Mix It Up: Recipes and Stories to Inspire You in the Kitchen

Cooking routines and schedules are great until they're not. The concept of "Taco Tuesday" and "Pizza Friday" can bring calm to the chaos when you're juggling work, friends, and family, but they can also feel like a bore. The good news is that even if you're currently in a cooking rut, you don't need to reinvent the wheel or go to culinary school to feel inspiration in the kitchen. Sometimes it just takes little tweaks, like taking an old recipe and giving it new life, asking a friend for their favorite breakfast, or trying something new with your leftovers.

With that in mind, Allrecipes wants to help you mix it up in the kitchen. In this collection of stories, you'll find easy but exciting recipes—like the six-ingredient recipe for "Crunchy Munchy Chicken" that Terri Peters loves so much she put it on a dishtowel. We'll also share breakfast ideas, including the best thing to make with a can of cinnamon rolls (no, it's not cinnamon rolls!). And we talked with cooking superstar Julia Turshen about her new cookbook, and the secret to feeling more confident in the kitchen.

Writer Patty Lee talked with cookbook author Frankie Gaw about his popular Instagram series "Turning American Classics Asian." So far, he's made things like Twinkies inspired by Boba Tea, and Mac and Cheese made with a miso-corn sauce. "I thought it would be really fun to rebrand dishes and make them my own," Gaw explains.

Read More: Meet the Creator Who's Reinventing American Classics With an Asian Spin

Looking to upgrade your bland chicken dinner? Writer Terri Peters has just the thing. This "Crunchy Munchy Chicken" is a family heirloom, courtesy of her husband's grandmother. It only has six ingredients: chicken breasts, margarine, cornflakes cereal, potato chips, salt, and pepper, which means it's easy and exciting enough to make on a weeknight.

Read More: Meet Crunchy Munchy Chicken, the Recipe So Good I Put It On a Dishtowel

Writer Karla Walsh thinks it's time to break up with your favorite pint of ice cream. This healthy-ish late-night snack is made with the Ninja CREAMI and it's easily customizable based on what you're craving on any given day. Here, she shares her favorite 3-ingredient base, plus ways to mix it up.

Read more: This 3-Ingredient Recipe is My Healthy Nightly Snack 

Cooking rut, begone! Editor Corey Williams found 10 recipes from our community of home cooks that she thinks will inspire you in the kitchen right now. From Chicken Piccata Meatballs to Everything Bagel Roast Chicken, making these dinner recipes won't feel like a chore.

Read More: 10 New Dinner Recipes to Get You Out of a Cooking Rut

Above, we're giving some of your favorite tried-and-true recipes a facelift. Instead of Rice Kripsies, we're using homemade puppy chow for a chocolatey spin on the classic treat. And chances are you've had a chicken casserole before, but what about one made with a grocery store short-cut like Ritz Crackers? And lastly, the iconic fast food burger, the Big Mac, gets the VIP treatment by getting turned into a homemade slider to share with friends.

Oatmeal is the perfect vehicle for experimentation because it's a rather bland base. That's why when writer Karla Walsh saw this recipe she knew it was a winner. Inspired by Cacio e Pepe, this breakfast staple gets an easy upgrade with black pepper, Parmesan, and chicken stock.

Read More: This 3-Ingredient Breakfast Idea Is Inspired By My Favorite Pasta Recipe

Have you resigned yourself to another sad desk lunch? If so, this one is for you. Because it doesn't have to be that way! Writer Terri Peters recently discovered a new-to-her find at the grocery store: A 2-pound bag of frozen meatballs from BJ's for $12. Here's how she turns this staple into different make-ahead lunches for her family.

Read More: This One Freezer Find Makes Delicious Lunches 100000x Easier

Cooking legend Julia Turshen recently came out with a cookbook that's almost guaranteed to help you feel more confident in the kitchen. Writer Karla Walsh talked to the What Goes With That author about recipe formulas, her relationship to cooking, and the perfect meal for your next dinner party.

Get the Recipe: Julia Turshen’s Genius Charts Take the Anxiety Out of Cooking

Traditional cinnamon rolls are just about my favorite breakfast of all time, but recently Editor Courtney Kassel introduced me to a new concept that might change my mind: Cinnamon roll pancakes made from the canned stuff you find at the grocery store. "You don't even need to turn your oven on to make these one-ingredient cinnamon roll pancakes," Kassel writes. I'm sold.

Get the Recipe: The Single Most Brilliant Thing You Can Do With A Can of Cinnamon Rolls (Besides Make Cinnamon Rolls)

Sometimes the best meals come together out of necessity—at least that's the case for writer Christine Fiorentino. She recently turned some leftovers from her latest grocery haul into her family's new favorite weeknight dinner. "This sheet pan dinner is a dreamy weeknight meal for cold weather nights," she writes.

Get the Recipe: The Sheet Pan Dinner I Make Every Week During the Fall

Everyone needs a back-pocket dinner for the nights that they don't know what to cook, but also want something interesting. And for writer Christine Fiorentino it might just be this unique fish dish. "This 4-ingredient main dish that features healthy (but not expensive) cod and the salty crunch of pretzels, has turned out to be one of my all-time favorites and my family’s obsession," she writes.

Read More: My Family Is Obsessed With This 4-Ingredient Pretzel Fish