Honest and Truly

Hey Reader, Thanksgiving still feels far away, but my mom counts on me to make and bring the bread every year. I'm not letting her down. I know, I know. Yeast can be intimidating, but I promise these rolls are easy to make successfully. Especially if you do a practice batch ahead of time. Homemade rolls are always a hit, and I find making them surprisingly soothing. Do a practice batch now, and you'll walk into Thanksgiving knowing yours will turn out. Four Breads Worth a Practice Run I...

Hey Reader, Every year I'm convinced we'll get more trick-or-treaters than we actually do, and every year I'm wrong. So now there's a bowl of leftover candy on my counter, and I have no business eating it all. At least I didn't eat the entire bag before Halloween, right? Instead, I bake it into something else and hand it off to my friends and family. They have no idea they're doing me a favor. Where My Leftover Candy Goes Instead Chop up any leftover candy bars and stir them into the Edible...

Hey Reader, We've always been the house that hosts trick-or-treating, and I feed all the kids halfway through the night when they come back for a break. These days, though, I'm just as likely to pack up treats for an adult Halloween party. I bring these four every time, and people always ask how I make them. None of them need fancy decorating skills, which is exactly what I want the week of Halloween. Easy to Make the Night Before the Party You don't even have to turn the oven on to make...

Hey Reader, My calendar has exploded, and I'm tired. I want something heartier than the 20-minute dinners that got me through September, now that the weather is really cooling off. That means it's crockpot season at my house. I dump everything in before I leave in the morning and come home to proof that past me was kind to future me. Dinner's Handled Before You Leave the House My readers made the Pork Chili more than almost anything else on the site last year, so you may have seen it in my...

Hey Reader, There's one day every fall when I walk outside and decide summer is over. That day happened here this week, and the soup pot came out that same night. Three of these take about half an hour, which is the major reason I make them on a weeknight. The fourth takes longer but is so worth it. Four Soups for the First Cool Week My Creamy Chicken Tortellini Soup takes just over 30 minutes and starts with a rotisserie chicken. My family devoured it. Even I go for a second bowl, and I...

Hey Reader, Apple picking sounds charming right up until you're standing in your own kitchen with more apples than anyone could eat. We go every fall anyway, and I start to get a little desperate after the first week. I love to make homemade granola, and the crisp below was inspired by having a little too much on hand one fall. Every recipe is always a hit, and it helps justify my annual fall field trip. Four Ways to Get Through the Apple Bag My Granola Apple Crisp bakes in individual...

Hey Reader, September is when the grocery bill catches up with me. School supplies, fall sports, and somehow everyone in this house is hungrier than they were in July. Ground beef is a great protein to start a meal, and one pound goes a lot further than one dinner if you plan for it. Nobody at my table has ever noticed which nights were the budget ones. Four Dinners That Stretch a Pound of Beef My Cheesy Beef and Rice Casserole developed from all the leftovers in my fridge, and now it's one...

Hey Reader, Without a doubt, it's pumpkin season. I'm not talking about the Pumpkin Spice everything trend or pumpkin pie that you'll have at Thanksgiving because, honestly, I don't like pumpkin the way I grew up with it. Instead, I start the season making the Pumpkin Swirl Brownies I shared with you a couple of weeks ago, and then the rest of the can sits in my fridge until I do something about it. These recipes? They're how I finish my cans of pumpkin puree. Four Ways I Actually Like...

Hey Reader, Football season is back, which means my kitchen counter is once again a snack table. Nobody in my house except me cares what's happening on the field, but they do want to know what dips I'm making each weekend to snack on. These four dips are the ones I make most, and none of them is complicated. Make one for a crowd, or make all four and call it dinner. I won't judge. Four Dips My Friends Rave About My Non-Traditional 7 Layer Dip takes out the bits I don't like and adds in the...

Hey Reader, It's finally cooled off enough around here that I'm willing to turn on my oven. I spent all summer avoiding it, and now I want the house to smell like chocolate again. Boxed mix is fine, and I'm not going to pretend no one uses them. But these four do something a box can't, and just a tiny bit more effort is absolutely worth it. Four Brownies Worth Making This Fall My Pumpkin Swirl Brownies are made without cream cheese, which is why they stay fudgy instead of turning cakey. This...