This is your public service announcement to NEVER throw away your rotisserie chicken carcasses – you can make an absolutely delicious, rich, homemade chicken bone broth out of them that GELS! When homemade chicken stock gels up (yes, exactly like jello) that means it’s a nutrient-dense bone broth, which is very high in collagen. The stock has a rich, unctuous, and viscous texture. Not to mention it’s high in protein, and the collagen is beneficial for your joints, skin, and overall well-being. And it’s essentially free since we use scraps that would otherwise be thrown away!

I don’t know about you, but I use rotisserie chickens all the time. Why go through the hassle of cooking a chicken when you can get one fully cooked and super flavorful for like $7 at the store? I use shredded rotisserie chicken meat for all kinds of things. Like chicken salad, chicken and dumplings, and healthy chicken mushroom stroganoff.

When you’re done collecting all the meat from the rotisserie chicken, you’re left with the carcass, mostly consisting of the bones and skin.

...GET THE RECIPE for Rotisserie Chicken Bone Broth (it gels!)!

Have you ever been confused about what kind of salt to use in a recipe? Sea salt, kosher salt, Himalayan salt, table salt… there are so many kinds! What is the difference between kosher salt and table salt, can I use equal amounts of them? Can I substitute table salt for sea salt? Does salt expire? How can I reduce the sodium in my recipes and still have them taste good? Let’s dive into these common questions about salt so you can feel confident when seasoning your recipes.

Table of contents

• What are the most common types of salt?
• What are the uses for different types/shapes of salt?
• What brand and type of salt do you recommend?
• Diamond Crystal vs. Morton Kosher Salt
• Salt Conversion Chart
• Does salt expire?
• Tips for reducing salt/sodium when cooking recipes
• TLDR: What is the best advice for using salt in recipes in a nutshell?

What are the most common types of salt?

Salts can vary greatly between types and shape. There is salt from the ocean, pink salt from caves in the Himalayas, and salt islands all around the world.

...GET THE RECIPE for The Salt Guide – Types, Uses, and Conversions!

Ever wonder how to cut a watermelon into cubes? There are a lot of techniques out there for cutting watermelon, but this is the one I always come back to! I find it to be the easiest, the least messy, and the best way to cut a watermelon into perfect cubes. You can eat the cubes on their own, or use them in any recipe that calls for cubed watermelon.

Watermelon is something I look forward to every summer. It’s so good for you, and so deliciously sweet! It’s packed with water (hence the name) so it’s very hydrating on a hot day. There are numerous other health benefits of watermelon – it’s packed with vitamins and minerals. When I was pregnant, I ate it to help with nausea.

Fun fact: did you know watermelon was domesticated in Egypt starting around 2000 B.C.E.?

I’m admittedly pretty lazy when it comes to prepping fruits and veggies but watermelon is one of those things I’ll never buy pre-cut. Because cutting it yourself is SO easy! When you take time to cut up fruits and veggies yourself, you’re getting much more for your money, and it’s also better for the earth because it’s not sold in plastic.

...GET THE RECIPE for How to Cut / Cube a Watermelon!

Cooking barley (pearl or hulled) in an instant pot or pressure cooker is the fastest, easiest way to cook this heart-healthy grain to fluffy perfection in only 20 minutes! Use cooked barley as you would rice or oatmeal- in salads, for breakfast, and all kinds of recipes. 

Barley is a nutty, earthy grain with a wonderful flavor and chewy texture that’s really inexpensive. It’s packed full of soluble fiber and nutrients, making it a heart healthy grain. It’s kind of an in-between of oats and rice – more versatile and less slimy/mushy than oats, and more hearty and nutritious than rice.

I love using barley to make all kinds of things, but one drawback is that it takes a long time to cook. Enter: the Instant Pot!

Barley can take up to an hour to cook on the stovetop. But if you use a pressure cooker, it will only take 20-25 minutes of completely hands-off time (plus the time it takes to come to pressure). No stirring, just the instant pot working its magic while you live your life.

You can make a batch of barley and store it in your fridge for a few days, using it throughout the week in recipes that are very quick if you already have the barley cooked.

...GET THE RECIPE for Instant Pot Barley!

Reducing food waste is not only one of the best, eco-friendly ways to be more “green” in your kitchen, but it’s also a great way to save money and get the most out of your groceries! It means fewer trips to the grocery store, less landfill trash, and a fatter wallet for you. Woo hoo!

It’s Earth Day! And also, we’re in the midst of a time where food availability is a top priority for so many people, as well as limiting trips to the grocery store.

So I wanted to do something a little different. I’ve collected some of my favorite, easy tips on reducing food waste from myself, other bloggers, and my readers.

These are EASY, small, manageable tips. Sometimes, making changes to our normal routines can feel daunting. So I tried to break this down into really easy steps. Even trying just one of these things is a great way to make an impact!

Whether you’re looking for ways to save money, make fewer trips to the grocery store, reduce your carbon footprint, or get more creative in your cooking to grow your skills, check out this list!

...GET THE RECIPE for 10 Easy Ways to Reduce Food Waste!

Ever wondered how to prep kale? How to remove it from the stems, how to wash it, and how to store it? Look no further, my friend. Here’s your complete guide to prepping this super healthy leafy green, including tips for how to make it taste less bitter!

Kale is a ridiculously healthy green vegetable- in fact, it’s one of the most nutrient-dense foods on the planet. But it can be a bit intimidating to cook with, especially if you don’t know how to prep it!

A lot of people think kale is bitter and doesn’t taste good. I humbly beg to differ. And if you follow some tricks and tips for preparing it the right way, you can remove lots of the bitterness and use it in all kinds of different recipes!

In this post, I’ll explain:

1. How to remove kale from the stems (including: with a knife, with a leaf stripper tool, and how to do it for curly vs. Tuscan kale)
2. How to chop kale
3. Tricks for how to remove the bitterness from kale
4. How to wash kale (and get it REALLY clean)
5. How to store kale (it stays good for a week or more in the fridge!)
6. Recipe ideas that use kale

So go ahead and grab that bunch of kale from the store and let’s get to it!

...GET THE RECIPE for How to Prep Kale!

 If you’re looking for a healthy, low-fat, high protein recipe, you’ve got to try these easy poached chicken breasts! You only need 20 minutes and a handful of ingredients for perfectly cooked, super juicy and tender poached chicken breasts.

You can eat the poached chicken as is for a light and healthy main course, or save it for meal prep and other recipes throughout the week.

And my favorite part about the recipe? How mess-free it is! If touching raw chicken makes you squeamish, this is the perfect chicken recipe for you, since you don’t really need to touch the raw chicken at all.

In this post, I’m going to share some tricks and tricks for getting the juiciest, most tender poached chicken breasts.

What ingredients do I need to poach chicken?

At a bare minimum, all you need is chicken, water, and SALT. The salt is super important here, for flavorful chicken! If this is all you have, you can make poached chicken.

But you also should probably have some aromatics.

...GET THE RECIPE for How to Poach Chicken Breasts!

Ever wonder how to cook a whole chicken in your slow cooker? All you need is TWO ingredients, FIVE MINUTES of prep, and your trusty crockpot for this easy super juicy, fall-off-the-bone tender chicken. Use the meat throughout the week for recipes, meal prep, and get homemade chicken stock out of it, too!

When I’m feeling fancy, I love roasting a whole chicken in my Dutch oven. But when my need for chicken is more utilitarian, I turn to my crockpot.

Cooking a whole chicken in your slow cooker is one of the easiest, cheapest, and most beneficial things you can do for successful meal planning. It’s such a great homemade alternative to buying a store-bought rotisserie chicken!

You can use the meat in salads or in any number of soup, casserole, or other recipes throughout the week!

All you need for this recipe is a whole chicken and an onion, plus some salt, pepper, and water. And a couple (optional) fresh rosemary sprigs. The chicken comes out sooo juicy and moist every time!

...GET THE RECIPE for How to Cook a Whole Chicken in a Slow Cooker!

Have you tried making sautéed mushrooms before, only to be disappointed by a soggy texture and bland flavor? If so, you HAVE to try this tutorial for how to sauté mushrooms so they’re browned and SUPER flavorful! The secret to perfectly cooked mushrooms lies in how frequently you stir it (spoiler alert: NOT very frequently!).

You can use these sautéed mushrooms in pasta or quiche, serve them on top of steak or meatloaf, or just eat them on their own as a healthy vegetable side dish!

There’s one big trick that’s going to be so helpful for you if you’ve struggled to cook mushrooms correctly in the past, or if you don’t know how to do it yet. And there are a few other little tips and tricks I’m going to share that will ensure this technique is easy and FAST.

What kind of mushrooms to buy

You can use any mushrooms for this, but you’ll save some time if you buy pre-sliced mushrooms. They aren’t much more expensive, and they’re all ready to go!

My go-to for the most flavorful mushroom that you can buy at most grocery stores is baby portobello mushrooms.

...GET THE RECIPE for Perfectly Browned Sautéed Mushrooms!

You’ve cooked with them, eaten them in chicken piccata, or at least heard of them, but what ARE capers, anyway?

Wonder no more, my friends. I’m here to answer your questions: what are capers? How do I prepare capers? And most importantly: what are the best recipes that use capers?

What are capers?

Simply put, capers are flower buds. That’s right- flower buds!

More specifically, they are the dark green, immature flower buds of the caper bush (Capparis spinosa or Capparis inermis). The caper bush, also known as Flinders Rose, grows commonly in the Mediterranean region and parts of Asia. 

Capers are harvested and preserved with salt or, more commonly, by brining/pickling them. You’ll usually find them in your grocery store in the pickle aisle, or with the Italian imported goods. 

You can also buy capers on amazon, of course!

Capers vs. Caper Berries

While capers are the small, immature bud of the caper plant, caper berries are the larger fruit that the caper bush bears. Both are served cured / brined.

Caper berries are larger, and usually served with the stem attached, and have a much stronger flavor.

...GET THE RECIPE for What are Capers? And how do you use them?!

Here’s a step-by-step tutorial for how to cut broccoli into florets when you pick up a whole head from the store! Cutting a crown of broccoli (or cauliflower) into both large AND small florets is easy, fast, and doesn’t have to create a huge mess. This method of cutting broccoli is clean and you get the most out of this healthy vegetable with almost no waste!

Cutting broccoli was an enigma to me for a long time. I’d usually just hack at it until I had reasonably sized broccoli for whatever I was making. I was often left with a HUGE mess on my cutting board of stray pieces of broccoli and tiny green buds. Until I saw the light! Er, I mean, learned the correct way to cut broccoli.

It’s actually SUPER easy to cut broccoli into beautiful florets. Even those tricky middle-of-the-crown pieces. The trick lies in never touching the dark green buds with a knife. You’ll do all the cutting on the stems. I’ll show you how.

You can use the cut broccoli florets for so many things, including in salads, to use in recipes, or just to enjoy as a healthy snack with your favorite dip.

...GET THE RECIPE for How to Cut Broccoli into Florets (and Cauliflower, too!)!

Cutting a mango can seem like a daunting task if you’ve never done it before, so here’s a step-by-step tutorial for how to cut a mango, and get the MOST fruit off the pit as possible! There are two EASY ways to cut AND peel a mango so you can enjoy this deliciously sweet fruit whenever you want.

Mango is a delicious and healthy tropical fruit, but if you don’t know how to peel and cut it, you may be missing out on one of the tastiest things nature has to offer!

In this post, I explain two ways to cut a mango. The first uses a pint glass to peel it, then it’s diced on a cutting board. The second uses a scoring technique to cube the mango while it’s still in the peel, then it’s inverted and the cubes are cut off. 

And I’ll also explain how to cut the thinner sides of the mango off, to get the most bang for your buck with very little waste!

Here we go.

Technique 1: Using a pint glass to peel a mango

Peeling a mango with a pint glass is probably the easiest and fastest way to do it.

...GET THE RECIPE for How to Cut a Mango (two easy ways!)!

The BEST way to cut basil is to chiffonade it! Once you know how EASY it is to cut a chiffonade of basil, you’ll never go back to regular chopping. Use a chiffonade of basil to garnish pasta, caprese salad, pizza, and more!

When a recipe calls for a “chiffonade of basil,” it’s easy to think it’s too complicated and not to bother. But I want you to know: it’s NOT as fancy as it sounds, it’s SUPER easy (easier than regular chopping!), and will make a simple recipe feel beautiful and fancy!

You can use the chiffonade (pronounced two ways: shif-uh–neyd, or shif-uh-nahd, meaning “little ribbons” in French) technique for other herbs, as well as leafy greens or other ingredients.

In this post, I’ll explain exactly HOW to cut a chiffonade of basil in SECONDS, why chiffonade works so well for basil, what other herbs and ingredients you can use the cutting technique for, and give you some recipe recommendations that would be great with chiffonade-cut basil!

...GET THE RECIPE for How to Cut a Chiffonade of Basil (or mint, spinach, etc.)!

It’s so easy to make your own homemade chicken stock FOR FREE from scraps you keep in your freezer! Homemade chicken stock is packed with rich flavor, nutrition, and is so much better than store-bought chicken broth.

I’m so excited to share one of my easiest TOP TRICKS to getting super delicious, rich flavor in countless recipes. The secret? Homemade chicken stock!

But there are so many recipes out there that make such a production of it. Buy a whole chicken, buy specific veggies, and throw it all together to make stock. This is a COMPLETE waste of money and food.

I make my homemade chicken stock FOR FREE from vegetable and chicken scraps I save in my freezer! Things that I would normally throw away are given new life in this DELICIOUS and EASY recipe for homemade chicken stock in bulk. It’s such a great way to reduce food waste and save money!

In this post, I’ll explain:

• What the heck the difference between stock and broth actually is.
• What kinds of scraps you should freeze for stock and how to store them.

...GET THE RECIPE for How to make Homemade Chicken Stock from Freezer Scraps!

Here is a rare, non-recipe post! I wanted to take some time to explain one of my greatest kitchen loves, and hopefully convince you to jump on the bandwagon with me :-)

I love, love, LOVE my cast iron cookware. I have four skillets: a 12-inch, a 10-inch, and two tiny 5-inch skillets. I knew Zach was “the one” when he got me my first for Christmas after we had just begun dating. And I have to say: he, too, has benefited greatly from this timeless gift. :-)

If you are thinking about getting one, or hear good things about it but are scared to make the jump to cast iron, I hope this post will convince you that cast iron cookware is AWESOME and that it’s easier than you think to take care of it.

So, why are they so great?

I want every home cook out there to share in the same joy that I get when I use mine (cooking nerd alert). Do you have one? If not, here are the reasons why I love mine.

• They are cheap! Compared to other high-quality stainless steel, non-stick, or copper cookware, cast iron is a fraction of the price (and, in my opinion, much better at cooking food).

...GET THE RECIPE for How to use, season, and care for a cast iron skillet (a.k.a., the best piece of cookware on the planet!)!

This vegetable stock takes a total of 5 minutes to prep and store, is ten times better than store-bought and is completely FREE! Which is really great for a girl who loves a bargain.

I learned this trick from my old roommate from when I lived in New Orleans. It’s made from the scraps of vegetables from meals past, kept in your freezer until you are ready to use them.

Chances are, when you cook with fresh produce, you are left with scraps that end up in the trash (or if you are a better citizen of the earth than I am, your compost pile. I’m waiting to not live in an apartment for that one).

Many of those scraps can be saved in your freezer to make stock. Almost any mild-tasting vegetable will work, but the most basic and traditional to use are onions, celery, and carrots. This is the combination of scraps I usually use for my stock:

• Onion ends (if you leave the peel on, the stock may turn a darker color than usual, but it’s still edible)
• Garlic ends and bulbs that have started to sprout
• Herb sprigs and stems (parsley, rosemary, thyme, oregano, etc.)
• Bell pepper ends and seeds
• Jalapeno ends (not the seeds- they would be too spicy for plain stock)
• Carrots
• Celery
• Scallions
• Leeks

Although I have not tried it, I’ve read that you can use corn cobs, asparagus, potatoes, fennel, parsnips, squash, mushrooms, and other vegetables with a mild flavor.

...GET THE RECIPE for Scrap vegetable stock/broth!

If you’re wondering how to switch to black coffee, look no further! It can be an adjustment giving up cream or milk and sugar in your morning coffee, but drinking coffee black is a healthy change that’s easy to make. After about a week, you won’t even WANT the cream and sugar! Here’s how to make the BEST black coffee that you’ll actually want to drink.

I used to LOVE my coffee extra sweet and extra creamy. I’d load up on half and half (even milk wouldn’t cut it!) and add at LEAST a tablespoon of sugar to each mugful of coffee. My order at Dunkin’ Donuts would include extra extra cream and sugar. Yes, that’s two extras.

But now? Now I crave ONLY black coffee in the mornings. I’ve trained my body to want pure, unadulterated coffee.

Does that mean I don’t indulge every now and then? Absolutely not. I love making iced vanilla lattes and cold brew coffee with milk and honey. But in the mornings, black coffee is my jam.

Why is switching to black coffee healthy?

If you have one cup of coffee per day with a tablespoon of sugar in each, that’s almost 23 cups of sugar per year.

...GET THE RECIPE for How to Switch to Black Coffee!