Meal Plans

This month welcome Sara Bir. Sara Bir is the author of two cookbooks, Tasting Ohio and the IACP award-winning The Fruit Forager’s Companion. She also moderates and replies to your comments here on Simply Recipes. Follow her @sausagetarian.
September 22 is the first official day of fall. But when does it start to feel like fall? It could be when the days shorten noticeably. Or when the nights get cool. Or when school starts up again.
After such a jumbled summer, a change in seasons is welcome. But this year, whatever shape it may be taking, school is breaking new territory. Where I live in the Ohio River Valley, it’s been a hot, hot summer—so my favorite fall fruits may be too dry and shriveled to make an abundant harvest. The festivals I spend months looking forward to are taking a gap year (see you in 2021, Ohio Pawpaw Festival).
But there’s still the always-anticipated wardrobe switch to boots and sweaters. The cavalcade of pumpkin spice products. The promise of smaller electric bills once we shut off the AC.
What does fall look like to you? These recipes embrace the coziness we start craving around now, either with seasonal ingredients (apples! winter squash!) or seasonal vibes (braised pork! saucy meatballs!). May they bring you into fall with warmth and good health.
One last thing: Looking for dinner ideas? You’re in the right spot! We have delicious meal plans to suit every taste and lifestyle—Healthy Eating, Family Favorites, and Vegetarian just to name a few. These one-month plans are $6.95 and, with them, you get a dessert and weekend prep recipe and a shopping list. They’re beautifully designed and perfect to print and save or simply load and cook right from your computer! LEGGI TUTTO

This month welcome Sara Bir. Sara Bir is the author of two cookbooks, Tasting Ohio and the IACP award-winning The Fruit Forager’s Companion. She also moderates and replies to your comments here on Simply Recipes. Follow her @sausagetarian.
I love my gadgets and think they earn their keep. Or do they? I have a high-speed blender, a food processor, two Instant Pots, a portable induction burner, a waffle iron, a stand mixer, a sous vide circulator, a food dehydrator, an immersion blender, and…hmm. That’s a lot.
When was the last time I pureed food in a blender? Or grilled a panini? Okay, so maybe I don’t fire these up daily, but I like having them. It’s always inspiring to spy a cool recipe that reminds me to play with my toys.
This meal plan gives you a nudge to dust off a few of those nifty appliances you may be neglecting. And if you don’t have an Instant Pot, (or a slow cooker or sous vide machine, don’t worry—all the recipes below offer alternative cooking methods for your trusty old range.
One last thing: Looking for dinner ideas? You’re in the right spot! We have delicious meal plans to suit every taste and lifestyle—Healthy Eating, Family Favorites, and Vegetarian just to name a few. These one-month plans are $6.95 and, with them, you get a dessert and weekend prep recipe and a shopping list. They’re beautifully designed and perfect to print and save or simply load and cook right from your computer! LEGGI TUTTO

This month welcome Sara Bir. Sara Bir is the author of two cookbooks, Tasting Ohio and the IACP award-winning The Fruit Forager’s Companion. She also moderates and replies to your comments here on Simply Recipes. Follow her @sausagetarian.
Depending on where you live, the growing season may still be going strong. All the tomatoes! The squash! The sweet corn! I love summer, I love fresh produce, and I detest winter. So, in these last few moments of summer’s harvest, I double down and pack in as many seasonal crops as I can.
All the farmers at my local farmers market still have tables stocked with eggplant, slightly tough but still lovely green beans, and bushels of tomatoes. I see them and feel like a pet lover at the animal shelter—I want to give all the vegetables a good home!
If you’re in the same boat – or you just want to keep summer rolling as long as possible – here’s a week of recipes to pack in every last peck of gifts from the garden (or the grocery store…whatever works).
One last thing: Looking for dinner ideas? You’re in the right spot! We have delicious meal plans to suit every taste and lifestyle—Healthy Eating, Family Favorites, and Vegetarian just to name a few. These one-month plans are $6.95 and, with them, you get a dessert and weekend prep recipe and a shopping list. They’re beautifully designed and perfect to print and save or simply load and cook right from your computer! LEGGI TUTTO

This month welcome Sara Bir. Sara Bir is the author of two cookbooks, Tasting Ohio and the IACP award-winning The Fruit Forager’s Companion. She also moderates and replies to your comments here on Simply Recipes. Follow her @sausagetarian.
People love food holidays, but ever wonder what the point is? You know what I’m talking about: National Pecan Cookie Day. National Mushroom Month. International Bacon Day.
Optimally, the point is fun. Yes, most food holidays are contrived and arbitrary, brainstormed by a marketing board or social media consultant. (Like why is National Strawberry Cream Pie Day on September 2, when strawberries are totally out of season?) But they give us an excuse to celebrate the foods we love. And who isn’t hungry for a reason to celebrate?
No, this meal plan does not sync the recipes with the actual dates of the holidays—otherwise, we’d have you eating milkshakes, crème de menthe, and cream-filled donuts for dinner three days in a row. Our meal plan is simply inspired by September food holidays. National I Love Food Day falls on September 9, and I’m sure we’ll all be observing, whether we know it or not.
One last thing: Looking for dinner ideas? You’re in the right spot! We have delicious meal plans to suit every taste and lifestyle—Healthy Eating, Family Favorites, and Vegetarian just to name a few. These one-month plans are $6.95 and, with them, you get a dessert and weekend prep recipe and a shopping list. They’re beautifully designed and perfect to print and save or simply load and cook right from your computer! LEGGI TUTTO

This month, welcome Sara Bir. Sara Bir is the author of two cookbooks, Tasting Ohio and the IACP award-winning The Fruit Forager’s Companion. She also moderates and replies to your comments here on Simply Recipes. Follow her @sausagetarian.
As a kid, I met the end of summer vacation with a mix of anticipation and dread. It’s not so poignant as an adult, but I still feel a soft melancholy knowing the long days and warm nights are embarking upon their way out for the year…just like the last of the lightning bugs glowing after the sun sets.
Do you get similar pangs? There are still plenty of summery nights left, so make the most of them as you transition to the altered schedules of school or whatever changes life may hold for you! These are light, carefree recipes to enjoy while mentally adjusting to the eve of autumn.
One last thing: Looking for dinner ideas? You’re in the right spot! We have delicious meal plans to suit every taste and lifestyle—Healthy Eating, Family Favorites, and Vegetarian just to name a few. These one-month plans are $6.95 and, with them, you get a dessert and weekend prep recipe and a shopping list. They’re beautifully designed and perfect to print and save or simply load and cook right from your computer! LEGGI TUTTO

This month, welcome Sara Bir. Sara Bir is the author of two cookbooks, Tasting Ohio and the IACP award-winning The Fruit Forager’s Companion. She also moderates and replies to your comments here on Simply Recipes. Follow her @sausagetarian.
If you have school-aged kids, this school year will break new ground. Even if they attend all five days a week in person, their usual routines will likely be vastly different.

Unlike the abrupt intro to homeschooling parents had back in the spring, this time we have a heads-up. If your kids will be home more than they were back in the good old days, here’s a new distance learning class for them: Making Dinner!
As a kid, I had a copy of Betty Crocker’s Cook Book for Boys and Girls, and I spent many happy hours browsing its pages for potential dinners I could make. Now, my own 10-year-old does the same thing. I let her pick out recipes and we make them together, the goal being minimal interference from me (mostly, I help her find utensils).
This meal plan seizes that idea, creating a mini cookbook of sorts for your family. If your kids are small or wary of cooking, give them specific tasks: grating cheese, peeling carrots. If they are older or indomitable, let them run with it! This week is a DIY home ec. class for all ages, one that promises to be fun, fuss-free, and inspiring.
One last thing: Looking for dinner ideas? You’re in the right spot! We have delicious meal plans to suit every taste and lifestyle—Healthy Eating, Family Favorites, and Vegetarian just to name a few. These one-month plans are $6.95 and, with them, you get a dessert and weekend prep recipe and a shopping list. They’re beautifully designed and perfect to print and save or simply load and cook right from your computer! LEGGI TUTTO

Craving a vacation? Travel through food with this weekly meal plan, featuring awesome regional specialties like crab cakes, South Carolina BBQ and Cincinnati Chili for a road trip adventure without leaving your hometown. No reservations needed! Continue reading “5 Recipes for a Virtual American Road Trip” » LEGGI TUTTO

This month, welcome Sara Bir. Sara Bir is the author of two cookbooks, Tasting Ohio and the IACP award-winning The Fruit Forager’s Companion. She also moderates and replies to your comments here on Simply Recipes. Follow her @sausagetarian.
Since May, I’ve been riding my bike to the weekly farmers market, donning my mask, and buying up all the good stuff I can cram into my backpack. Now that it’s late summer, things are really rolling around here on the produce scene.

Mid-week, I cruise to our favorite farm stand and load up on sweet corn, plus whatever other goodies they may have to offer: ripe peaches, cucumbers, zucchini, tomatoes, blackberries, watermelon—this is what we dream of all year long!
This week’s meal plan keeps that momentum going. Even if your farmers market happens to be a standard grocery store, you can still embrace the glory of summer produce. Whether the vegetables came from your own backyard or the produce aisle, we picked recipes everyone can dive right into.
One last thing: Looking for dinner ideas? You’re in the right spot! We have delicious meal plans to suit every taste and lifestyle—Healthy Eating, Family Favorites, and Vegetarian just to name a few. These one-month plans are $6.95 and, with them, you get a dessert and weekend prep recipe and a shopping list. They’re beautifully designed and perfect to print and save or simply load and cook right from your computer! LEGGI TUTTO