If you put a pound of mushrooms in anything, it’s likely to be delicious. Add wine and cream — such is the style of the lovely Pioneer Woman, who featured this on the Tasty Kitchen blog — well, you can’t really fail. I used red wine instead of white with no ill effects, and I also doubled the recipe. (The family was super grateful because they LOVED IT.) Serve with a salad and/or rolls for a great, light (as in not physically heavy, because I don’t mean low fat) meal.

I suck at fried eggs, so I love this cooking method, which pops the eggs in the oven to cook but leaves the yolks runny and yummy. The spinach is tasty and so nutritious, but you can use the same technique with can soft vegetable base.

Adapted from Bon Appetit, by simplifying the recipe’s ingredients and altering the omelet to our taste, this is our favorite “breakfast for dinner” meal. And yet the combination of fennel and feta make the meal feel somewhat upscale at the same time. The recipe makes a large omelet meant to be split between two people, but you can easily make two individual omelets with the same ingredients. To round things out, serve with simple oven potatoes.

Even me — a home chef that makes every possible thing from scratch — I’ll admit that I usually use pre-made, bagged pancake mixes when I flip some up for breakfast. Hey, the multi-grain and buckwheat mixes are often more cost effective than buying many different flours. However, these simple, white-bread pancakes from scratch are fluffy, just slightly crunchy at the edges and delicious with any maple syrup, jam or, as pictured here, fruit syrup. The minor amount of orange zest and juice actually reacts with the baking soda to add volume as well as a minor citrus flavor.

There are 101 simple ways to do potatoes, certainly, but this one is very fun. By roasting the potatoes vertically in a casserole dish, you get both silky smooth potato interior and a crunchy exterior at once. Granted, it takes a good bake time, but the prep is still super easy. And don’t worry if your kitchen doesn’t boast a mandolin. A sharp knife and a little patience worked fine for me.

What a wonderful and non-confrontational recipe for pork, which often takes more time and finesse to pull off well. Instead, this is a great weeknight dish if served with rice or potatoes, and as Orangette suggests, would also make a great sandwich filling.

This simple dish reminded me of the wonderful breakfasts I had in Costa Rica — black beans and rice, veggies, and an ample helping of Salsa Lizano mixed in. And since we’re breakfast-for-dinner kind of people, this will be a weeknight staple around our house, topped with eggs and perhaps — as in this picture — served with a side of roasted, diced sweet potatoes. No worries if you can’t find the Lizano: Worcestershire works great, too. All eight Tablespoons. Trust me.

We love Indian food around our house, and this dish didn’t disappoint in the slightest. It was richly spiced and satisfying, typical of Jamie Oliver’s recipes in general, in my opinion. However, I am reflecting one change here. I found the sauce a little tomato-heavy, and though Oliver recommended garnishing with a dollop of yogurt, I thought a little more creaminess was in order. Therefore, I suggest the addition of coconut milk, though that’s obviously optional. Also, Oliver gives the recipe for homemade curry paste, but you can substitute the store-bought medium-spiced curry paste of your choice.

I adapted this recipe from Ina Garten a.k.a. The Barefoot Contessa and Martha Stewart. Martha’s addition was to cook the squash with the risotto rather than pre-roasting it. And when I saw that Garten called for pancetta and I didn’t have any at my disposal, I knew that sausage would work just as well. In fact, the sausage crumbles added great texture to the meal. While I used turkey sausage, feel free to use pork if you prefer.

Rick Bayless knows Mexican cuisine, which is why his book “Mexico One Plate at a Time” has won a James Beard award, and this recipe’s flavor is rich and complex and delicious. As someone who enjoys sauce, however, I would change one thing. Instead of reserving half the marinade for another dinner, I’d reduce that until it thickens into a nice sauce to serve atop the chicken and potatoes. Shred the chicken and chop the potatoes, using them as a taco filling, to deliciously use up leftovers.

It seems that this year, lots of food bloggers have been experimenting with spatchcocking, a “method of preparing the bird involves removing the backbone and sternum of the bird and flattening it out before cooking.” There are some excellent tutorials on exactly how to butcher your bird in this way, and I particularly like the boys of The Bitten Word’s version here. After looking at several recipes I cobbled together instructions from both The Bitten Word and Serious Eats to create the recipe that made Tom such a star on Christmas Eve. The most glorious part about spatchcocking? Our bird took only 90 minutes to cook. Beat that!

Make sure to get the crust nice and crispy before you add the filling and re-bake. The results are a breakfast food mash-up you’ll absolutely love.

This excellent take on shepherd’s pie adds nutrient-dense squash and sweet potatoes to the traditional mashed potato crust, which makes the warm, winter dish more complex and — in our opinion — delicious!

Butter, cream and bacon can make any veggie hater like Brussels sprouts, in my opinion. Find me one that won’t at least respect sprouts after a great recipe like this, and I’ll throw in the towel on my quest for world veggie domination. Well, probably not. But certainly try this great preparation for your next holiday meal or family get together.

I loved this idea from October’s Bon Appetit magazine, which was inspired by the laid back style of Italian home cooks. The idea is to cook some delicious white beans in a simple manner, and then have four different, delicious meals that can be constructed using those beans. To make things even easier, I used a great technique for 90-minute no-soak beans, so they just simmered away while I worked that afternoon. And true to the idea’s origin, this meal turned out to be simple and rustic, yet hearty and delicious. Upgrade the cornbread to brushetta and serve with wine to dress it up, or enjoy it as a great weeknight meal with the family.

Over the space of four hours, this stew takes only whole ingredients and transforms them into a cozy, rich and delicious stew you’ll be eating for days. Serve over egg noodles, if desired, or with puffed pastry or rolls.

A warm and homey cold-weather dish, these stuffed squash have exotic overtones that make them truly delicious — and very good for you!

This is a great, simple recipe from up-and-coming chef Chris Tullien, who works over at Trinity Brewery. And it’s excellent party food, as well. I used my Venetucci pumpkin puree instead of canned pumpkin with great results, and ended up with extra filling to freeze for another pie.

I love pumpkin seeds and many variations of pumpkin seeds, so feel free to use the same method but play with the mixture of spices. Rosemary is excellent, as is paprika. It’s all about what you’re in the mood for.

I’m not a fan of processed snack food, so why not make your own versions like this Cheezits-inspired snack?