Make an Easy, One-Skillet Meal

By David Hu

Here’s a recipe that’s especially welcome on nights when you just don’t feel like cooking. Meat, veggies and rice come together in one skillet, so dinner is an efficient, one-dish meal. You do have to cook some rice first, however, but if you have a rice cooker, it’s a simple matter to measure out the rice and water in the pot, turn it on and come back to it when the rice is done.

Ground beef or lamb, green pepper and eggplant are an especially delicious combination of Mediterranean flavors. Quick, easy and hearty, this is a great dish for a brisk fall day.

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Corn Pudding for a Harvest Moon

By Marilyn Hunter

Harvest moon is that very special time of year when a big, bright, orange moon rises around sunset. Harvest moon, sometimes known as corn moon, got its name by the light it provided farmers, which helped them work late into the night at the peak of harvest.

These nights, when moon meets sun, are a joy for our boys. For them, this time of year means pumpkin patches, corn mazes and hayrides. For the family table, it means taking advantage of the wonderful fall produce…apples, squash, sweet potatoes, pumpkin and the last few days of corn season.

There’s a giant pumpkin farm, far from the bustle of the city, where we go for all of the above food and fun. It takes all day by the time we go, spend time and come home, but it’s worth the travel.

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Brown Bag Blues? Try this Quick and Easy Pasta Dish

By Sandy Hu

In these economic times, it makes sense to brown bag your lunch to save money. But packing a sandwich every day can get pretty boring.

For a change of pace, invest 15 minutes to make a simple vegetarian pasta dish. Even if you’re not a vegetarian, do give this healthy and delicious meal a try. Garlic, basil and sun-dried tomatoes add so much flavor, you’ll never miss meat.

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Autumn Sweet Potato Soup

By Andrew Hunter

Sweet potatoes have gone from obscurity to celebrity in the last few years. They now grace plates in every menu category, especially side dishes, of restaurants from fast food to fine dining. I’m not a nutritionist, but a simple review of their nutritional label shows some real benefits to these orange-fleshed tubers. They weigh in with fewer calories and carbs than russets and they contain more than 700% of your Vitamin A for the day…no kidding.

As a parent, sweet potatoes are the kind of veggie you hope your kids will like. Heck, I’ll even let the boys eat sweet potato fries if it makes them happy. But as summer fades into fall, and I start thinking about the chilly weather, turning leaves and woolen sweaters of my Michigan childhood, I automatically think of soup.

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In Love with Old School Mac and Cheese

By Katie Barreira

Every so often I get this crazy craving for one of my childhood favorites, macaroni and cheese. But not just any cheesy pasta will do. It must be that liquid-smooth and unnaturally tangy sauce, which can only come from dehydrated cheese. This admission has induced chest-clutching gasps of horror from my colleagues.

I, too, was indignant, refusing to believe that boxed macaroni and cheese, unlike so many of its processed pals, couldn’t be recreated, even improved, with wholesome ingredients and some culinary acumen. But as I tinkered with recipes and sampled grown-up versions of the stuff (from seemingly every chef in the city), I began to have my doubts.

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