Fact: Homemade granola beats the pants off of anything you can buy at the store. And luckily, it’s also just about the easiest baking project that there is. Stir everything together, bake, and boom—you have the toastiest, most munchable granola your morning yogurt has ever seen. The other big perk to our Best Basic Granola recipe (A.K.A. any-way-you-want-it granola) is that it's completely customizable. Don’t have pumpkin seeds? No worries, you can leave them out. Or hey, throw in some shredded coconut. Mix up the spices according to what you have/like or leave them out altogether. Use melted coconut oil for a little extra flavor. The dry milk powder called for in the ingredient list really helps to promote “clumping,” but if you don’t already have some in the pantry, there’s no need to run out to the grocery store. (You should still get some nice clusters in your granola.) One ingredient you don’t wan to skip out on, however, is the egg white—this helps to create a perfectly crunchy, shellacked coating for your granola. 

This light, pillowy gnocchi is easy to make from scratch. Combine it with your favorite pasta sauce, whether that be a bolognese, cream sauce, or pesto. 

  Spruce up your morning waffles with a little help from one of the food world’s best tag teams: peanut butter and jelly. Using peanut butter chips provides goodness in every bite and provides a more even distribution of flavor. If you make too many, store them in a plastic or Stasher bag and freeze them.

Taco Tuesday doesn’t always have to revolve around ground beef. Trust us, once you see how easy it is to make homemade carnitas, this will be a meal prep move you come back to again and again. Braised Boston butt is the star of this taco spread, and once you set it to simmering in a mixture of fresh citrus juices, garlic, and spices—the work is done. Drizzled with a vibrantly smoky Chipotle Crema, the assembled carnitas tacos will be a surefire hit.

You know that pasta salad from childhood (you know the one—rotini, canned olives, underripe grape tomatoes, cubed cheese)? It showed up at cookouts, sleepovers and every occasion in between, and it holds a special place in hearts a plenty—or at least it does around our office. So, we made a few swaps to create a fully grown uptake that still hits all the nostalgic notes we crave. Think a more sophisticated nood (we went orecchiette, but you can go with whatever you like!), buttery Castelvatrano olives (i.e. the best olives), juicy-sweet heirloom cherry tomatoes for dynamic color, hunks of savory salami, rich and creamy mozzarella pearls, radishes for fresh crunch, and an easy, from-scratch Italian dressing. Sure, it may require a trip to the grocery store’s olive bar, but trust us, it’s so worth it. 

Our Chicken and Cauliflower Rice Casserole is all the proof you need that cauliflower can be comforting. It’s definitely creamy, thanks to multiple types of cheese, but still has a good bite from the cauliflower rice’s texture. You can make your own cauliflower rice by pulsing the florets and stem in a food processor, or you can buy it fresh or frozen at most grocery stores. Dry your chicken skin and brown it before placing the dish in the oven and cook it skin-side up for the crispiest skin possible. Serve with green beans, asparagus, or another spring vegetable.

  Corn dogs just got way more fun. The bread-to-meat ratio is a lot less than a traditional corn dog’s, so it really lets the hot dog be the star while the perfectly sweet and savory breading backs it up. Regular length hot dogs, not bun length, work best here. Make sure the oil isn’t too hot or the breading will cook too fast on the outside, leaving the interior batter raw.