10 Back-to-Basics Recipes for the Home Kitchen

Simple cooking done well never goes out of style. These recipes focus on solid techniques and familiar flavors.

Homemade Butter

DIY Make Your Own Butter – heavy cream and salt are all you need to make homemade butter that is more delicious than any you ever bought at the grocery store. Spread some on warm bread for a heavenly treat.

Learn more and get the recipe: How to Make Homemade Butter

Homemade Chicken Broth

A spoon filled with chicken broth. — Image Credit: Lana’s Cooking

This Homemade Chicken Broth recipe produces a kitchen staple ingredient using an easy-to-follow, straightforward process. The resulting broth is great to have on hand for use in soups, stews, and countless other dishes.

Learn more and get the recipe: Homemade Chicken Broth

Homemade Barbecue Sauce

Three glass jars filled with barbecue sauce on a white surface. — Image Credit: Lana’s Cooking

This is no ordinary barbecue sauce, it’s my family’s Taylor Barbecue Sauce, handed down through generations. Thin, almost watery, and tart with a ketchup and vinegar base, this sauce can transform a barbecue recipe from good to extraordinary!

Learn more and get the recipe: Homemade Barbecue Sauce

Homemade Marshmallows

Cut marshmallows in a bowl. — Image Credit: Lana’s Cooking

You’ll make perfectly tender, vanilla-scented Homemade Marshmallows with this easy recipe. Perfect for cocoa and beyond!

Learn more and get the recipe: Homemade Marshmallows

Homemade Granola

Save money when you make my Homemade Granola recipe. It’s full of wholesome ingredients like whole grains, nuts, and dried fruits, and it’s very budget-friendly!

Learn more and get the recipe: Homemade Granola

Spicy Breakfast Sausage

Cooked spicy pork sausage patties on a white plate. — Image Credit: Lana’s Cooking

This Spicy Breakfast Sausage recipe is just what you need to perk up a slow Saturday morning. It’s quick to make and cooks up beautifully, whether you like your sausage with a little heat or full-on fire. The recipe is simple as can be with just five ingredients and no fillers or fuss. Shape it into patties to serve alongside eggs and toast, or crumble it into gravy and ladle it over a hot buttermilk biscuit. Either way, it’s a breakfast that sticks with you.

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Learn more and get the recipe: Spicy Breakfast Sausage

Classic Homemade Mayonnaise

Homemade mayonnaise in a vintage green bowl. — Image Credit: Lana’s Cooking

Making Homemade Mayonnaise is easier than you think! Here are my easy step-by-step instructions to create delicious, creamy mayo right in your own kitchen.

Learn more and get the recipe: Classic Homemade Mayonnaise

Homemade Croutons

A blue pot of soup with noodles and croutons, sitting on a green and white checkered cloth. — Image Credit: Lana’s Cooking

Easy Homemade Croutons are one of the simplest ways to save a little money and make good use of that end of the loaf of bread that’s past its prime. Instead of tossing those last few slices, take a few minutes to turn them into crisp, golden croutons.

Learn more and get the recipe: Homemade Croutons

Easy Homemade Bread

Finished bread loaf sliced on a wooden board. — Image Credit: Lana’s Cooking

My Easy Homemade Bread Recipe can be made with all unbleached bread flour for a traditional white loaf or a mixture of white and whole wheat. It’s a great all-round bread for sandwiches and toast.

Learn more and get the recipe: Easy Homemade Bread Recipe

Homemade Taco Seasoning Mix

This well balanced Homemade Taco Seasoning Mix is great to keep on hand for spicing up all sorts of southwestern recipes. You’ll never go back to those packets again!

Learn more and get the recipe: Homemade Taco Seasoning Mix

My Southern Table Cookbook

If you like these recipes, you’ll love my cookbook! It’s 348 pages filled with 246 recipes, each with a full-color photo. Visit Lana’s Cooking for more information.