Mango Margarita

This frozen mango margarita recipe is my ideal warm weather drink. It's tangy, frosty, sweet, and refreshing. Pass the chips and salsa, please!

It’s finally warming up in Chicago, so we’re cooling off with this mango margarita! To me, it’s the perfect warm weather drink – frosty, refreshing, and blissfully easy to make. Just toss 5 ingredients into the blender, puree until smooth, and enjoy! Yep, making this frozen mango margarita recipe is as simple as that. Another great thing about this recipe? It’s all about the mango. Instead of using mango juice or added sweeteners, I blend up frozen mango to create its thick texture and sweet, tangy flavor. Once you try it, you’ll never make a mango margarita any other way. It’s smooth,…

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How to Cut a Mango

Learn how to cut a mango with this step-by-step guide! Then, enjoy the sweet, juicy fruit as a snack, or add it to your favorite mango recipes.

cooking basics

Welcome to How to Cut a Mango 101! Here on Love & Lemons, we have recipes for mango salsa, mango tacos, mango margaritas, and even mango sushi. Suffice it to say, a simple guide on how to cut a mango is way overdue. Cutting a mango isn’t difficult, but if you’re attempting it for the first time, it can be perplexing. Should you peel it first? What shape should the pieces be? And what on earth should you do about that pit? If you’re asking these questions, you’re in the right place! Below, you’ll find my method for how to…

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Pinto Beans

Once you learn how to cook pinto beans from scratch, the canned kind will never taste the same. Creamy and flavorful, they're a delicious side dish.

side dishes / cooking basics

“I’m never buying pinto beans in a can again!” I told Jack last week, as I savored spoonful after spoonful of pinto beans straight from a pot on the stove. Maybe I was exaggerating (canned beans are darn convenient, after all), but I’ll certainly reach for them less often than I used to. If the last year has taught me anything, it’s that cooking pinto beans from scratch will yield creamier, more flavorful beans every time. I’ll be the first to admit that I’m arriving late to the dried beans party. A few years back, I did try cooking them, but without…

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25 Taco Toppings for Your Next Taco Bar

Looking for a fun, flavorful dinner idea? Try a taco bar! Warm a stack of tortillas, and let everyone fill them with their favorite taco toppings.

dinner / snacks & dips

On nights when I have a bunch of odds and ends in the fridge – minced cilantro, sliced chiles, a container of cooked black beans – I warm a stack of tortillas and set out a taco bar for dinner. It’s a long way from traditional Mexican food, of course, but Jack and I still have fun piling our tacos with whatever toppings sound best. I love this kind of DIY dinner on weeknights. For one, it’s way easier to drum up taco toppings than it is to make one composed main dish, especially if you start with fixings that…

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Roasted Cauliflower Tacos

If you love easy recipes that pack a huge punch of flavor, these roasted cauliflower tacos are for you. They're healthy, delicious, and simple to make.

vegetarian / dinner

When I opened Julia Turshen’s new cookbook Simply Julia, I landed on a photo of these roasted cauliflower tacos. My first thought? “I want to eat that.” After trying them, I think it’s safe to say that you’ll want to eat these cauliflower tacos too. They’re jam-packed with flavor from nutty roasted cauliflower, aromatic spices, and a zingy avocado sauce, and they’re also super easy to make. Roast the veggies, whizz up the sauce, stuff it all into tortillas, and voila! Dinner is served. If you’re looking for more recipes that combine easy prep with big flavor, I highly recommend you…

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Avocado Sauce

This bright and creamy avocado sauce is delicious on tacos, quesadillas, veggie burgers, and more! With just 5 ingredients, it's a breeze to make.

dressings & sauces

This avocado sauce is the perfect topping for these roasted cauliflower tacos. Or any tacos, for that matter. It’s smooth, rich, and creamy, with a punch of bright flavor from lime. You only need 5 ingredients to make it, and it comes together in less than 5 minutes. I think it might be a new taco night staple in our house! The recipe comes from Julia Turshen’s new cookbook Simply Julia, which is packed with 110 recipes for healthy comfort food. Like this avocado sauce recipe (and these cauliflower tacos), each one is simple to make, but filled with flavor. They’re…

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Stovetop Popcorn

Planning your next movie night? This easy stovetop popcorn recipe is exactly what you need! Crispy and flavorful, it's an irresistible salty snack.

snacks & dips

What’s a good movie night without a bowl of freshly popped popcorn?! With the Oscars coming up this weekend, I thought I’d share a recipe for the stovetop popcorn that Jack and I love to make at home. Heads up – this stuff is seriously addictive. Salty, crunchy, and tossed with a savory sprinkle of nutritional yeast, it’ll ruin you for bagged popcorn forever. It’s crispier, it’s more flavorful, and it’s so simple to make that buying pre-popped popcorn is hardly easier. Seriously! You’re just 5 ingredients and 15 minutes away from a delectable salty snack. How to Make Popcorn…

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Creamy Dill Sauce

This creamy lemon dill sauce is delicious on grilled and roasted vegetables, salads, and more. Made with 6 ingredients, it comes together in minutes.

spring / dressings & sauces

This dill sauce recipe rose out of my favorite kind of cooking: the kind where you open the fridge, look inside, and cook with what you have on hand. A few weeks ago, I had a massive bunch of fresh dill leftover from making this avocado dressing, and I was searching for ways to use it up. I’d already sprinkled dill over avocado toast and poached eggs, tossed it into salads, and whizzed it into soup (seriously, it was a big bunch). I had some gorgeous asparagus I wanted to cook too, and I thought it would be nice to…

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Asparagus Salad

Nothing says, "Spring!" like this asparagus salad recipe. It's light and refreshing, made with crisp veggies, feta, and a creamy avocado dressing.

spring / salads

Each year, I make this asparagus salad recipe to celebrate the arrival of spring…which, in Chicago, is usually later than you’d think. See, in all the years that we’ve lived here, it’s snowed on Jack’s April birthday. So when we have the odd warm day in March or early April, I don’t get my hopes up. “Winter isn’t over yet,” I tell myself, “Don’t get used to this.” But this year, Jack’s birthday arrived…and it didn’t snow. It was still a little chilly, but the air smelled clean and fresh, and tulips and daffodils bloomed around the neighborhood. Dare I…

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Avocado Dressing

This avocado dressing recipe is bright, creamy, and super easy to make! Toss it with a salad, drizzle it over roasted veggies, or add it to a grain bowl.

dressings & sauces

I could eat this creamy, dreamy, dairy-free avocado dressing on just about anything. A salad? Of course! Roasted veggies? Yes, please. A grain bowl? I’m hungry already. This avocado dressing is rich, smooth, and bright, with a subtle complexity from fresh dill. It’s made with a few basic ingredients, and it whizzes up in minutes. The next time you have a ripe avocado on hand, be sure to try it. You’re going to love this recipe! Avocado Dressing Recipe Ingredients Here’s what you’ll need to make this recipe: Avocado, of course! I often make creamy salad dressings with nuts or…

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Quick Pickled Radishes

Get ready to fall in love with this quick pickled radish recipe! The crunchy, tangy, salty veggies are perfect for jazzing up tacos, toast, salads, and more.

spring / snacks & dips

If you opened my fridge right now, you’d see jars upon jars of these quick pickled radishes lined up inside. They’re so pretty and pink that it’s almost a shame to eat them. I love the vibrant patterns the radishes create against the glass, all those circles and stripes. The natural beauty of these humble root veggies never ceases to amaze me. Still, eat them I will. Tangy, salty, and delightfully crisp, they’re an addictive snack or topping for toast, tacos, bowls, burgers, salads…just about anything you like! This pickled radish recipe is easy to make (the fridge does most…

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Hello, we're Jeanine and Jack.