This will shock absolutely no one that knows me, but I love TikTok. I try to post regularly (so feel free to follow me) but I also like to use it to find recipes, ideas to make life easier, inspire creativity, you name it.

With that said, there are a few recipes I’ve recently tried from the app that I’m going to share here. I’ve made some slight adjustments (or have thoughts about adjustments since I’ve now made it that I’ll share with you) but I’m going to also credit the creator because it’s ultimately their recipe, not mine. Go support those creators!

Without further adieu, here are some easy meals I learned from TikTok and enjoyed.

Lemon Pasta

Recipe by britacooks

This pasta was so, so good. It felt cheesy because of the cream, but there wasn’t any cheese in it. It was very light, and even a little spicy.

When it comes to how much you need of each ingredient, I’m going to either direct you to the TikTok to see how much she used but I’d recommend measuring to your liking. I definitely added what I think *I* needed for two people, so the amounts could change based on what you like or how many you are cooking for.

This is a recipe you really can’t mess up, I promise. If you add a little too much or not enough, you can always adjust. Don’t overthink it!

Ingredients

• Pasta of your choice

• Olive oil

• Butter

• Lemon (both zest and juice)

• Shallots

• Garlic

• Red pepper flakes

• Heavy cream

• Salt and pepper

Directions

Boil water in a pot. Add salt once water is boiling, then add pasta.

Add olive oil and butter to a pan over medium heat. Once hot, add shallots and minced garlic. Cook for a few minutes, then add lemon zest, red pepper flakes, lemon juice and heavy cream. Add a pinch of salt. Let that simmer while the pasta finishes cooking. While you’re at it, remove some of the pasta water and set aside.

Once pasta is al dente, add pasta to pan with sauce. Add some of the pasta water, a little pepper and mix together. Turn down the heat and let everything simmer for a couple of minutes.

Plate and serve.

Suggestions

I don’t think I’d make any adjustments to the base recipe but if you wanted to spice it up a bit, you could also add cherry tomatoes (I’d cut them in half and roast them separately before adding with the pasta). I added a little parmesan cheese when I ate my leftovers, which is another option as a topping. I don’t think cheese is necessary (as it tastes creamy on its own) but it is an option. I saw someone make a similar recipe and add ricotta, for what it’s worth.

Also, you could remove the red pepper flakes if you don’t like things spicy. Just add a little extra pepper as a replacement.

***

Easy Wonton Soup

Recipe by TaylerCaffee

You need three items for this soup from Trader Joe’s. That’s it. I’m going to offer up on suggestion, but let’s start with the original recipe.

Ingredients

• Trader Joe’s Miso Ginger Broth

• Trader Joe’s Chicken Cilantro Mini Wontons

• Trader Joe’s Asian Vegetables with Beijing Style Soy Sauce

(**Note: You won’t use the soy sauce packet.)

Directions

Pour all items into a pot and bring to a simmer. Allow to heat completely through. Serve.

(Seriously, that’s it.)

Suggestions

If you like spice, I added some Chili Onion Crunch to my bowl and really liked it.

***

Yogurt Parfait

Recipe by sydneymadams__

I wanted to try something different for breakfast and stumbled upon this parfait recipe. I like Grape Nuts, so it intrigued me. However, my grocery store was out of Grape Nuts so I had to adjust. I’ll get to that in my suggestions portion, but I substituted a number of things on this one. But hey, that’s the beauty of something like a parfait, right? You really can’t go wrong.

To start, I’ll type up the recipe as originally shared. We’ll go from there.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup of Grape Nuts

• One individual container yogurt of choice

• Fruit of choice

• Syrup

Directions

Place 1/4 cup of Grape Nuts at bottom of jar or glass.

Spoon full container of yogurt on top.

Place half of fruit next, followed by the next 1/4 cup of Grape Nuts.

Place remaining fruit and drizzle syrup on top.

Place in fridge overnight.

Suggestions

I still want to try this parfait with Grape Nuts, but in the meantime, I used the Great Grains Banana Nut Crunch Breakfast cereal. I actually really liked the flavor, and I liked how the yogurt softened it overnight. This cereal also had some granola in it, so it had some crunch too. If you didn’t want to use cereal though, swap it for any granola.

I swapped the syrup for honey, and I’d recommend that personally. As for fruit, I used strawberries, blackberries and raspberries, but you really can use anything you want.

You can obviously make this and eat it right away, but I did like making it the night before and let it sit in the fridge overnight. The yogurt definitely softened the cereal but it was really good mixed together that way. Obviously the Grape Nuts (or granola) wouldn’t get as soft, so it’s just a personal preference thing. You could always wait and add the cereal or granola in the morning too if you made the night before.

***

And there you have it. Three quick recipes I learned thanks to TikTok. I’m already on to testing new things (I made chicken tenders last night with some suggestions from the clock app, in fact). I’ll be back with more, both from TikTok and beyond.

Also, I still highly recommend the OXO Good Grips Soft- Handled Garlic Press because mincing garlic is a nightmare for me personally but I like fresh minced garlic so here we are. I’m also taking inventory of what I use regularly in my kitchen if that’s helpful to anyone else but me (like an air fryer, which you need if you don’t have one). I’ll have more on that later once I’m done actually going through my kitchen and organizing it. We’ll get there.

If you have a recipe I should try, send it my way. I’ve enjoyed hearing from many of you so far!

Have a great week,

Erin