Main Dish Recipes

Favorite macaroni and cheese is a baked classic with elbow pasta, sharp cheddar, and a mustard-and-hot-sauce-spiked butter base. Bubbling cheesy comfort food in 60 minutes.

Ground beef simmered with warm cinnamon, oregano, and tomato sauce layered between broiled eggplant slices for this beloved Greek comfort food. A family-friendly take on classic moussaka.

Homemade pizza dough from just flour, yeast, salt, and water, kneaded soft and stretched into thin 12-inch rounds. The trick to a crisp base is a screaming-hot oven and a preheated tray.

Once he perfected his Extra Crispy he had customers who wanted it to be spicy and bold so he created his Hot and Spicy Chicken. Here is his original recipe which has changed a bit in this day and age. It comes frozen and is cooked frozen and not prepared fresh in many stores.

Vegetarian Mexican pizza with a homemade cornmeal crust, taco sauce, chili beans, bell pepper rings, and melted Monterey Jack. A pantry-friendly Tex-Mex pizza built in 40 minutes from scratch.

Porter beef braises chunks of rib eye in Guinness stout with onions, mushrooms, and a pinch of nutmeg. A rich Irish-style stout-braised beef stew that cooks in two hours.

Cottage pie made with cubed leftover roast beef, white wine gravy, corn, and a piped mashed potato top crowned with sharp cheddar. A British comfort-food classic for using up Sunday roast.

Osso buco braises veal shanks in onion butter, white wine, and tomato until fall-apart tender, then finishes with gremolata of garlic, parsley, and lemon zest. A Milanese classic for special dinners.

Slow cooker festive meatballs made with ground beef, deviled ham, allspice, and dill, finished in a sour cream gravy. A Scandinavian-style party meatball for crockpot entertaining.

Filet farcis a la creme: flounder fillets rolled around a shrimp, crab, and mushroom stuffing, baked in a cognac cream sauce under melted Swiss. Vintage French bistro elegance.

Beef filet stroganoff with tenderloin cubes, mushrooms, dill pickle, paprika, and red wine in a sour cream sauce. The Russian-German classic served over spaetzle for a 30-minute weeknight meal.

Homemade chicken nuggets with ground breast meat, cheddar cheese, and thyme get breaded and fried golden, served with creamy chive-spiked dip.

Homemade fish nuggets: bite-size fish fillet cubes dipped in spiced milk-egg drench, dredged in seasoned cornstarch and flour, then fried golden in two minutes. The crispy fast-food classic done at home with real fish.

Microwave fish casserole with halibut poached in white wine, covered in a creamy butter sauce with peas, and topped with crispy fried noodles. A retro weeknight dinner ready in 45 minutes.

Fish in a fish: a fish-shaped pastry wrapped around flaked salmon and parsley-rice filling, served with creamy shrimp-dill sauce. An impressive Russian-inspired kulebiaka style showpiece for special occasions.

Deep-fried salmon fritters made with canned salmon folded into a light egg white batter. Crispy, golden fish fries served with tomato or tartar sauce. Kid-friendly.