How to Cook Beets One of the easiest ways to cook beets—and infuse them with fabulous flavor—is to poach them in water. Add whole spices such as star anise, juniper berries, and peppercorns, plus a little bit of granulated sugar, to the poaching liquid. Cook them whole with their skins on until they’re fork tender. After they’ve finished cooking, carefully take them out of the poaching water and rub a towel against them to easily remove their skins while they’re still warm....

I wouldn’t begin to give you advice on travel, but after more than a decade working as a food writer, I can help you build a system for buying, prepping, and cooking raw meat safely. With a little bit of preparation before the grocery store, the right kitchen tools, and an organized fridge, you can safely enjoy a steak dinner without the risk of getting sick. Everything you need to handle raw meat safely BeeGreen Reusable Grocery Bags, $15 for five Fit & Fresh Cool Coolers Reusable Ice Packs, $14 for four Purell Hand Sanitizing Wipe Pack, $17 for six Cuisinart Grilling Prep and Serve Trays, $30 Mueller Vacuum Sealer Machine, $60 (was $70) Nicole Home Collection Plastic Cutting Boards, $7 for three (was $8) Joseph Joseph Cut & Carve Multi-Function Cutting Board, $20 (was $25) Alpha Grillers Instant Read Meat Thermometer, $17 (was $20) Momo & Nashi Meat Temperature Chart Magnet, $7 Prepworks Deli Prokeeper Food Storage Container, $13 (was $19) ScotchBlue Painter’s Tape, $11 for three (was $14) Sharpie Permanent Markers, $6 for four (was $7)...

Case in point: Pumpkin spice hair color is a major trend for fall. Just like warmer, cozier, richer foods and fashions are all the rage as the seasons change, so too is a warmer, richer hair color, explains Kristen Fleming, color director at 3rd Coast Salon in Chicago. It’s inspired by all things fall: “Think rich, earthy tones such as amber, burnt orange, butterscotch, pumpkin orange, and soft golden hues, like the ones you’d see as leaves change,” she explains....

Factor is an excellent meal delivery service for those who enjoy eating healthy but don’t have a lot of extra time to grocery shop and prepare meals. The meals are developed by registered dietitians and crafted by chefs, which means both your nutritional and flavor standards will be satisfied. Plus, they only take two minutes to heat up in the microwave. The protein and produce comes from organic farms with sustainable practices, so you know you’re consuming extremely high quality foods....

Halloween Bingo Ever since my family started playing bingo on Christmas Eve, I’ve been a little bingo obsessed. I always try to play when we go on a Disney cruise or when they offer it as an option at Great Wolf Lodge Howl-o-ween, or even at any Halloween carnival we go to! A few years ago I made this monster mash Halloween bingo game, and it’s super cute but the problem is that it was designed for younger kids....

I’ll admit it – I’m not the best when it comes to trivia. I can’t remember what I ate for breakfast so remembering little details about things is tough. I’m pretty good with movie and music trivia (like these Harry Potter trivia questions) but history and fats, nope. But it’s still fun and my husband and son have an amazing memory so we trivia questions a lot at our house....

While St. Patrick’s Day parties may not be as common as Christmas parties, that doesn’t mean it’s not still really fun to host one! My husband is part Irish and really likes corned beef and cabbage! Me? Not so much, but I do like hosting a party no matter what the occasion. And I really like rainbows (hello rainbow donuts!) and lots of color, so I’m totally on board! So whether you celebrate actually on March 17th or the weekend before, this set of printables will work just fine!...

If you haven’t been blessed with an outspoken grill mentor, all of those cooking times and temperatures can be a hassle to learn. But this handy guide has them all, sorted by type of food. Learn how long to grill chicken, pork, steak, and various vegetables for results that are both delicious and safe to consume (i.e., free of any potential illness-causing bacteria). Keep this trusty guide on hand, and you’ll soon get the hang of judging when grilled foods are fully cooked....

While the star of this dish is, of course, the grilled shrimp, but let’s not overlook the grilled limes. “What?” you ask. Grilling adds a subtle, smoky flavor to just about everything, limes included, and makes the fruit extra-juicy. Finishing these tacos with just a squeeze is what takes them over the top. This recipe calls for a jar of green tomatillo salsa, but if you have 10 minutes, try our Fresh tomatillo salsa recipe....

But if you’re planning ahead, consider a group costume. Whether you want to pull something together for your family, for a group of friends, or for a couple, choosing a single theme can be divisive and difficult to agree on. But creating your own costumes—particularly group costumes—can help set you and your group apart. So let’s try to make your group costume dreams come to life. With homemade costumes, you won’t run into three others wearing the same exact costume at the Halloween party or neighborhood parade....

So the Colorado-based chef’s announcement of a limited-edition candle collaboration with genderless direct-to-consumer fragrance brand Snif feels like a natural next step this season. Launched on October 13, the Snif x Half Baked Harvest pairing is a fall-themed scent crafted just in time for holiday entertaining: Gerard’s Half-Baked Pumpkin Smash. To buy: $44; snif.co. While I love pumpkin spice as much as the next person, the Half-Baked Pumpkin Smash scent prioritizes a more elevated combination meant to be sweet, spicy, and musky—yum!...

To shop everything you see in the home, download our Real Simple Home app from iTunes. Designers: Nate Berkus and Jeremiah Brent Design duo Berkus and Brent have partnered on their first product collaboration: a furniture collection for Living Spaces. The pair used some of those pieces to divide the large, open floor plan into more intimate zones. Designer: Donna Garlough The style director of Joss & Main used tips from her book, Your Home, Your Style, throughout the cooking space....

The blanket has a cool side and a 100 percent cotton “warmer side” for chillier nights. The cool side is made with a mixture of mica nylon and Jade Masterbatch, a lightweight and breathable Japanese cooling fabric that absorbs and releases heat and moisture from the body. Q-max, or the cooling sense value of a material, is used to judge how cool or warm your body will feel when touching a certain fabric; according to the brand, most cooling products have a Q-max value of 0....

When Should You Sanitize Your Laundry? The experts agree that you should regularly sanitize your dirtiest laundry. Yes, we’re looking at you, workout clothes and that blanket your sick, sniffling child has been carrying around the house. But you don’t need to sanitize every single load of laundry. Regular washing will remove some germs and bacteria, but to “sanitize” laundry means to use high temperatures or chemicals to kill 99.9 percent of germs....

Experts agree that choosing the right athletic shoes is as important as the workout itself. The position of your feet while exercising influences the alignment of every other part, muscles and joints, of your body; some good foot stretches can help strengthen your foot muscles and ease short-term aches and pains, but they can’t undo real damage from improper footwear. “Sometimes I see people try to use running shoes in the gym when lifting, and sometimes I see people using cross-training shoes for distance runs,” says Jesse Dietrick, CSCS, FRCms, and director of trainer development at Fitness Quest 10....

Before you get started, double check what material the pot or pan is made out of. The methods below work well on both stainless steel and enameled cast iron, but since aluminum is a reactive metal, you’ll want to skip the vinegar technique on this material. If you’re dealing with a burnt cast iron pan, follow the cleaning and seasoning instructions here. No matter what material you’re dealing with, it’s always a good idea to start with the mildest, least abrasive cleaning technique first....

How to Clean a Fabric Mousepad If you have a cloth-like mousepad, here’s how to make it look brand new. What You’ll Need: Mild dishwashing liquidSpongeClean towel Follow These Steps: How to Clean a Plastic Mousepad The steps above would also work on a plastic mousepad, but you can speed up the process using cleaning sprays or wipes. What You’ll Need: Multi-surface cleaning sprayMicrofiber clothDisinfecting wipes (optional) Follow These Steps: