365 better recipes

Orange beef stir-fry with crispy battered round steak tossed in a glossy sauce of beef stock, soy sauce, dried red chiles, and caramelized orange zest. Better than takeout in 30 minutes.

A light, brothy borscht of cabbage and beets simmered with carrot, celery, and tomato juice into a ruby-red, sweet-and-sour soup. Vegan, low in calories, and even better the next day.

Toasted pita chips split, cut, and bake pita bread into crisp triangles for dips, soups, and lunchboxes. Two ingredients, eight-minute bake, much better than store-bought.

German braised red cabbage with bacon, apple, onion, and a sweet-sour vinegar-sugar finish. A traditional side dish that gets better with every reheat.

Old-fashioned cucumber and onion salad: paper-thin cucumber and onion slices marinated overnight in a sweet-tart vinegar brine. The crisp Midwestern picnic side that gets better as it sits.

Spinach dip with sour cream, mayonnaise, and chopped onion. Four ingredients, no cooking, and it tastes even better after chilling overnight.

Homemade duck sauce from peach preserves, white vinegar, fresh ginger, and scallions. Four ingredients, 20 minutes, and far better than the takeout packets.

Brussels sprout and carrot salad marinated in lemon vinaigrette for hours, served chilled. Diabetic-friendly, vegan, high-fiber side dish that gets better as it sits.

Sweet and sour cabbage soup: a classic Jewish Eastern European soup simmered low and slow with cabbage, tomatoes, brown sugar, and vinegar. Tangy, warming, and even better on day two.

Crunchy make-ahead salad with halved cherry tomatoes, baby carrots, celery, and fresh basil in a sweet cider vinegar dressing. Gets better the longer it sits in the fridge.

Homemade moo goo gai pan with sliced chicken breast, mushrooms, and napa cabbage stir-fried in a garlic-soy sauce. Better than takeout in 30 minutes.

Easy to make homemade almond that tastes better than anything you can buy at the store. Simple, natural, just one ingredient.

Marinated olives steeped with lemon, fresh thyme, rosemary and slivered garlic in good olive oil. A no-cook, make-ahead appetizer that gets better as it sits. Serve with warm crusty bread.

Broiler-roasted red peppers with fresh lemon juice and salt. Three ingredients, silky-sweet strips that go with anything Mediterranean. Better than jarred.

Pickled red onions Yucatán-style with cumin, Mexican oregano, garlic, and apple cider vinegar. The bright-pink condiment that makes tacos, grilled meat, and avocado toast taste better.

Bacon and bean soup simmers slivered bacon with kidney beans, carrots, celery and turnip in a thyme-scented beef broth. A hearty winter soup that tastes even better the next day.