What To Cook the Other 29 Days of November

We hacked this Mexican favorite to get it to the table with lightning speed. One richly spiced sauce doubles as the filling and the topper to save time. And since every element is already cooked, the dish needs just three minutes under the broiler to melt the cheese.

These short ribs are fall-off-the-bone tender with extra umami flavor from the mushrooms, garlic, and soy sauce. If you can’t find short ribs, pick up a boneless chuck roast at the market and cut it into 2-inch chunks instead. Serve with brown rice and a refreshing cucumber and bok choy salad. 

You only need a few minutes of effortless prep to get a flavorful classic. Use a blender to dissolve the tapioca completely.  

Known as “Sunday Gravy” to many, this meaty tomato sauce is like marinara but with a major upgrade. Short ribs and turkey sausage add flavor; whole-wheat pasta brings heart-healthy fiber to the table.

Make a big batch of this juicy roast chicken and caramelized onions and you've got enough for three meals. Serve alongside roasted veggies, steamed green beans, or winter green salad.

If you need a fast and fresh dinner, look no further than our Sheet Pan Beef and Black Bean Nachos. While we love melted shredded cheese, we found that it makes the nachos a bit unwieldy. Instead, a creamy cheese sauce coats each chip and makes it easier to separate from the pack. You can use pinto beans instead of black beans and shredded rotisserie chicken instead of ground beef. Topping potential is endless, but we like sliced avocado and jalapeño. Serve with Zucchini, Carrot, and Radish Salad for a simple dinner you can cook, serve, and clean in record time.

Unfiltered apple cider has pectins that help thicken this fall harvest stew. If you use filtered, clear cider, add another tablespoon of flour.  

Making sure to dry the skin as thoroughly as possible ensures it will crisp up instead of steaming and becoming soggy in the pan. To get the absolute last bit of moisture out, try this trick: After patting the whole fillet dry with towels, run the dull back edge of a knife along the skin like a squeegee—wipe off any liquid this pulls out onto the knife, and pat the skin dry again.

This easy dinner comes together in less time than it takes to wait for a table at your favorite Mexican restaurant. Mild poblano chiles and bell peppers get a nice char under the broiler and deliver more than double a day’s worth of immunity-boosting vitamin C.

Spaghetti squash is a great lower-calorie, lower-carb alternative to pasta. It’s a neutral tasting veggie that absorbs all the flavors of this simple skillet, so be sure to toss well to coat every strand. The end result is a veggie-based meal in a bowl that you can quickly throw together—a nice alternative to salads when you want to fill up on vegetables.

Curry paste is a flavor powerhouse, full of roasted aromatics, earthy spices, fiery chiles, and more. Yellow curry powder is commonly used in green curry paste recipes, serving as the flavor backbone; it's convenient, too, providing lots of spices in a single handy ingredient. You can substitute 1 tablespoon lemongrass paste for the fresh stalks; simply add right to the food processor instead of roasting. 

Try this quick, playful spin to turn pizza night on its head—in a good way. You get all the creamy goodness of chicken potpie, in a fun, eat-with-your-hands way that kids will love. Cooking the pizza in a preheated cast-iron skillet makes the crust wonderfully crispy so that it doesn’t sog out when the creamy sauce goes on. Be sure to use only 10 ounces of dough—though you’ll likely have to purchase in a 1-pound or larger ball. Save the remaining dough to make breadsticks the next night.

A tagine is a Moroccan-style stew featuring succulent chunks of meat, often lamb, cooked in a mixture of vegetables and fruit. Traditional tagines are usually flavored with aromatic spices such as ginger, cumin, and saffron and served over couscous.  

Nothing beats Southern-style catfish for a hearty meal, but the traditional method of frying unfortunately adds back in a bunch of fat that the lean protein could do without. Enter the air fryer: You can get a crispy, delicious fillet as well as a side of blistered green beans without all the oil, and have it on the table in less than half an hour. Hard to beat!

This may be our easiest slow cooker recipe yet. There’s no browning in the skillet, no last-minute stovetop sauce—all the magic happens right in the slow cooker. Craving crunch? Serve it as a wrap in the cabbage of your choice.

Silky roasted butternut squash stands in for noodles in this more nutritious take on the starchy pasta casserole.

Not only is this slow cooker meatloaf seriously convenient, it’s also seriously delicious. Oven-baked meatloaf can turn dry, but the moisture-sealing magic of the slow cooker makes this one melt in your mouth. The jalapeño is optional here, but make sure to add it if you want a kick. Serve this meatloaf with a simple wedge salad topped with a homemade avocado ranch dressing.

Meet your new favorite casserole recipe. This budget-friendly dish (costing under $10) allows you to stretch a small amount of meat over several servings. It's family friendly, filling, and loaded with flavor—the perfect weeknight meal. Serve with a side of crispy garlic and mushroom green beans.

The slow cooker acts as a braiser for this Italian classic. While the chicken becomes succulent and fall-apart tender, briny capers, crushed red pepper, and garlic infuse the crushed tomatoes for a robust sauce you won’t find in a jar. True to our one-pan plan, the spaghetti cooks right in the sauce when the chicken comes out, absorbing just enough liquid so it doesn’t need to reduce on the stove. We like the look of the whole, de-boned chicken thighs atop the pasta, but you could shred the meat into large pieces and stir into the sauce if you like.

An herb-packed chimichurri sacue makes this meat-and-potatoes main vibrant and exciting. Double the mixture and spoon it over grilled steak or fish on another night. For less heat in both the chimichurri and the potatoes, remove the seeds from the Fresno chile.

This twist on a classic sandwich swaps the sweet, barbecue-style sauce for a white sauce enriched with nutty Swiss cheese.

This easy dish is perfect for a casual get-together with friends. Inspired by arroz con pollo, it is hearty with satisfying complexity. Cumin, saffron, and oregano season rich chicken thighs and nutty farro as the dish simmers.

If stroganoff could restore its Russian creators 200 years ago, this chicken version will restore you on any weeknight. We’ve swapped traditional beef for chicken and added earthy cremini mushrooms to our one-pan version. Cooking the egg noodles in the same pan allows the pasta to absorb that rich liquid and release starch to thicken the sauce.

Brunswick stew is a Southern dish that features a tomato base with beans, vegetables, and meat. Traditionally, Brunswick stews were made with squirrel or rabbit, but these days pork and chicken are commonly used. This recipe is a good use of leftover meat and vegetables, as well as ingredients you probably have in your pantry.  

Give your day-after-Thanksgiving sandwich a modern update with global ingredients. The robust flavors of nutty sesame oil, tangy-garlicky-pungent kimchi, and salty-sweet white miso give your palate a welcome change of pace. The sandwich also feeds your gut healthy probiotics (kimchi, yogurt, and miso) plus pre-biotics (whole grain bread) to keep the good bacteria well fed.

Skip the potpie and try a fragrant, flaky casserole for your turkey leftovers. Don’t fret about getting the phyllo topper to fit snugly in the baking dish; any overhang will become delightfully crisp in the oven. Thawed phyllo can be finicky: Unroll very carefully, and keep remaining sheets under a slightly damp kitchen towel while you work. If you don't have leftover turkey from yesterday, use shredded rotisserie chicken.

Perfectly tender and fluffy, potato-based gnocchi (mini Italian dumplings) are the perfect way to use up leftover mashed potatoes. This comforting soup gets a boost from spring vegetables and herbs; it would be extra delicious with asparagus or snow peas. Change it up to match the seasons—you can also use leftover mashed sweet potatoes to make the dumplings.

Leftover turkey is completely unrecognizable in this satisfyingly steamy, spicy soup that's perfect for cold weather. Jalapeño, fresh ginger, and Thai curry paste pack potent pungency that completely revamp the traditional Thanksgiving dinner flavor. 

In this cheesy chicken casserole, leftover mashed potatoes form the base, rather than the topping, as they do in shepherd's pie. Poaching bone-in chicken breasts in stock yields tender, juicy meat—use this method for enchiladas and chicken salad. We love the texture and concentrated flavor of dried minced onion as the casserole topper, but you could skip it or substitute toasted, coarsely ground breadcrumbs.