Tex-Mex Sloppy Joe Cobbler

Fancy enough for your Super Bowl party, easy enough for weeknight dinner

Seasoned, saucy, and tomato-fueled, Sloppy Joes are ground beef fun on a bun.

But we like to play with our food, so we couldn’t resist a few tweaks. The result is a Tex-Mex casserole version that adds spicy flavor and a presentation twist.  

Kids will love these. But maybe have Margaritas on hand for the grownups in the room.

Curried Corn and Shishito Soup

Tangy and tasty, but not too hot

Shishito peppers – with their bright flavor and subtle heat – can’t help standing out in this trio.

But corn and curry are no wallflowers – they harmonize beautifully and bring out the best in their pepper pal.

So curry up. Your dinner guests are waiting.

Curried Potato Salad

Add extra savor to a summertime fave

Summer means cook-outs. And cook-outs call for potato salad. QED, no?

But you don’t have to make the same old spud salad next time. Dish up this curry creation instead.

Curry and potatoes are a perfect pair (just look at any Indian restaurant menu for proof). Curry sharpens the potato-y goodness while adding sensational flavor all its own.

So don’t settle for old-school side dishes. Be curr-ageous.

Slow-Cooker Mexican Shredded Chicken

Easy and tasty, great for tacos, burritos, and enchiladas

Yearning for some spicy Mexican, but don’t want to heat up the kitchen during those long summer months? Just plug in the slow cooker – it’s a cool way to make hot Mexican dishes.

This recipe for shredded chicken is easy, tasty, and versatile. You might call it Mexcellent.

Moroccan Roast Vegetable Tagine

Deep vegan flavor with subtle spicing

Tagines (aka tajines) are at the heart of Moroccan cooking. And when the weather turns chilly, these stew-like dishes satisfy.

This version is vegan, with sweet potatoes and cauliflower. It’s simmered in a tomato sauce that’s fragrant with cinnamon, cumin, and ground ginger.

Roast-veggie tagine is so succulent that meat eaters won’t complain. And you can make this dish ahead of time (in fact, it tastes better if prepared the day before you plan to serve it).

So get ready to Moroccan roll.

Jalapeño Black Bean Dip

Easy and spicy, this Tex-Mex fave also makes a terrific spread

The Super Bowl is rushing toward us like a 300-pound lineman. So get those party platters spinning!

You’ll need plenty of munchies and goodies. One of our favorites is this spicy Jalapeño Black Bean Dip. It’s an easy recipe, and fast to make. So you’ll have more time to spend with your guests.

And watch your team win. Or not.

Moroccan-Spiced Orange and Olive Salad

Snappy and satisfying, this makes a great dinner starter

Oranges and olives together? Don’t judge.

Sweet oranges are actually a great match for salty, briny olives. And this dish is easy to make, so you can serve it any weeknight.

But it’s also fancy enough for a dinner party. So you could say this salad is diversity on a dish.

Moroccan Beef Tagine

Carrots, peas, and cauliflower liven up this classic

Think beef stew is boring? Meet Moroccan Beef Tagine.

It has cinnamon, cumin, paprika, cayenne – and they all come out to play. They give this dish savor unlike any other beef braise you’ve had. And we pump ours up even more with frisky veggies.

Prepare to wow your guests.

Moroccan-Spiced Beet Salad

Cinnamon, cumin, & orange blossom water perfume this starter

Beets are autumn on a plate. And in this dish, Moroccan spices heighten their already-enticing flavor (not to mention their aroma). Best of all, the recipe is easy to make.

So you get sensory overload on a slacker schedule. Our kind of dish!

Lamb Rogan Josh

Spicy but not fiery, this northern Indian dish makes excellent comfort food

The weather is getting chillier here, so we’re starting to crave stews and braises, preferably ones with some snap. Which leads us to Rogan Josh (aka Roghan Josh or Roghan Ghosht). Who can resist meaty chunks in a rich sauce perfumed with aromatic spices?

This dish is loaded with flavor, but it’s not spicy hot, so it appeals to almost everyone. And it’s as easy to make as beef stew.

So serve this at your next dinner party. And introduce your guests to a whole new world of comfort food.

Zucchini and Chickpea Stir-Fry

This tangy vegan dish makes good use of summer’s bounty

Got zucchini? And yellow squash? The way veggie gardens produce this time of year, you may be overloaded with both – and looking for recipes.

We’ve got you covered.

Serve this quick stir fry over polenta or rice, and you have a dish that’s perfect for Meatless Monday. But it’s tasty enough for company, too.

In fact, we bet they’ll ask for seconds. So double the recipe and use up even more of that bumper zucchini harvest.

Spicy Pork Vindaloo

Kinda, sorta like Indian chili con carne

Vindaloo has an incendiary reputation. But no worries if you’re heat-adverse — it’s easy to tame this dish by lightening up on the chile.

Which means you can share this vindaloo with even the most finicky dinner guests (and the flavor is so good, you’ll want to). You can also tell them that pork is really, truly authentic in this dish (more on that below). The vindaloos they’ve had in restaurants are copycats. They’ll feel honored to be at your table.

Moroccan Carrot Soup

Cinnamon and cumin add zip to this warming dish

Looking for a zesty starter? Something that will wake up your taste buds, but still leave you hungry for the main course?

This Moroccan Carrot Soup fills the bill. It’s chockfull of nutrition, but it’s light on calories. Best of all, it’s packed with flavor.

If you’ve resolved to eat lighter and healthier in 2014, this dish is for you. Who knew it would be so easy to keep your New Year’s resolutions?

Sweet Potatoes in Tomato Curry Sauce with Hard-Boiled Eggs

There’s a Vegan Option to this Recipe

Every Easter we hard-boil and dye eggs.  Inevitably, we then face the problem of what to do with all those eggs once we’ve finished our gleeful round of decorating.

Deviled eggs (I add curry to mine) are an obvious answer, and a good one.  But this year we wanted to do something different.  Riffing off the curry idea, I decided to make, well, curried eggs.

The dish I devised is well worth trying.  Not only that, there’s a vegan version that’s even better!