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Easy Eggplant Bolognese (1 Pot!)

18 August 2026 at 10:00
Easy Eggplant Bolognese (1 Pot!)

When we add another bolognese to the blog (Yes, we already have versions 1, 2, 3, and 4), you know it’s something special! This newest version is made with EGGPLANT, meaning it’s the perfect bolognese for late summer. It’s light yet satisfying, creamy yet bright, and full of bold Italian-inspired flavor β€” everyone will be asking for seconds!

Even better? It’s a breeze to make β€” just 1 pot required!

Easy Eggplant Bolognese (1 Pot!) from Minimalist Baker β†’

What Comic Con cosplay taught me about America’s divided politics

31 July 2026 at 15:00

I walked up to the wizard and asked him, β€œWhat do they call you?” He clearly got the reference.

β€œSome would call me Tim.” he said with a smile.

I turned around to see a man dressed as a World War II aviator. β€œHey, Amelia Earhart, how you doing?” I asked.

That β€œCaddyshack” referenceΒ  got a laugh. I hope I made that joke my own.

I certainly wasn’t in Washington, D.C., anymore, Toto. No, I had abandoned the freakshow capital of the world and was in the exhibit hall at the San Diego Convention Center, watching thousands of people walk by dressed as their favorite character from comics, sci-fi, fantasy or video games. One guy I noticed looked like Alex Jones as an Ewok. I turned to my left and saw another guy who looked like Stephen Miller dressed as Lord Voldemort. To my right was a woman who looked like Karoline Leavitt dressed as Dolores Umbridge. Behind her? A guy who looked like Tom Homan dressed as the Kingpin.

It was certainly more enjoyable than seeing the real people in D.C. Hey, if you can’t enjoy yourself at Comic Con, the most famous fan convention in several worlds (if the fans are to be believed), then your ability to have fun is even below that of the religious zealots spouting biblical quotes whoΒ  gather on the streets outside the convention center every year to protest the event, while becoming part of it. Who looked sillier, the guy wearing a crown of thorns or the guy dressed as the Green Lantern? Actually, I still think that was Pete Hegseth β€” no matter what he’s wearing.

As a political reporter, I came away from Comic Con with one overriding impression: If world politics were more like the comic book world, reality would be a safer, saner and healthier place. Who wouldn’t enjoy watching world leaders cosplaying their favorite sci-fi or fantasy characters at U.N. meetings, peace-treaty negotiations and other staged events? True peace in the Middle East could one day come with the headline; β€œBatman and the Joker have signed a historic agreement in Beirut. Details at 11.”

Comedian Bill Hicks famously once said that he not only supported the legalization of marijuana but thought its use should be mandatory. β€œShut up and smoke this. It’s the law,” he said, imagining a peaceful world where people stopped taking life β€œtoo seriously.” Walking around Comic Con, I couldn’t help thinking that dressing up in gaudy costumes wouldn’t be a bad idea either. Doing both? Well, that’s up to you.

If politics were more like the comic book world, reality would be a safer, saner and healthier place. Who wouldn’t enjoy watching world leaders cosplaying sci-fi or fantasy characters at U.N. meetings, treaty negotiations and other staged events?

If you think that’s an absurd idea, I will say that it’s less absurd than what we see in the White House every day, and it would be a lot more enjoyable. Donald Trump has long since lost his appeal, whatever that was. He offers never-ending reruns of the same speech, and at this point it fails to entertain, enlighten or move anyone. How many more times do we have to hear about how β€œhot” the country is, how only losers support wind power, how 2% of the people commit 90% of crimes, or how prescription medication is now 600 percent cheaper?Β 

Trump is dull and lackluster. He looks somnambulant. He is about as entertaining as a stale powdered donut and even less nutritious.

In a Comic Con panel discussion with a β€œSuperman historian” β€” a man who has relentlessly tracked down every salient fact about Superman co-creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster β€” I learned that the two comic book innovators met in their Cleveland high school in the late 1920s and first proposed Superman as a newspaper comic strip in 1933, during the Great Depression. One was a ladies’ man and one was a partier. They sold the rights to their creation to DC Comics and much controversy ensued. Siegel apparently wrote letters putting β€œcurses” on people and telling the world he got screwed. Shuster was once found on a park bench and thought to be a vagrant. He told the police he was the original Superman artist, and to prove it he drew the Man of Steel convincingly enough to stay out of jail.

I loved these stories, but the most fascinating thing I learned that night was that I knew far more about the creation of the comic strip that became a billion-dollar empire after listening to a single historian for one hour than I know right now about the Iran war or the condition of Mitch McConnell, the senior U.S. senator from Kentucky, whom I have covered since the 1980s and who disappeared on June 14 into the back of a D.C. ambulance and hasn’t been seen in public since.

Future historians may make their living trying to figure out what happened to McConnell β€” hell, that story might become a comic book, though not one as popular as Superman. But right now, McConnell and Trump are at the heart of the loathsome divisiveness that defines American politics, makes it so disreputable and nowhere near as much fun as Comic Con.

β€œUnited we stand. Divided we fall.” Believe it or not, that’s the state motto of Kentucky. No one in politics today seems to care about our divided nature. They seem to nurture it.

Comic Con, on the other hand, was the embodiment of the Kentucky motto.

The panels featured lengthy, often in-depth discussions. Sometimes they featured celebrities recounting past glories or promoting their newest releases. Only one panel I encountered, featuring action star Alan Ritchson of β€œReacher,” ventured directly into politics. Ritchson said that Trump was β€œraping the world” and that he chose to speak outΒ  because β€œI want to live a life that feels meaningful.”

It appears Trump was not pleased. White House spokesperson Davis Ingle told the Daily Beast, β€œAlan Ritchson is a talentless hack who clearly suffers from a severe and incurable disease known as Trump Derangement Syndrome that has completely rotted his peanut-sized brain.”

Keep it classy, Trump people.Β 

Inside the exhibit hall I ran into actor Sam J. Jones, the former football player who played Flash Gordon back in 1980. Younger fans may remember him playing himself in β€œTed,” conducting the wedding ceremony and doing the β€œFlash” jump at the end of the movie. He was signing autographs and handing out football cards showing him, as Flash Gordon, wearing legendary quarterback Johnny Unitas’ old number 19.

β€œI recognize you,” he told me.

I said I recognized him too. We talked a bit about politics and he offered this observation: β€œI’ve worked a lot of these Comic Cons. These are the best people you’ll ever meet. They’re genuine and they are here to enjoy themselves. The world needs more of that.”

All day on Saturday I walked through a world I rarely get to visit and didn’t know I wanted to. From the panels to the exhibit hall, I was floored by the number of artists, the collectibles and the displays. It was like a theme park. Outside in the streets, the cosplayers enjoyed mugging for the cameras or taking selfies and laughing at themselves and others while interacting with their favorite celebrities.


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As I walked out of a restaurant, I passed a guy who had the most authentic Deadpool costume I’d ever seen. He was prancing about and really getting into it. Hey, I’m sorry for elbowing you, Ryan Reynolds. I didn’t know it was you. But you did step on my arthritic foot.

As Saturday afternoon turned into Saturday night, I felt like I was detoxing from the Friday night debacle back in D.C. β€” the rescheduled White House correspondents’ dinner. Late on Friday, my phone started buzzing with alarms from the speech. I feared the worst. But if anything, it was worse. The president was on stage, trolling reporters, insulting his own speechwriters and questioning why he was even there.

I’m sorry for elbowing you, Ryan Reynolds. I didn’t know it was you. But you did step on my arthritic foot.

For an hour, Trump meandered through a variety of subjects in a freak-showΒ  appearance, always landing with an insult aimed at the press. He stood in front of a backdrop celebrating free speech, something no one in his administration actually celebrates. Hegseth has tried to kick reporters out of the Pentagon. Trump has subpoenaed reporters, ejected them from the White House press (or tried to), and never mentions us without saying β€œfake news.”

β€œThis is so toxic. I’m leaving,” a friend of mine texted me from the event. β€œI didn’t even want to go.” Well, I didn’t either. But unlike my friend, I don’t have a boss who insisted that I do so.

Instead, I was in San Diego at an event that was nothing like anything in politics. I’ve been to a dozen of those dinners. None were nearly as much fun as Comic Con. And that’s coming from a guy who never read comic books as a kid. The closest I got was Mad Magazine. Oh, yeah: I think I saw a guy who looked like Kevin Hassett dressed as Alfred E. Neuman. β€œWhat? Me Worry?”

I’m genuinely sick and tired of today’s politics, and I know I’m not alone. I can only take so much of Trump’s nonsense and divisiveness. β€œI hate some people,” he said on stage Friday night. My friend called it β€œtoxic,” but I would call it corrosive. It destroys the ties that bind and encourages anger and petulance. It is a modern plague on humanity.

Instead of suffering through that, I watched people of every imaginable race, creed, sexual orientation and color enjoying life. Some of them were dressed as aliens. Some of them might have been aliens. Nobody cared. Nobody judged.Β 

Saturday night ended with some friends at a barbecue place across from the convention center, a spotΒ  made famous by the movie β€œTop Gun.”

The weather was amenable and the company was great. I listened as people sitting at a nearby table spoke about who made β€œthe best Batman” with all the fervor and passion I hear from those involved in politics in D.C., but none of the vitriol. After a while they laughed, changed the subject and found something they could agree upon. Their biggest area of agreement was that Ewoks were horrible, just an effort β€œto give the kids something,” and that while β€œStargate” was a terrific movie, β€œStargate SG1” was an even better series.Β 

Other stuff that Comic Con people seemed to agree upon, in no particular order: Grogu is cool, β€œRogue One” is the best Star Wars movie and β€œThe Wrath of Khan” is quintessential β€œStar Trek.” Furthermore, if anyone asks you the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow, the proper answer is β€œAfrican or European?”

I looked up from my table, and thought I saw a guy who looked like Hegseth dressed as the surgeon general of Beverly Hills from β€œEscape from L.A.” kissing his husband, who looked like Josh Hawley dressed up as Mr. Poopybutthole from β€œRick and Morty.”

I hadn’t even been drinking but, boy, I felt buzzed.

If only we could all get along like that.

The post What Comic Con cosplay taught me about America’s divided politics appeared first on Salon.com.

Kaitlan Collins and CNN are complicit in the Trump circus

29 July 2026 at 19:45

For an hour and four minutes on Friday night, the president stood at a podium in a hotel he used to own and used the White House press corps as a prop. The irony of staging a White House Correspondents’ Dinner in the presence of a man actively working to dismantle the First Amendment protections of the very press he was ostensibly there to honor is almost too thick. To no one’s surprise, Donald Trump used the event as a campaign rally and personal vendetta, targeting CNN’s chief White House correspondent and anchor Kaitlan Collins with misogynistic, transphobic β€œjokes,” and capping the night with a β€œTrump 2028” hat β€” an authoritarian flourish masquerading as humor.Β 

The press stayed seated and silent.Β 

A press corps with any genuine values would have walked out. They would have recognized that attention is what fuels Trump’s authoritarian political strategy. Instead, reporters sat in their black-tie attire and behaved like sycophants. For an institution that loves to preen about its courage, the WHCD was a profile in cowardice. The people in that ballroom knew that Trump and administration officials have barred reporters from briefings, pursued subpoenas against journalists and threatened outlets with legal action, and that he routinely labels unfavorable coverage β€œfake news” to discredit any check on his power. It would have been absurdly simple for the White House Correspondents’ Association to issue a straightforward, principled declaration: β€œWe cannot in good conscience allow a president who does not believe in the First Amendment protections this night celebrates to attend this event. Accordingly, we have rescinded our invitation.” But they refused to make a stand, apparently terrified of losing their access.

Even some of the president’s usual sympathizers on television couldn’t pretend the choice made sense. The hosts of MS NOW’s β€œMorning Joe,” who once sprinted to Mar‑a‑Lago in the early days of Trump’s presidency, called the decision to host him β€œtone‑deaf,” saying the event should never have been held in its current form and highlighting the absurdity of platforming him while his Justice Department subpoenas New York Times journalists for doing their jobs. (On July 23, the department rescinded the subpoenas after a federal judge said it hadn’t followed appropriate procedures in its investigation of how reporters obtained information on the new Air Force One’s security capabilities.) The television hosts were right about the tone‑deafness, but wrong about the scale. This wasn’t merely tone‑deaf; it was a dereliction of duty.

CNN’s Kaitlan Collins had won the WHCA’s Award for Excellence in Presidential News Coverage Under Deadline Pressure for her reporting on the tense February 2025 Oval Office confrontation between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. In his address, Trump could not let the opportunity pass. β€œI want to personally congratulate CNN’s Kaitlan Collins on receiving her award,” he told the room, then spent the next several minutes insisting the award was β€œfake,” that she β€œshouldn’t get” it, and that she β€œnever smiles.” Trump told her to smile. Then he built to the joke he’d clearly been saving: that he thought Collins had landed a lucrative new endorsement deal with Bud Light, only to learn the face on the beer can actually belonged to Dylan Mulvaney, the transgender actress whose 2023 partnership with the brand triggered a right-wing boycott.Β 

But factual accuracy was never really the point. The point was to shame a reporter by misidentifying and weaponizing a person’s identity, using two women’s faces to deliver one insult.

It’s an old joke often shared by conservatives on X. The only problem is that there was no Bud Light commercial starring Mulvaney. But factual accuracy was never really the point. The point was to shame a reporter by misidentifying and weaponizing a person’s identity, using two women’s faces to deliver one insult: that neither of them is quite what she claims to be, and neither is pretty, feminine or smiley enough to matter.Β 

Multiple reports described the room’s reaction to that bit as silence. Even a post-event panel on CNN’s β€œState of the Union,” which featured a Republican congressman and a former Trump administration aide, unanimously agreed the president had bombed with his speech. It did not stop Trump. On Truth Social over the weekend, he had a second try at delivering his joke, using an image generated by artificial intelligence that placed Collins’ face onto Mulvaney’s body on a mock Bud Light can.Β 

Collins didn’t take the bait. On Instagram, she posted an Eleanor Roosevelt line about nobody being able to make you feel inferior without your consent, alongside a note thanking her mentor Wolf Blitzer for the award with a reminder of why asking uncomfortable questions matters. On Monday’s β€œDaily Show,” she told host Jon Stewart she’d rather keep the focus on the reporting than on her own reaction, because turning it into a personal feud with the president is exactly the trap he wants her to fall into.

Collins has long been known for getting under his skin. During his first term, Trump clashed with her on numerous occasions in the briefing room and on social media, almost always after she challenged him for dodging questions or making false statements. In 2018, Collins was famously barred from attending an open-press event in the Rose Garden after daring to ask pointed questions about Michael Cohen and Russian President Vladimir Putin while serving as the pool reporter.


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When Stewart pressed her on the president’s fixation, Collins defended her record, emphasizing that she refuses to serve only one political audience. β€œI want anyone, from my family in Alabama to people in the White House to people in Washington, to be able to hear that answer or hear that question and think, β€˜What is the answer to that?’” she said. β€œIn terms of my reaction . . . it’s really not about me. And I don’t want it to be about my reaction. If you let it become about that, then it becomes a back-and-forth between the two of us. Instead, I think it’s more effective to remind people in those moments, when he is insulting me or when he is criticizing me, about the question I asked or the reporting that I did that he was so angry about. And the fact that I got an award for it really bothered him, clearly.”

On one level, watching Collins navigate these attacks offers a masterclass in professional composure. Regardless of political perspective, one has to acknowledge she is remarkably unflappable. Yet beneath this narrative of journalistic fortitude lies a far more transactional reality that defines modern Washington media. Collins has profited quite handsomely from her singular access to and conflict with power. In the mutually beneficial ecosystem of outrage that has come to define Donald Trump’s Washington, one hand washes the other.

Collins did not enter the dinner unaware of what was coming. In truth, from a brand-building perspective, such attacks are pure gold. She emerged from the weekend with half the media world and a chorus of Hollywood celebrities wildly applauding her bravery. This dynamic highlights the core problem with the era of the celebrity reporter, one of the most paradoxical developments in modern political media. We have built an ecosystem where personal confrontation with authority is parlayed into network stardom and lucrative contracts, all while the systemic threat to democratic norms continues unabated.

Look no further than Megyn Kelly, who famously parlayed a high-profile clash with Trump in 2016 as a Fox News reporter into a massive, multi-million-dollar (and short-lived) NBC contract only months later. Now a right-wing podcaster, Kelly went on her podcast this week and rationalized the attacks on Collins while complaining that the CNN star is β€œnever nice to the president.” Using Trumpian language, Kelly argued that Collins is β€œalways nasty” and that her questions carry β€œthe most negative bent you could possibly go into the questioning with,” dismissing the president’s vulgar insults as mere β€œjazz” that all leaders throw around.Β 

Then there is Collins’ own network. Semafor’s Max Tani reported that CNN leadership was β€œfurious” over the president’s remarks and has discussed scaling back its footprint at next year’s dinner, or skipping it altogether β€” with one internal conversation reportedly framing the event as having become β€œa platform for making crude remarks at their employees’ expense.”

Such a move would be a step in the right direction. But where was that fury in the room, when it could have mattered? Where was the immediate pronouncement that they will not sit quietly while their journalists are demeaned in front of their colleagues?

Far from defending one of their own, they sat as participants.

The post Kaitlan Collins and CNN are complicit in the Trump circus appeared first on Salon.com.

spaghetti aglio e olio

By: deb
28 July 2026 at 22:15

Do you ever look around at the ingredients available to you, the energy you have to give to the cooking process β€” or, as I recently explained to a medium-sized child shortly before I got uninvited from future family events, the amount of fudge you have left to give from your, uh, bucket of fudge β€” and decided to boil spaghetti, toss it with garlicky olive oil, and call it dinner?

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Trump at WHCD: β€œThe show must go on” β€” then β€œripping” into the press

25 July 2026 at 16:59

President Donald Trump returned to the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner Friday night, three months after gunfire abruptly ended the original event, delivering an hourlong speech that opened with a solemn tribute to the victims and first responders before gradually giving way to familiar grievances, campaign-style riffs and renewed attacks on political rivals and the media.

β€œAs I said three months ago, the show must go on,” Trump told the roughly 700 guests gathered under heightened security at Washington’s Waldorf Astoria, where the annual dinner was rescheduled after the April shooting. He praised the Secret Service officers and law enforcement personnel who responded that night, calling the attack β€œan assault on our democracy itself” and declaring that β€œwe do not yield to political violence.”

Trump acknowledged he had abandoned the harsher speech he originally planned before the attack.

β€œI was so psyched, I was going to rip people,” he said, adding that β€œsomething changed.” Moments later, however, he promised the audience β€œwe’ll do a little ripping if you don’t mind,” signaling a shift away from the night’s opening message of resilience.

From there, the speech frequently wandered between jokes, political attacks and extended tangents. Trump ribbed journalists about wearing bulky bulletproof vests, revisited complaints about media coverage, praised White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt and joked about another presidential campaign despite the Constitution’s two-term limit.

One of the night’s longest detours centered on Trump’s planned White House ballroom. Standing inside the Waldorf ballroom, which he built when the property operated as the Trump International Hotel, the president touted bulletproof glass, future drone defenses, underground security upgrades and Czech crystal chandeliers before predicting future White House Correspondents’ dinners would someday be held in the new venue.

The speech later drifted through a wide range of subjects, including UFC events at the White House, an upcoming Washington auto race, Bruce Springsteen, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, former President Joe Biden, CNN anchors Kaitlan Collins and Jake Tapper, Sen. Adam Schiff and Rosie O’Donnell, often blurring the line between correspondents’ dinner remarks and a campaign rally.

Trump also congratulated New York Times reporter Tyler Pager, one of the journalists whose subpoena over reporting on the Qatari-donated Air Force One replacement was withdrawn by the Justice Department a day earlier, even as he renewed complaints about what he called β€œfake news” coverage. The president argued that speaking directly with reporters can improve stories, while insisting many outlets continue to treat him unfairly.

After one hour and four minutes, Trump closed out his speech by donning a β€œTrump 2028” red hat to continue to tease a possible third term.


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The rescheduled dinner was smaller and more tightly controlled than April’s event, with a single entrance, multiple security screenings and no traditional red carpet. The association honored Secret Service agent Victor Gonzalez, who was shot in his protective vest while confronting the gunman, along with Washington Hilton employees who helped guests during the attack.

β€œWe are back,” outgoing WHCA President Weijia Jiang told the audience. β€œWe refuse to let an act of violence have the final word.”

By night’s end, the evening had come full circle. What began as a ceremony emphasizing resilience after political violence ultimately settled into the freewheeling, often meandering style that has become a hallmark of Trump’s public appearances, mixing condolences, boasts, policy asides and personal feuds into a single address.

The post Trump at WHCD: β€œThe show must go on” β€” then β€œripping” into the press appeared first on Salon.com.

chicken salad for celery enthusiasts

By: deb
20 May 2026 at 17:22

I’m not sure if this is a sign of hitting a certain age β€” like a sudden interest in bird feeders (check, and please tell me about yours), or beekeeping (well, in the TikTok sense, not sorry), and animated conversations on the best pillows (I hate mine) β€” but I’ve found over the last year that I have very strong opinions on chicken salad and the correct way to make it, which, naturally, is my way. I hope I’m in the right place to release them into the world.

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Easy Fattoush Salad (1 Bowl!)

12 May 2026 at 10:00
Easy Fattoush Salad (1 Bowl!)

Introducing weeknight-friendly fattoush salad! This EASY, 1-bowl, 20-minute version is our inspired take on the classic Levantine dish. Think fresh, crunchy veggies tossed in a bright pomegranate dressing with herby mint leaves, crispy pita chips, and pomegranate arils (major YUM)!

It’s a refreshing side to pair with other Mediterranean- and Middle Eastern-inspired recipes, or toss in some chickpeas to make it a light meal on its own.

Easy Fattoush Salad (1 Bowl!) from Minimalist Baker β†’

braised leeks and lentils with arugula and yogurt

By: deb
16 April 2026 at 22:48

I’ve been pining for a springy way to combine leeks and lentils in an unfussy, one-pot, weeknight-friendly meal but would get stuck on one thing: how annoying leeks are β€” and I say this from a place of adoration! I think leeks are one of the most stunning vegetables, an ombre of chromatic ringlets from buttery yellow to pea green and back to a pale shade of lima. They look exactly like spring (even though it’s climatically July outside but will be March again next week), and taste even better: Oniony but not harsh and silky, wonderful, and a little sweet when braised. They should be everywhere, but first we need to address the fact that if you go to the store or market for a bundle of leeks right now, you have no idea how much leek you’re getting.

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Vegan Sweet Potato Chickpea Taco Salad

11 March 2026 at 09:00
Vegan Sweet Potato Chickpea Taco Salad

If you love our Sweet Potato Chickpea Tacos, get ready for another FAVE! Meet: the Vegan Sweet Potato Chickpea TACO SALAD! It’s got fresh kale + romaine, crunchy tortilla chips, smoky roasted chickpeas + sweet potatoes, and a creamy jalapeΓ±o dressing.Β 

The result? BIG flavor, lots of textures, and ready in just 30 minutes (hello, weeknight ease with weekend flavor)! Let’s make this satisfying, flavorful, plant-based dinner!

A little multi-tasking and some speedy knife skills are the tricks to keeping this a 30-minute meal!

Vegan Sweet Potato Chickpea Taco Salad from Minimalist Baker β†’

miso chicken and rice

By: deb
10 February 2026 at 21:18

How do you cook when your kitchen isn’t available for kitchen-ing? On a Sunday last April, I awoke at the crack of dawn jet-lagged from an (excellent) trip to Amsterdam* to an email from my apartment building that ConEd had found a gas leak in the main line to the building and had shut down service for safety. With this, I was indoctrinated into a society of New Yorkers I previously hadn’t known existed, as NYC is apparently riddled with tales of people who lived without gas for (what seemed like the minimum of) 6 months and up to 18 months while their building trudged at a snail’s pace through rounds of repairs and inspections.

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simple crispy pan pizza

By: deb
20 January 2026 at 18:12

If you want a homemade pizza that requires no kneading, no special flour, or long wait time (because who among us has ever said β€œwhat I really crave is pizza that will be ready 1 to 3 days from now”), you should really, really be making more pan pizzas at home. You might even consider it a worthwhile addition to your 2026 cooking bucket list.

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Thanksgiving Turkey Meatballs

25 November 2025 at 10:00
Thanksgiving Turkey Meatballs

If all the classic, herby, savory flavors of Thanksgiving came together into one satisfying main dish, these turkey meatballs would be it! They’re WAY easier to master than baking a turkey, making them perfect for small holiday gatherings and year-round Thanksgiving cravings.

Just 10 ingredients required and perfect for pairing with Thanksgiving classics like mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, and cranberry sauce. Let us show you how it’s done!

Ingredients for Thanksgiving Turkey Meatballs

These EASY, savory ground turkey meatballs require just a few basic ingredients:

  • Ground turkey – Turkey is a Thanksgiving classic!

Thanksgiving Turkey Meatballs from Minimalist Baker β†’

baked potatoes with crispy broccoli and bacon

By: deb
30 October 2025 at 19:44

Unless you’re living your life better than me (probably!), I bet it’s been way too long since you last had a baked potato for dinner β€” or, as they’re more charmingly called across the pond, β€œjacket potato.” And it’s a crime because they’re so cozy and uncomplicated to make, we could fix this right now.

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1-Pot Kabocha Chickpea Miso Soup

21 October 2025 at 10:00
1-Pot Kabocha Chickpea Miso Soup

Ever followed a restaurant on social media, found yourself drooling over everything they posted, and then realized you’re too far away to place an order? When in that predicament, the only solution is to get into your own kitchen. And so, this Kabocha Chickpea Miso Soup β€” inspired by Salud in Bend, Oregon β€” was born.

It’s everything you want in a soup: comforting, nourishing, brothy, packed with that fun squash you bought without a plan (just us?!), and SO quick and easy to make!

1-Pot Kabocha Chickpea Miso Soup from Minimalist Baker β†’

Garlicky Cherry Tomato Pasta with White Beans

19 August 2025 at 10:00
Garlicky Cherry Tomato Pasta with White Beans

The perfect late-summer weeknight dish is here: Garlicky Cherry Tomato Pasta with White Beans! It’s a go-to in our kitchen when we’re craving something simple yet nourishing. Featuring salty kalamata olives, burst cherry tomatoes, creamy white beans, and our BFF kale, it’s a vibrant dish packed with textures, flavors, protein, and fiber.Β 

Vegan, gluten-free optional, and just 10 ingredients and 25 minutes required. Let’s make dinner!

This simple dish begins with getting your favorite pasta cooking on the stovetop.

Garlicky Cherry Tomato Pasta with White Beans from Minimalist Baker β†’

grilled chicken salad with cilantro-lime dressing

By: deb
6 August 2025 at 17:56

What did we get up to while our kids’ time away overlapped for two weeks this summer? Did we go on vacation? Did we party every night? The truth is honestly embarrassing, so middle-aged coded, Deb of the early Smitten Kitchen years would rage and weep. [β€œYou promised you wouldn’t get lame!”] I got… orthotics. And even worse than considering this newsworthy, I love them. I caught up on appointments. I challenged myself to finish books before they were overdue at the library and occasionally pulled it off. Sometimes I drank an entire 8 glasses of water and went to bed by 10:30pm. Sure, we went out. We had uninterrupted conversations. We drank Hugo spritzes. We saw dogs playing in a kiddie pool set up in front of an open fire hydrant and lamented that the kids were missing it, then reloaded their last locations and photos from the camp stream a million more times. We said things to each other like, β€œI miss the kids, but not parenting.” I watched this clip and it emotionally wrecked me. I’d sleep through my alarm in the morning and nobody was there to tell me I make weird faces in my sleep or that they’d promised they’d bring homemade treats to school that day. Friends, it was wild.

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Lemony Quinoa Kale Salad with Crispy Chickpeas

15 July 2025 at 10:00
Lemony Quinoa Kale Salad with Crispy Chickpeas

Simple methods and BIG flavor collide in this Lemony Quinoa Kale Salad with Crispy Chickpeas! It’s zesty and sweet, full of crunch, and packed with wholesome ingredients. With minimal cooking required, it’s the perfect meal for summer or a quick meal prep session.

Just 10 ingredients and 30 minutes stand between you and this satisfying, flavorful, healthy meal!

How to Make This Lemony Quinoa Kale Salad

This quinoa kale salad comes together in a few simple steps that flow seamlessly:

  1. Soak sun-dried tomatoes in hot water if they’re especially dry and hard.

Lemony Quinoa Kale Salad with Crispy Chickpeas from Minimalist Baker β†’

Zucchini Pesto Pasta with Roasted Tomatoes & Chickpeas

3 June 2025 at 10:00
Zucchini Pesto Pasta with Roasted Tomatoes & Chickpeas

Whether you’re a gardener, farmers market goer, or just love summer produce, this is the dish for you! A summery zucchini pesto pasta with caramelized roasted zucchini, burst cherry tomatoes, sweet + tender red onion, and protein-packed chickpeas. We may or may not have gone back for thirds in the test kitchen!

Just 9 ingredients and simple methods required for this saucy, satisfying, irresistible vegan meal, friends.

Zucchini Pesto Pasta with Roasted Tomatoes & Chickpeas from Minimalist Baker β†’

Jerk Tofu & Roasted Plantain Bowls

14 May 2025 at 10:00
Jerk Tofu & Roasted Plantain Bowls

Why choose between spicy, savory, and sweet when you can have them ALL? All the taste buds light up with this Caribbean-inspired bowl featuring roasted plantains and tofu coated in the magic of jerk seasoning and paired with a sweet, crunchy mango cucumber salad and creamy sauce. It’s a big bowl of YUM!

We can’t wait for you to try this satisfying, protein-packed, plant-based meal. Let us show you how it’s done!

Jerk Tofu & Roasted Plantain Bowls from Minimalist Baker β†’

The 55 Best Grilling Recipes for Cookouts, BBQs & Backyard Dinners

6 May 2025 at 01:12

Grilling season is here, and whether you're planning a backyard cookout, a weeknight dinner, or just wondering what to grill this weekend, we’ve got you covered. From juicy burgers and flame-licked steaks to smoky veggies and unexpected desserts, these are our best grilling recipesβ€”perfect for beginners, pros, and everyone in between. So fire up the grill and get ready for your tastiest summer yet. For even more inspiration check out our favorite Genius grilling recipes and best pasta salad recipes to bring to the party as well.

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Salads, Veggies & Snacks

Think beyond burgersβ€”these grilled vegetables, salads, and smoky snacks bring fresh, flavorful energy to your cookout. Great for vegetarians or anyone looking to lighten up the grill menu, this mix of charred greens, grilled dips, and colorful skewers are as easy as they are impressive.

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