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It’s my favorite, and I think it’s mostly because of the sauce, that thick, dark, gooey, sweet and spicy hoisin sauce. Hoisin sauce is readily available in the Asian section of the grocery aisle, at least around here, and you can use it as a dipping sauce or glaze for practically anything—wings, meatloaf, ribs, salmon, eggplant, meatballs, chicken, and in this case, Brussels sprouts. In this quick and easy stir-fry, we lightly boil the halved sprouts first, so they cook more evenly....

Homemade BBQ Sauce BBQ sauce adds sweet, smoky flavor to grilled chicken, beef or pork. Before you dive into the grocery store’s bottles, why not try your hand at making it at home? Our homemade barbecue sauce is super easy to make, gluten-free, and comes together with pantry ingredients you probably already have on hand. It is our favorite sauce for grilling, putting on sandwiches, salads, tacos, meatloaf, baked beans or using as a dipping sauce....

The Perfect Tuna Melt Though this recipe is easy, it is definitely not your average tuna melt. Think of this as more of a “grown up” tuna melt. Years ago, I tried a tuna melt at a local Boise restaurant called Bardenay and I was blown away with how good it was! I immediately went home and added it to our usual sandwich rotation. Even my kids are crazy about these cheesy tuna melts!...

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Oatmeal Butterscotch Cookies These Oatmeal Butterscotch Cookies take me straight back to my childhood when my mom would make a huge batch and pack along when we went on road trips or camping or to the lake. These are also our go to cookie recipe for the first day of school (more on that below). Something about the slightly crispy outside, chewy texture in the middle and mild butterscotch flavor of these cookies just makes the perfect snack!...

These cookies are chocolatey, oh so fudge-y, and studded with bright colorful chunks of peppermint bark. Perfect with a tall glass of milk next to a decked-out tree. These peppermint bark chocolate cookies are the first to be eaten at a cookie swap, and are bound to become a holiday staple after you take your first bite. Perfect for in-laws, holiday parties, or leaving on a plate for Santa!...

Pirate Ship Cake Believe it or not, this Pirate Ship Birthday Cake was our VERY FIRST POST here on Favorite Family Recipes (way back in 2007). I made this cake for a birthday and thought it was the coolest thing ever! So, I took pictures and put it up on this blog for the family to see. Hilarious, right? We have come a LONG way since this was posted! Anyway, back to the Pirate Ship Cake....

Pumpkin scones make a special weekend treat for a family breakfast or brunch. You don’t have to worry about waking up too early to get these on the breakfast table, and you could even start them the night before for a rare chance to sleep in. My favorite part is saving a leftover scone for a quiet coffee break in the afternoon. Tips for Perfectly Tender Scones Similar to biscuits, tender scones require cold ingredients and a gentle hand....

Sadly, peak berry season is always too short. So a few years back, I started making liqueurs using the bounty of fresh berries to keep on hand for when I needed a berry fix. If I can’t eat them fresh, an infused liqueur makes for a delicious alternative. It’s also super easy! The hardest part about making this liqueur is the waiting while it steeps (about 4 weeks), but it’s well worth it....

The Flexibility of a Slow Cooker I love my slow cooker—it frees my hands (and oven) for hours, and the cook time is always forgiving. Fill it with ingredients, put the lid on, and let it do its thing. It doesn’t get much easier than that! Most slow cookers have three settings: high, low, and warm. I start most slow cooker recipes on high and reduce to low if I want to draw out the cook time....

After flipping through the pages of Cooking with Scraps by Lindsay-Jean Hard I was inspired to use uneaten apple cores as a way to further reduce food waste in my kitchen. Lindsay-Jean Hard simmers apple cores with sugar and water for a syrup to use on pancakes. Apple syrup! Sounded great, but I’m not much of a pancake eater. I do love using simple syrup as a sweetener for cocktails, though....

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What is Cacio e Pepe? If you’re as food-obsessed as I am, then I’m sure you’ve seen the words “cacio e pepe” all over the place recently—but what exactly is it? If you don’t speak Italian, it translates to “cheese and pepper.” As you might expect, this means that anything with this label will feature these two ingredients prominently, with Parmesan cheese and black pepper being the standards. Try our recipe for Cacio e Pepe Spaghetti!...

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The first time Audrey made these cookies for me, she was about 10 years old. Now she’s almost 15 and still makes these fabulous cookies. Here’s what she told me about them when she was 10: “I wanted to make these cookies because my mom always made these cookies when I was little, and they tasted soooo good! The first two times I made them, they didn’t turn out so good (forgot to add the baking soda)....

Sometimes gadgets can be barriers to experimentation in the kitchen. But a small kitchen or a lack of funding shouldn’t prevent anyone from making delicious homemade food. I find that most meals can be made with just a few simple tools that serve multiple purposes. In the case of my homemade pasta, my rolling pin doubles as my pasta roller. Video: How to Make Homemade Pasta Also, head over to YouTube to watch our Senior Editor Summer Miller make this recipe with her kids as part of our Simply Kids Cook YouTube series!...

We pulled down several Meyer lemons last week to avoid the freeze that hit here in California and I’ve been thinking up things to do with them. As a major lemonade fan, lemon sorbet was a logical choice. Lemon sorbet is pretty intense — sweet and acidic. I can see why it is often used as a palate cleanser between meal courses. It is best eaten in small amounts. An added benefit of having some around in the freezer is that if you happen to be in the mood for lemonade, you can take a few scoops and mix it in with some water, and voilà, instant lemonade....

In this recipe, the tomato pulp is scooped out and used in the filling (no waste!) along with just enough soft breadcrumbs to absorb the moisture and give body to the stuffing. You can use the recipe as a guide and swap in your favorite combination of cheeses and herbs. If you have the grill going, throw these on! If not, bake them in the oven and enjoy these cheesy stuffed tomatoes all year long....

Panoramic Easter Eggs I love these Panoramic Easter Eggs for Easter. My mom used to make them for all of us kids when we were little. We each got our own on Easter morning. It was always something we looked forward to. Now that I have my own little family, the tradition lives on. It is such a fun family activity that everyone can enjoy. Kids love decorating the inside. They are beautiful decorations to display for Easter and you can save them forever....