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Casseroles make weeknight dinners a whole lot easier to put together. This Stuffed Cabbage Casserole is on the leaner and healthier side but still packs a nice cheesy and savory flavor. You have to love one-pot dinners that are ready in half an hour, taste great, and give you plenty of vitamins, dietary fiber, and lean protein without overdoing the less-healthy stuff. Suffice it to say, I will be making this one again. It’s a good go-to meal for the busier days, and of course a one-pot dinner means less cleanup afterwards!

Whenever I have more time I use fresh onion, garlic and herbs instead of powders, but it’ll be delicious either way. I also like to make a larger portion so that I’ll have enough leftovers for the next couple of days – they reheat beautifully so that’ll make lunch so much easier for me!

Recipe and photo courtesy of Wonky Wonderful

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Quick tip: If you prefer, you can use ground beef instead of turkey.

As far as easy comfort food goes, particularly for the cooler months of the year, it’s hard to beat a good, savory soup. This Easy Taco Soup has a hearty flavor to it, and after a bit of prep,  the slow cooker does the rest of the work for you.

After making my second batch of spaghetti meat sauce for the season not too long ago, I was looking for something a little different. (Don’t get me wrong; I love the spaghetti sauce recipe that I adapted from what Mother used to make, but I do like to mix things up, and it would be a shame to get bored with something like that.)  This soup recipe keeps it really easy and low-hassle, and it has some of that Southwestern flavor in which I like to indulge, now and then.

Recipe and photo courtesy of Simple as That

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Quick tip: Instead of tortilla chips you could serve this with fresh, homemade bread.

This Santa Fe Chicken and Lentil Casserole is just as healthy and delicious as it is colorful and festive. It’s loaded with plenty of delicious chicken and vegetables and makes eight servings at about 380 calories per serving.

Hey, I like a good helping of that filling, good-old comfortable “guilt food” now and then, too, but sometimes, it is nice to push the boundaries somewhat and find something healthy and tasty outside the usual comfort zone. I haven’t used lentils often in my cooking (they just weren’t something Mother used much in her cooking, so I never really got good exposure to them at a young age), but I have to say, this is a really tasty casserole, and it manages to be relatively low-cal and low-sodium (each serving contains just 22.5% of the daily recommended amount) and have good helpings of dietary fiber, lean protein, and complex carbs. Kudos to Olena at iFOODreal for developing such a yummy and healthy original recipe.

Recipe and photo courtesy of iFOODreal

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Quick tip: Refrigerate covered for up to 3 days or freeze in an air tight container for up to 3 months.

With this Cheesy Tomato Basil Frittata recipe, you can whip up an easy meal for breakfast, lunch, or dinner with just half a dozen basic ingredients (plus salt and pepper to taste). It’s also a rather versatile recipe, allowing you to throw in a variety of whatever leftovers you may have and otherwise tune the dish according to your tastes.

Having seen Mother operate so deftly in the kitchen for so many years, I have learned to appreciate a recipe that is really delicious when kept simple but also lends itself to modifications if you have leftovers that you need to recycle (or just want to shake things up a bit). This Italian creation is just such a useful recipe. These days, when people like to be as environmentally aware as possible, it’s great to have recipes that make the best of leftovers. No-one likes throwing food away!

Recipe and photo courtesy of 12 Tomatoes

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Quick tip: If you’re lucky enough to have leftovers, pack them for lunch the next day!

If you like the basic flavor of tomato soup but think that it could use a creamy and savory upgrade, this Creamy Sausage Tomato Tortellini Soup is exactly what you need. It makes in just half an hour and is really hearty and filling. I always did like tomato soup, though I usually did add some cream to it, and it was rarely enough on its own. I don’t think that you will go with the store-bought options once you try this, and you won’t need much with it for a really full meal.

I like these flavors for fall and winter, though you easily could savor this any time of year. It’s just such a perfect meal for those cold days when all you want to do is cuddle up by the fire. I would keep anything that you serve with it rather simple. Just a simple salad should be fine.

Recipe and photo courtesy of Neighbor Food

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Quick tip: Use a Dutch oven for this recipe.

If you are itching to make use of some ground beef but want to get away from the usual hamburger or beef taco meals, this Southwest Beef & Mac Casserole is a nice alternative. It gives you the cheese-loaded flavors of the Southwest in about an hour (about half an hour of prepping and cooking and half an hour of baking).

I like to grab a batch of ground beef when I see some on special (yes, it still happens, though you really have to look out for it), but there are only so many burgers and beef tacos that I can handle in a short time span. Don’t get me wrong, I love tacos and certainly enjoy a good burger, now and then, but too much of a good thing in too short a period of time can get really boring, you know? This casserole recipe is a straightforward way to make creative use of that ground beef and put a hearty, filling meal on the table. It also happens to smell nice while you are cooking it and to look really pretty coming out of the oven.

Recipe and photo courtesy of Amanda’s Cookin’

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Lovers of more traditional Italian spaghetti and meat sauce may cringe a bit when they see this at first, but don’t worry: you can love your original spaghetti recipe and still find plenty to enjoy about this Wild West Spaghetti.  This dish can be ready in about half an hour, meaning you can find time for it on even your more hectic days.

I do love the version of traditional spaghetti meat sauce that Mother used to make, and I still do make it frequently.  It’s good for when you have a fair bit of free time to make something that will provide a meal or two a day for several days.  You do have to be patient with it, though.  This Wild West spaghetti works much better if you are in a particular rush or if you just want to mix things up a bit from the traditional.

Recipe and photo courtesy of Taste and Tell

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Quick tip: Adjust the amount of hot sauce to your liking.