When it comes to entertaining, the Barefoot Contessa is a bonafide queen. Between wowing a crowd and making lovey-dovey meals for her man, Jeffrey, Ina Garten runs the world of classic cooking. When you want to take a page from her book but have less than half the time, you need to get creative. That's why we asked our trusted food editor Christine to adapt a few of Ina's classic recipes to the slow cooker. Three cheers for saving time, energy, and sanity!

Hearty beef stew is a cold-weather staple and Ina's version yields plenty for leftovers during the week. But instead of firing up your stove and breaking out the Dutch oven, you can easily transfer your chopped vegetables and chuck to a slow cooker that can do all the work for you.

Ina's roast chicken is legendary. The classic lemon, thyme, and butter combination has made it one of the most popular chicken recipes on the planet. But if you make it in the slow cooker, the meat will be infinitely juicier and virtually falling off the bone, and all that liquid gold at the bottom will make for even better gravy than Ina even imagined.

This traditional Italian dish typically requires tending to a pot of rice and constantly stirring in stock for 30 minutes straight. But you can also dig out the slow cooker to recreate a hands-free version of Ina's recipe. You'll need at least twice as much time, but with virtually zero effort, it's worth the wait.

Layered noodles in a slow cooker may seem strange at first, but the low-and-slow method suits Ina's ultra-saucy dish perfectly.

As any Barefoot Contessa fan can tell you, Ina has a knack for perfecting the seemingly simple. Her next-level buttermilk mashed spuds are no exception. Make things easier on yourself by cooking this classic side dish in your slow cooker instead. Bonus: The pot will keep them warm all through dinner.

My husband is finally home after a few weeks of traveling for work, and I am taking full advantage of him being home to help with dinner and kid wrangling. We're celebrating him being home, his belated birthday, and a new home with a week of our family's favorite dinner.

There's nothing fancy in the meal plan this week — just five classic family favorites, from lasagna to enchiladas, that are all quick and easy to put together. Some use shopping shortcuts, while others make the best use of a single pan. Here are the five comfort food classics we are eating this week.

Welcome to This Week's Meal Plan

Planning my weekly meals is a habit I enjoy. Since I'm frequently asked by friends and family what I'm cooking for dinner each week, I thought it'd be useful to share my weekly meal plan here. Whether you're just learning to meal plan and looking for a real-life example of how this works or you're an old pro on the hunt for inspiration, here's a peek at how I'm feeding my family this week.

My husband is pulling off a riff on this skillet lasagna that we call "Nana's lasagna"; it's something that his mother made for their family on the regular when he was a kid. It's the definition of comfort food for him. With some roasted broccoli on the side, this is one of our favorite dinners.

I have a bunch of leftover turkey from recipe testing last week and plan on turning the last bit into these easy enchiladas. Full disclosure: I bought canned enchilada sauce, which makes this recipe even easier to throw together. I'm roasting the last few ears of corn that I picked up at the farmers market while the enchiladas bake too.

Every single person in our family loves this broccoli cheese soup. Need I say more? Alright, I will. This soup is full of vegetables — carrots, onions, broccoli — and is super satisfying. We'll skip the bread bowls but serve some bread for dipping and apple slices on the side.

Honestly, this dinner is all about using up the bits and bobs left in the fridge. Half a zucchini, a quarter of a red onion, leftover roasted cauliflower — they all come together with the help of eggs.

I saw this ciabatta pizza bread recipe in our Week of Dinners series with Jessica Merchant from How Sweet Eats and instantly knew it would be a family favorite (hello, tiny pepperonis!). I'm really looking forward to Pizza Friday this week.

Have you ever seen a black chicken? We don't mean a black-feathered chicken; we mean a Silkie chicken, which is black-pigmented right down to its bones. They aren't commonly found in the grocery store, but you might see them in Asian groceries. What's the deal with these black chickens, and do they taste different than the paler breed?

Silkie chickens are a highly prized breed of chicken that has beautiful silky white plumage, and startlingly black skin. They are frequently found in China, India, and Southeast Asia. They have a mild-mannered nature and make excellent pets, and you'll often see them at poultry shows.

The chicken flesh itself is a dark bluish-gray or even black, and the bones are black as well. But the meat really doesn't taste different by nature; it's just chicken. The one difference, however, comes from the way the birds are raised. These obviously aren't factory-farmed birds, raised on the enormous scale of U.S. poultry farms, so they're almost invariably free-range and slightly gamier in flavor. In fact, if you're looking for free-range and well-raised birds, choosing a black chicken is a good way to go.

Do you ever eat black chicken? How do you cook it? It seems that a roasted black bird would be slightly startling to guests; perhaps you're better off with soup? Here's an article from The New York Times on black chicken and soup.

Related: Ingredient Spotlight: Silkie Chickens

(Top image: Flickr member ~MVI~ licensed for use under Creative Commons; bottom image: Wikimedia)

Here's how I pictured family dinner with my husband and three kids: Everyone is at the table, enjoying steak and fries while taking turns talking about the highlights from their day.

In reality, dinner is more of a workout than a time to relax over conversation. In reality, my husband and I have spent more dinners than I can count chasing our two autistic kids (my son and younger daughter), sensory seekers who like to launch themselves out of their seats at every opportunity. In reality, this ideal image doesn't fit our family dynamic at all.

But I'm learning that that's okay — with a little help from a TV and a therapist or two.

What Dinner Looks Like with Two Autistic Kids

"Where's Nick?" I asked my older daughter one night. I had lost track of him when I turned my head a few minutes to cut some strawberries.

"He's in the cabinet," she responded. I opened it to find him hiding with the pots and pans.

Meanwhile, my younger daughter was running laps around the living room.

This is a typical dinner scene at my house. The food sits on the table, but my kids don't have the attention span to eat it.

I also struggle to get them to take the dietary supplements they need to make up for picky eating habits and food restrictions (even for my older daughter who has autistic traits, but isn't diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder).

"I need to use the potty," screamed my older daughter one day. She jumped out of her seat at the dinner table and began running toward the bathroom. Acting on a hunch, my husband followed her. When he came back to the kitchen, he was holding an orange gumdrop vitamin with a tissue wrapped around it.

Another night, he found a probiotic pill behind the kitchen trash can. Apparently, she had missed the target.

I can relate. I'm autistic and a picky eater, too. When I was a kid, I refused to eat most vegetables. My parents wouldn't let me leave the dinner table until I ate them, so if the family dog wasn't available to help out, I would use a drink to swallow whole pieces of broccoli smothered in cheddar cheese. (I still don't eat many vegetables, including broccoli.)

How TV and a Therapist or Two Helps My Austistic Kids Eat Dinner

I've chosen to take a different approach with my kids by introducing a TV into our kitchen and by inviting applied behavior analysis therapists into our living room.

I know for many families television at the dinner table is taboo, and having a therapist (or two) around might not be how I originally pictured family dinners. But our dinner dynamic has changed dramatically — for the better — since we made these changes.

One night, my three preschoolers kneeled on their chairs singing "True Colors" between bites of grilled chicken and laughing while watching Trolls.

When they stopped eating, I paused the movie. They resumed crunching their carrots and apple slices without a word. When they slouched so low they were practically hanging off of their chairs, I paused the TV again. They repositioned themselves and looked at me expectantly. I didn't immediately play the movie this time. I had their undivided attention.

"How was school today?" I asked. When I was satisfied with the response, I pushed play.

Meanwhile, my daughter's applied behavior analysis therapists lurk in the living room, taking notes on their iPads when meals run smoothly. But they're ready to swoop into the kitchen as needed using incentives like TV time, stickers, or even candy for after dinner. These rewards are, it turns out, what my daughter needs to sit nicely, try new foods, and take her vitamins.

One night, we invited my younger daughter's favorite therapist, who is like part of our family, to join us for dinner. My husband prepared an elaborate turkey dinner with gravy and most of the fixings we normally prepare on Thanksgiving. My daughter asked more questions than she has asked any other guests we've had at our dinner table: "Are you eating dinner with us?" "Do you like turkey?" "I don't like mashed potatoes. Do you?"

My son recently started his own applied behavior analysis therapy, so we often have two therapists in our home at the same time about five or six times a week. Now, I need to seriously consider getting a bigger dinner table, which would be well worth the investment.

This is what works for my family. I've even been known to join my kids by dancing and singing along to "Can't Stop the Feeling" from my dinner chair.

In our house, frittatas, the Italian egg dish that's often made in a skillet, are usually reserved for a Sunday clean-out-the-fridge night. They're simple to throw together, satisfying, and you can use almost any vegetable or cheese you have on hand. But lately, they've been making their way onto the breakfast table. Actually, to be truthful, I've been doing a portable version for busy weekday mornings.

Frittatas are nice because they're simple, and these frittata cups are so simple that they can realistically make their way into the weekday lineup.

While they are meant to be served warm, they're actually wonderful room temperature or even cold, making them a great grab-and-go lunch option as well. And this recipe is versatile. Don't like kale? Substitute a different leafy green. Have broccoli you need to use up? Chop it up and throw it in. Prefer Parmesan to goat cheese? No problem. You can experiment here and find a version of this recipe that suits your own taste.

Avocado toast is delicious, and eggs are super easy to make at home, but when you want something that feels special — or like dessert — there's nothing like French toast for brunch. I mean, it's basically bread that's fried and topped (or stuffed) with delicious things. And you get to eat that for breakfast! Win.

If you want something truly decadent for breakfast, Pinterest has just the thing you want to make. The most-saved French toast recipe on the social platform is filled with chocolate, peanut butter, and bananas.

Cue all of the oohs and aahs.

The most-saved French Toast recipe comes to us from longtime blogger Averie Cooks. The recipe has been saved 24,000 times this year alone on Pinterest.

To make the French toast you're going to need all the regular ingredients — bread, eggs, milk, butter — and then a few special ingredients like chocolate peanut butter or Nutella, bananas, and cinnamon. You essentially make chocolate peanut butter sandwiches, dip them in a milky-egg mixture, and fry them on the stove until they caramelize. Dreamy, right?

I don't know about you, but I'd be pretty happy to wake up to a stack of this French toast on a Sunday.

What's your favorite French Toast recipe? Let us know in the comments!

One way I know fall is truly here is when I wake up craving anything but my usual bowl of yogurt and fruit. With the arrival of brisk mornings, I find myself dusting off my slippers and wanting something warm to fill my stomach. These 17 savory and sweet breakfast casseroles are exactly that.

What's better is that almost all of them can be prepared the night before and simply baked in the oven before you're ready to eat. That means you can stay in bed a little while longer, which is always a plus on cool fall mornings.

Casseroles with Meat

Hearty breakfast casseroles filled with eggs, cheese, and meat are pretty much guaranteed to fuel you through the morning. The bonus for most of these is that they can be made ahead, so all you need to do is toss whichever one you're making in the oven when you wake up.

Vegetarian Casseroles

Your breakfast casserole doesn't have to be meaty in order for it to be satisfying. These meatless morning casseroles rely on a boatload of fall veggies like sweet potatoes, cauliflower, and kale to bring flavor, color, and wholesome goodness to your breakfast plate.

Sweet Casseroles

There are mornings when only something sweet will do. Pancakes or waffles can usually do the trick, but these casseroles arguably fit the bill better, as they can be made ahead and feed a hungry crowd.

By nature, smoothies are a quick and easy breakfast that are both nourishing and convenient to enjoy when you're on the go. But there is a way to make them even easier. The key to a smart smoothie routine isn't just the pairing of ingredients you load in the blender — it's knowing the best way to get a jump-start on your favorite breakfast drink by making smoothie kits in advance.

What Are Smoothie Kits?

If smoothies are a regular part of your morning routine, make-ahead smoothie kits are the ultimate breakfast hack you need in your life. Smoothie kits are the smart, make-ahead solution that store all the produce for a smoothie together in a single bag. It's easy enough to pull together in just a few minutes, and come morning it means you're not rummaging through the freezer for three different bags of fruit, then trying to find the spinach that's buried somewhere in the back of the fridge.

Blend It Up in the Morning

Make-ahead smoothie kits take just about all the legwork out of morning smoothie prep — when time is usually tight and you're in a rush. All that's left for you to do is add your liquid of choice to the blender, along with a nut butter or protein powder (if you like). Then dump in the contents of the smoothie kit and blend away.

5 Make-Ahead Kits + 15 Minutes = A Week of Smoothies

These smoothie kits come together in minutes with just a handful of fruits and veggies.

• Super Greens Smoothie: This kit starts with your favorite type of greens, which are paired with chopped zucchini, ripe avocado, banana, and a pitted date. It's the makings of a not-too-sweet smoothie that's totally nourishing.
• Tropical Turmeric Smoothie: To give you a taste of the tropics, this kit comes together with a medley of sweet topical fruits and a pop of pungent fresh ginger. Just add the liquid of your choice and a dash of turmeric when it's time to blend.
• Mango-Orange Smoothie: Citrus-lovers, rejoice! Sweet orange segments are paired with tropical mango for a big punch of vitamin C, plus banana for a cool, creamy finish.
• Peach-Raspberry Smoothie: This kit features peaches, raspberries, and cauliflower (yes, cauliflower!) for a subtly sweet smoothie with an extra-creamy texture.
• PB&J Smoothie: Each smoothie pack is filled with peanut butter (the "PB") and cherries and strawberries (the "J"), plus sliced banana for extra creaminess. When it's time to blend, add your liquid of choice.

Fall is hands-down my favorite time of year in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Sparkling golden aspens dot the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, the air is thick with the intoxicating smell of New Mexico's famous roasting chiles, and, to celebrate what is likely Santa Fe's most famous crop, there is the annual Green Chile Cheeseburger Smackdown.

Every year, New Mexico's top burger purveyors sling it out for the coveted titles of "Reigning Chomp" and "People's Choice." These awards are judged (respectively) by a panel of local food experts (cookbook author and James Beard Award winner Cheryl Alters Jamison is a long-serving judge) and the crowd who, for the price of attendance, get to sample all competing burgers.

This year, I was one of those lucky attendees.

Tensions were high as I entered the 2017 Green Chile Cheeseburger Smackdown, where nine chefs representing five restaurants, one brewery, one food truck, and one culinary teaching program from throughout New Mexico were in the midst of a pitched battle for bragging rights. Claiming either of the two awards is a true source of pride for the chefs and their staff in a state where green chile burgers are ubiquitous.

The burgers themselves were as unique as the chefs who conceived them: Some burgers took a classic approach — beef, cheese, and green chile on a bun — while others were more exotic, with secret sauces, inventive toppings, and a variety of meats.

Chef Rocky Durham from the Blue Heron at Sunrise Springs Spa Resort was dubbed "Reigning Chomp," while the "People's Choice" was awarded to Chef David Sellers with Street Food Institute. However my personal favorite was the bacon green chile cheeseburger from Rowley Farmhouse Ales, with its truly addictive heat.

The 5 Best Places to Eat Green Chile Cheeseburgers in Santa Fe

If you didn't make it to the Green Chile Cheeseburger Smackdown, I highly recommend planning a trip for next year's event. Of course, you can find green chile cheeseburgers basically everywhere in Santa Fe and greater New Mexico year-round.

Read more: 5 Things You Should Know About Santa Fe's Green Chiles

There's a saying in Santa Fe that if you don't put green chile on your burgers, you'll have three years bad luck. Best to heed the advice, I think. Here are five places to find the best and most unique variations of the green chile cheeseburger in Santa Fe, in no particular order.

Run by the former owners of the legendary Bobcat Bite, this Santa Fe institution takes its burgers very seriously. Made with high-quality ground chuck and sirloin and a balanced green chile, the burgers cost a bit more ($12.90 for regular, $15.65 with bacon), but are definitely worth the splurge.

It's hard to go wrong with the inventive green chile cheeseburgers offered at Second Street. Try the Fatty Burger (pictured), with an American cheese-stuffed patty and Hatch green chile, or the Alien Burger, topped high with bacon, fried onions, guacamole, and a blue corn chile relleno.

The winner of the 2017 Green Chile Cheeseburger Smackdown "Reigning Chomp" prize went to Blue Heron's "Life Changer" burger. This prized burger comes with a juicy, perfectly charred brisket and ribeye patty, topped with vintage cheddar cheese, housemade pickles, lettuce, tomato, and Alcalde green chile.

The Bite Burger at this food truck features a unique blend of five chiles (red and green bell peppers, chipotle, jalapeños, and New Mexican green chiles) stuffed into an all-beef patty and topped with pepper Jack, bacon, avocado, and jalapeño aioli. They also serve some of the best fries in town.

I sampled the bacon green chile cheeseburger from this newcomer to Santa Fe's food scene at this year's Green Chile Cheeseburger Smackdown. I was impressed by the pairing of the caramelized onion marmalade, New Mexico-based Old Windmill Dairy cheddar, and spicy green chile.

Do you have a favorite green chile cheeseburger? Share in the comments!