Sometimes we all crave the old, comfort food classics. This recipe takes Grandma’s cream-of-mushroom-soup casserole and makes it healthier, using fresh, whole foods. Great for a chilly autumn night.

When I found out my gnocchi lacked cheese in the dough, the original simple butter sauce wasn’t going to cut it and I hacked together this substitution. Based on another Bon Appetit recipe, I tried to include the creaminess of the Parmesan that was lacking in the gnocchi themselves. While certainly rich, the sauce amazingly turned out quite well.

This recipe was my first attempt at homemade gnocchi, and my first attempt did not go so well. The gnocchi pictured here? They’re lacking the Parmesan cheese in the dough, a rather major omission. Therefore I did not make this simple butter sauce for the cheeseless gnocchi, but put together a Sage Parmesan Cream Sauce instead. Those that I did mix the cheese into, however, were definitely tasty and would be great with the original sauce listed here. Note: I’ve altered the recipe slightly to make the dough heavier on butternut than potato than the original called for, which I think will make the pillows of noodle even more decadent.

This recipe was fantastic vegetarian comfort food, something warm and soft and just slightly spicy that I could eat for dinner any night of the week. To save LOTS of time, buy a pre-made green salsa and chunk up an avocado to top the tacos rather than making the green salsa with avocado from scratch.

A great Fall salad, this recipe adds crunch and freshness to heavier Fall foods, especially hearty soups. Plus, it’s a great use of delicious Colorado apples.

You can use all or any combination of winter squash in this simple, fresh soup, though I love acorn and butternut more than most. Granted, this isn’t a phenomenally unique technique; in fact, it’s a very traditional cream-based soup. Nonetheless, the Gruyere croutons really kick it up a notch. Serve as a light lunch or paired with a crunchy salad.

Bon Appetit seems to think that I can find a pasta called Perciatelli — long, hollow tubes — at my grocery store. They are mistaken. However, this simple and fresh dish works just as well with linguini or penne. After all, it’s hard to go wrong with fresh, organic, in-season tomatoes roasted until sweet and rich. Enjoy!

This is a simple recipe that you can either prepare quickly or take your time with. If you have the time to spare, by all means grill the corn and pepper for a great smokey result. Roast the pepper in a toaster oven, if that’s what you like. If you have no time at all, shred leftover chicken and use raw corn off the cob or frozen corn to shave off 15 minutes of cook time. Or do any combination in between — the results are always delicious. The secret is the chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, which is so packed with flavor that it makes the recipe all by itself.

Forgive the dash-of-that-dash-of-that style of this recipe, but when I hack things together on my own, that’s how I cook. Especially with pizza, you can’t be afraid to experiment and customize a recipe to your tastes. I mean, it’s just pizza! This recipe assumes you’ll either be buying dough pre-made at the store or creating your own with a recipe like this: http://www.localdish.net/recipes/wheat_pizza_dough

Now I’m not saying this recipe isn’t complicated. It is. Overly so, and it helps if you have two cooks in the kitchen to get through all the steps with your sanity. But liking authentic Korean food the way we do here at Local Dish, it’s definitely worth the effort.

Adapted from Eating Well — which is usually a pretty reliable source for healthy recipes that are also delicious — this original dish was a little too low fat for its own good. The egg-to-milk mixture in the quiche-but-not-quite-quiche pie didn’t quite solidify and instead was crumbly. But the corn and tomato combination was fantastic. Therefore, I’ve added a bit more fat by increasing the amount of eggs, but still think this is a healthy dish that anyone could be proud to serve to their family, perhaps with a nice green salad alongside. NOTE: Buy a premade pie crust to make the recipe super-duper easy.

These pickles take only moments to make, but last up to three months in the fridge. Who needs prolonged and complicated pickling recipes when there’s such simplicity?

Try this. Try this now. That is all.

A fantastic appetizer, side dish or vegetarian main course, this is great way to use up your excess of squash in a tasty way (that’s not zucchini bread).

I received “The Sonoran Grill” by Mad Coyote Joe back when I lived in Arizona, but I haven’t tried too many of the recipes. When I recently dusted it off to cook this rice dish, I was pleasantly surprised. Granted, it’s a bit of work just for a side dish, but the complex yet subtle spicy flavor hits the spot. It would also make a great vegetarian main dish. If you want to simplify prep, used the canned chiles suggestion.)

These super-easy kebabs are a great weeknight meal, especially paired with whatever other veggies you have on hand grilled alongside.

Is anything smothered in pesto bad? I mean, really? Having nut allergies in the family, I substitute toasted sunflower seeds for the pine nuts, and it still turns out great.

I’ve made many an Italian-style stuffed shell, but was unaware that there was a French version, let alone that it was so unique and tasty. While still a relatively heavy meal, I lighted up the bechamel sauce using a lower fat version from the New York Times.

Although I’m doing a take off of Ben and Jerry’s “Cherry Garcia” in this version, the recipe can easily be altered for any type of fruit, especially berries. Use between 1/2 to 1 pound of fruit depending on volume (2 big cupped handsful). Lastly, you can try the recipe with lower fat milk, but it will take longer to mix and might not have the same texture.

Don’t be skeptical of the raw broccoli. As the recipe’s name suggests, the crunch is really satisfying.