembled so all of the tomato juices and flavor stay where they belong.

Mandolines were made for recipes like this; even slices will make this simple salad look like the work of a pro.

A couple tablespoons of yogurt miraculously transform a basic vinaigrette recipe into a new creamy dressing.

Consider this recipe a no-brainer formula where you can sub in any raw veg, oil, or cheese you feel like.

Serve this dip with chips, as part of a meze platter, or slather it on grilled chicken thighs or lamb chops.

Real talk: This is a dish to make when the tomatoes are peaking—at the farmers’ market, you should be able to smell them before you see them.

You can use any kind of nuts for this recipe—almonds, hazelnuts, pecans, and Brazil nuts are all delicious.

Tent with foil if it browns too fast.

Delicate rose water (a common ingredient in Middle Eastern sweets) and tart lemonade are a refreshing combination in this pretty pink drink.

This panfried version of this classic sweet-and-tangy Chinese-American dish can be cooked in 22 minutes or less.

Onigiri is a quintessential Japanese food: made by moms for breakfast, lunch boxes, and picnics. It is the ideal handheld food (the nori wrapper keeps the sticky rice from getting all over your hand).