Creamy Potato Soup

We can't get enough of this easy potato soup recipe. Filled with good-for-you ingredients, it's ultra creamy and comforting, but it's nourishing, too!

We’re obsessed with this potato soup recipe! It’s luscious, creamy, and filled with bold, smoky, tangy flavor. If you have any leftovers, it tastes even better on the second day, but in our house, a pot of this soup never lasts long. In my book, this soup is perfect for the holiday season. The weather outside is frightful, so comfort food is what I’m craving. But in between all the cookies and holiday appetizers, I want to sneak in as many healthy meals as I can. That’s where this potato soup recipe comes in. Creamy and flavorful, it’ll satisfy any…

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Spinach Artichoke Dip

This baked spinach artichoke dip is a guaranteed party hit! It's deliciously creamy and cheesy, but shhh! A secret veggie ingredient is hiding inside it.

If you want to impress guests at your next holiday party, make this spinach artichoke dip! It’s creamy, cheesy, and rich with briny artichoke flavor. In fact, it’s so good that every time we make it, Jack and I devour it standing at the kitchen counter. We can’t get enough! But I’ll let you in on a secret: this spinach artichoke dip is made of mostly veggies. Sure, it’s loaded with the essentials – spinach and artichokes – but it also contains a surprising veggie ingredient: cauliflower! Instead of using cream cheese, sour cream, or mayonnaise to make this dip’s…

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How to Make Oatmeal

Want to learn how to make oatmeal? You're in the right place. Read on to learn about cooking different types of oats & find fun oatmeal topping ideas!

If you’ve been reading the blog for a while, you know that oatmeal has never been my thing. But this fall, after I tried Amy Chaplin’s whole oat porridge recipe, I started to come around to it. See, in the past, I always had plain instant oats, which I thought were bland and mushy. But as I started experimenting with other types of oats, I discovered that, cooked the right way, oatmeal becomes a rich, creamy porridge that’s a fantastic canvas for seasonal toppings. Lately, I’ve been hooked on two topping combinations, and you’ll find them in the recipe below.…

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Pomegranate Rice Salad

This rice salad recipe will brighten up any fall or winter meal! Studded with pomegranates, pistachios, and herbs, it's a stunning, fresh holiday side dish.

How pretty is this rice salad? If you’re looking for an easy holiday side dish that doesn’t skimp on flavor, this recipe is just the thing for you. It’s simple, you can prep it ahead of time, and it’s richly flavorful. A spiced citrus dressing coats the hearty rice, nuts add crunch, and herbs give it fresh, aromatic flavor. Last but not least, a sprinkle of pomegranate arils takes it over the top! Today, we’re partnering with POM Wonderful because Jack and I love pomegranates! He likes to snack on them and I like to use them in salads, dips,…

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Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Made with Yukon gold potatoes and lots of roasted garlic, these garlic mashed potatoes are creamy, rich, and flavorful. An easy, delicious side dish!

The first time I made these garlic mashed potatoes, I didn’t know what my husband Jack would think of them. See, Jack grew up eating his Uncle Billy’s mashed potatoes, and he still reminisces about them. They were creamy, fluffy, and rich with (lots of) melted butter and (lots of) sour cream.  These garlic mashed potatoes aren’t exactly like Uncle Billy’s. Instead of dairy, olive oil and starchy potato cooking water give them an amazing creamy texture, and roasted garlic fills them with rich, nutty depth of flavor. When I tried them, I thought they were delicious, but Jack’s opinion would…

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Creamed Spinach

This creamed spinach recipe is a perfect easy side dish for holidays and weeknights alike. It's fresh, delicious, and ready in 15 minutes!

Creamed spinach is a classic steakhouse side dish, but there’s no reason you shouldn’t be making it at home. My recipe comes together in 15 minutes, and it delivers rich flavor with just a few basic ingredients! I used Jack’s mom’s creamed spinach as a starting point for this recipe. She made it for Thanksgiving every year when Jack was growing up, and he still raves about it. In developing this recipe, I wanted to capture the luxurious flavor and silky texture of her creamed spinach while putting the fresh greens front and center. Many creamed spinach recipes use frozen…

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Best Pumpkin Pie

A smooth, spiced pumpkin filling and sweet, nutty pecan crust make this pumpkin pie recipe the absolute best -  two slices for me, please!

Growing up, my favorite part of Thanksgiving was the pumpkin pie. All year, I’d look forward to that creamy, cinnamon-y, custardy filling. I loved pumpkin pie filling so much that I’d scoop it right out of its pie crust, leaving a triangle-shaped shell of pastry on my plate. I’d then pass it to my Dad (who ate everything my sister and I left behind), and ask for another slice. As an adult, I often opt for apple crisp because I don’t think Jack will eat all of my empty crusts (ok, actually, he might), but either way, that’s not an…

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Sweet Potato Casserole

Without question, this is the best sweet potato casserole recipe I've tried! Smooth and creamy sweet potatoes are topped with a savory pecan crumble.

This sweet potato casserole recipe is one of my favorite Thanksgiving side dishes. I haven’t always been such a sweet potato casserole fan. When I was growing up, my family had sweet potato casserole with marshmallows every year, and I never loved it. For me, sweet potatoes plus sweet marshmallows is just too much sweet. But this sweet potato casserole recipe won me over. I swap out the mini marshmallows for a pecan crumble topping. It’s savory and crunchy—the perfect complement to the creamy sweet potatoes underneath. Make this recipe for a holiday meal, and I promise it will be…

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How to Cook Tofu

Silken or extra-firm? To press or not to press? This easy baked tofu recipe + my best tips and tricks will teach you how to cook tofu like a pro!

Everyone has an opinion on tofu, and here’s mine: I absolutely love it…when it’s prepared the right way. If you’ve never worked with it before, cooking tofu can be daunting. But once you learn a little about it, it couldn’t be easier to prepare tofu well. Below, you’ll find my best tips and tricks for how to cook tofu like a pro, plus my go-to sriracha baked tofu recipe! What is tofu, anyway? Tofu is a soy-based food that’s made from curdling soy milk and forming it into a solid block. It’s a good source of plant-based protein that can…

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Brussels Sprouts, Many Ways

Roasted Brussels sprouts are the perfect fall side dish. Have fun playing around with these 4 fun & flavorful Brussels sprouts recipes!

Earlier this fall, I started making a list of my potential Thanksgiving blog recipes. One of the items on that list was called “Roasted Brussels Sprouts Recipe TBD.” As every other recipe got named, resolved, tested, and put in the works, “Roasted Brussels Sprouts Recipe TBD” remained on the list just like that. I love love love Brussels sprouts at this time of year, but I just couldn’t settle on one idea or flavor combination. Then it hit me – just like I did with sweet potatoes and overnight oats, I’ll post many ideas! And you can choose! Any of…

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No Bake Cookies

These no bake cookies are quick and easy to make—no oven required! Made with chocolate, peanut butter, and oats, they're rich, chewy, and delicious.

No bake cookies! If you’re not already making these irresistible, EASY treats, head to the kitchen and make yourself a batch. You’re going to love this recipe! No bake cookies were one of my favorite childhood desserts, and I still love them to this day. Made with simple ingredients like peanut butter, cocoa powder, and oats, they have a rich chocolate peanut butter flavor and amazing chewy texture. Given their name, you’ve probably guessed that these no bake cookies don’t bake in the oven. Instead, the dough comes together on the stovetop and sets up in the fridge. The process…

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A food blog with fresh, zesty recipes.
Photograph of Jeanine Donofrio and Jack Mathews in their kitchen

Hello, we're Jeanine and Jack.

We love to eat, travel, cook, and eat some more! We create & photograph vegetarian recipes from our home in Chicago, while our shiba pups eat the kale stems that fall on the kitchen floor.