Get ready, because in this episode, we pull back the curtain to tell you about how a recipe is developed and how you can quickly decode a recipe to ensure that it’s right for you. Because nothing is more discouraging than cooking a meal that flops.

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There’s No One-Size Fits All Recipe

We know that you guys love a good one-size-fits all solution — because what busy parent doesn’t?! — but the truth is that there’s no universal way to define a “good” recipe. Sure, it has to be well-written and adequately tested, but that’s just the cost of entry. Beyond that, a recipe that’s good for you may not be good for me. A recipe that worked for last week’s schedule may not work this week. And a beloved recipe that works perfectly when you’re not watching your wallet may cause stress when you’re grocery shopping on a budget.

So how do you know when a recipe is going to work? By looking for different things at different times. And we break it all down this week.

Here are links from this week’s conversation:

• Bon Appetit

• Meghan’s recipes on Kitchn

• Alison Roman

• New York Times Cooking

• Melissa Clark

• Ruth Reichl

• What’s Gaby Cooking

• Weelicious

Other DIJFY Episodes You’ll Love

• The Busy Parent’s Guide to Instant Pot Cooking

• Maybe the Slow Cooker Isn’t So Great?

• Everyday Mexican Cooking

• Reclaiming Chicken Nuggets

• Reducing Waste and Debt With Roe of Brown Kids

• Why Pasta Is A Busy Cook’s Best Friend

• What To Freeze (and Not To Freeze) For Easier Family Dinners

• Our Favorite No-Cook Dinners — and Not Just Salads

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Get Bonus Content!

Did you know that we have a newsletter in which we share bonus content every single week? Like free recipes. Just for you! So far, subscribers have gotten a bonus recipe from Catherine McCord’s smoothie book, a recipe for lower-sugar Chocolate Cake with Whipped Chocolate Frosting from Jennifer Tyler Lee’s new book, Half The Sugar, All the Love, and MORE!

Sign up now to make sure you don’t miss out!

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Stacie’s New Book!

Did you guys know that you’re buying 53 pounds of chicken per person per year. Y’all REALLY love chicken, and Stacie’s latest cookbook is your new guide to cooking it perfectly.

Winner! Winner! Chicken Dinner: 50 Winning Ways To Cook It Up! is a collection of modern, vibrant recipes that solves dinner using America’s favorite main protein.

Organized by method, this colorful collection offers fresh new chicken recipes (like Pineapple Chicken Salad with Green Beans and Toasted Coconut) and quick takes on classic dishes (from Chicken Adobo to an unexpected twist on Chicken Scaloppine) so that you can roast, grill, pressure cook, braise or sheet pan your way to dinner any night of the week.

It’s also chock full of tips on everything from choosing healthy chicken, confusing labels be damned, to breaking it down like the home cook boss you are.

Preorder your copy now at:

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Indie Bound

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Let’s Be Friends

Be sure to join our private listeners’ group on Facebook (our favorite cocktail is WHISKEY — you’ll understand when you try to join). There, we’ll be answering all of your follow up questions from this week’s episode and also sharing more recipes that we’re sure will work on your busiest nights.

And, hey, we want you to tell us about the recipes that work for you too.

You can also find us at @didntijustfeed you on Instagram and on Facebook at large. And if you happen to love us as much as we love you (we really do!), you can find Meghan as @meghan_splawn and Stacie as @staciebillis on Instagram.

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You asked, we delivered.

Or did we just want Cheese Me totes? Either way: they’re available! Head to the Didn’t I Just Feed You store on Society 6 to grab yours now. We’ll have more products coming later this year, but get this baby STAT to help us bring cheesy back.