What to Cook When You Don’t Feel Like Cooking

Hi! I hope you had a great holiday weekend. We had a 4th of July extra off the grid at our already very off the grid cabin, as a power line was down so we didn’t have power the entire time. We lit candles and grilled every meal and it was lovely, actually. It was just what we needed in the wake of a very sad week. Our dog, Hooper, went to doggy heaven last Wednesday, and I have frankly been gobsmacked by grief.

Happy Fourth of July! Today’s recipe is one that’s been requested by my Bay Area crew for years, any time I post a photo of my very favorite Bay Area meal: a Chinese chicken salad inspired by Comforts in San Anselmo! Note: This is not an exact dupe. This salad has more going on. But the inspo is there!! The honey-soy vinaigrette is so good you’ll want to drink it, and the crunchy vegetables mixed with warm bites of chicken, sweet orange, and crispy wontons are just a 10 out of 10.

Hi and happy July! Are you traveling for the Fourth? If so, check out our latest vacation house meal plan — all the recipes are easy to double or triple if you’ll be with a big crew. Or if you’re grilling out or headed to a potluck this weekend, we’re here with ideas for what to cook or bring! Let’s talk about what to cook for the Fourth.

You guys have endured me yapping on and on about preordering my new book, Make It Fast, for months now — so now it’s time for me to say A HUGE THANK YOU. If you came to the party for my last book, you know it was utter chaos in the best way. George was cooking with me and making cocktails, the kids were running amok, and we ran a live trivia competition to give away tons (and tons and tons!) of prizes from many of my favorite brands.

It’s prime summer travel time, so we’re back with a new really simple vacation house meal plan! We typically send our really simple meal plans the first Friday of every month, but we’re bumping this one up a few days so that you have it in your inbox going into the holiday weekend. For this meal plan, we’ve mapped out five summery dinner recipes that are low-effort, delicious, and can feed a crowd.

I looove a good “dump meal” — one where you just dump a bunch of ingredients into a pot and let ‘em cook. And believe it or not, this beautiful summer dinner is one of those meals! It only requires you to slice up a zucchini and bell pepper. Otherwise, you just dump, simmer, broil, and dig in within half an hour of when you started cooking. Very doable after a long day of hanging by the pool or working and/or schlepping your kids all over to summer camps.

Hi! This past weekend was a big one — I turned 37, George and I celebrated our 14-year anniversary, and it was Father’s Day all in one day. I told George I didn’t want to do anything to celebrate, and then I changed my mind at 1 p.m. and asked him to throw me a dinner party. Heh heh. He grabbed marinated steaks and a few pre-made salads from our local market and made Mexican corn salad. He had ordered a tiny ice cream cake (my fave) for our family only, so we all had a little bitty slice.

Hi! I am SO EXCITED to share the What To Cook When You Don’t Feel Like Cooking: Make It Fast book tour! I’ll be visiting 13 cities across the U.S. in late summer and early fall, spreading the WTC Make It Fast word and meeting so many of you after years of DMing and comments back and forth — I simply cannot wait!!! Unless otherwise noted below in yellow, each event includes an on-stage chat (we’re lining up some really fun conversation partners!), a pre-signed copy of the book, and an optional...

HI GUYS!! I am SO EXCITED to give you the very first look at the What To Cook When You Don’t Feel Like Cooking: Make It Fast book tour!! You all have first access to tickets (linked below!). I hope you can make it to an event — I would absolutely LOVE to meet every single WTC Insider in real life!! Unless otherwise noted below in yellow, each event incl…

The time has come for a brand new big ass, good-all-week salad!!! Good-all-week salads — meaning, salads that get better as they sit and won’t turn to mush after a few days in the fridge — are a staple of my fridge all year long, but especially during summertime, when all my little humans are home and I’m constantly craving fresh vegetables.