Recipes - Mains
showing 50 matching recipes
Chickpea and Sweet Potato Stew
This healthy, delicious vegan stew will satisfy everyone.
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Slow-Simmered and Savory Pot Roast
Here's a whole, satisfying dinner in one pot, just waiting for you at the end of the day!
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Garlic Roasted Salmon with Two-Cheese Polenta
This salmon is delicious with either farm-raised or wild-caught fish.
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Mollie Katzen’s Vegetable and Walnut Pizza
A good homemade pizza recipe is invaluable, and we’d go so far as to call Mollie Katzen’s Vegetable and Walnut Pizza truly great.
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Very Veggie Lentil Chili
Even your meat eaters will be satisfied with such a thick, rich chili. The texture is similar to “regular” chili, and the flavors are bold enough to transform this lowly, inexpensive legume to a real feast.
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Crispy Baked Tilapia with Panko Crumbs
Japanese panko crumbs turn an ordinary fish fillet into a gourmet treat. Double or triple to make as many servings as you need.
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Tagine of Beef with Vegetables
Moroccan-born cookbook author Nisrine Merzouki shares one of her favorite main-dish recipes from her homeland, Beef Tagine with Vegetables.
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Bacon-Wrapped Cornish Hens with Corn Couscous
Here's an elegant party recipe that's easy enough for two on a weeknight. Double or triple to your delight.
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Black-eyed Pea Salad
This salad with black-eye peas and ham is perfect for a New Year's Day lunch -- or any day of the year.
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Cranberry-Pineapple Stuffed Chicken Breasts
Here's a wonderfully simple, yet sophisticated entree for entertaining -- or any time!
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Marmalade-Glazed Ham
A glazed ham is a wonderful thing to have on hand for the holidays!
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Mediterranean Turkey Stew with Artichokes
This delicious stew is different and light!
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Turkey Tetrazzini
We've made Turkey Tetrazzini for so many years right after Thanksgiving that it's become as much of a tradition as turkey sandwiches. This is comfort food plain and simple.
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Spinach Lasagna
We’re always thankful for a fail-safe recipe to serve our vegetarian friends, and this one is at the top of our list. Who would think lasagna could be ready for the oven in less than half an hour? And what a lasagna it is.
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Pan-seared Sea Scallops with Pear-infused Balsamic Reduction
When this recipe ran in our Desperation Dinners newspaper column we got tons of fan mail. This recipe will make you a star!
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Steak Diane with Egg Noodles
Traditional Steak Diane is prepared tableside in a flourish – butter, tenderloin, cream, brandy and a burst of flames. Here's a slightly lightened version that's quick and easy.
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Overstuffed Twice-Baked Potatoes
This steakhouse favorite is considered a side dish in a restaurant but our recipe makes a filling entree.
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Raghavan Iyer's Shrimp with Peanut-Garlic Sauce
The word “curry” is unknown in the Indian vocabulary, says cookbook author Ragavan Iyer. “In my India, curry is never added – it just IS!” And his Shrimp Curry IS fabulous!
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Pre-Race Chicken-Veggie Pasta
If you have tri-athletes you know the lingo. But even if the only “tri” you do is shopping, cooking and cleaning, this is a winning combination of chicken (lean protein), fresh vegetables (vitamins and nutrients) and pasta (crucial carbs).
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Slow-Barbecued Chicken Quarters
The meat cooks slowly with little fuss in this fool-proof barbecued chicken. Terrific taste? Got that covered, too.
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Iceberg Wedge Salad All the Way
We only indulge in the classic iceberg wedge salad at a “nice” steakhouse. But how easy is that salad? If served it with bacon, tomatoes and hard cooked egg, it morphs into dinner.
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Jennifer’s Special Stir-fry
When a Desperation Dinners reader sent in her own easy stir-fry, we were thrilled to share it with our readers. "It’s fast, cheap and good enough to serve to company," says Jennifer McKee.
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Amazing Steaks
A steak that has a man begging for it every week? A recipe that has three ingredients? In our Humble Opinion, it doesn’t get any better than this!
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Carolina Crock Pot Barbecue
Finally barbecue for folks who can't stand over a wood fire and roast a pig. With the right barbecue sauce added for flavor, the slow-cooker does an amazing job of turning out melt-in-your-mouth shredded pork.
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Fire Roasted Tomatoes and Chicken over Ziti
Fire Roasted Tomatoes and Chicken over Ziti uses canned tomatoes, and if you don’t happen to find fire roasted ones, regular diced works great, too.
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Carolina Fried Soft-Shell Crabs
This recipe from Coastal Carolina Cooking, by Nancy Davis and Kathy Hart, is the real thing. Check our "Backstory" tab for the whole scoop.
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Chili-Rubbed Chicken Tenders
For those of you looking for a flavorful entree with few ingredients, check out this chicken. Pairs nicely with our Ranch Slaw.
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Pan-Seared Tenderloin with Bearnaise Sauce
Steaks already are special, but this Microwave Bearnaise Sauce sends them over the top.
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Green Enchiladas with Chicken
Green Enchiladas are boldly Tex-Mex -- bright with tomatillo and cilantro offset by a rich, creamy chicken filling. The whole dish is ready in less than half an hour with minimal preparation.
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Flexible Mexican Filling
This kid-friendly Mexican-style filling is delicious for soft tacos, taco salads, nachos, quesadillas or enchiladas.
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Wild West Wagon Train Supper
When feeding kids, sometimes all it takes is a different pasta shape and a really fun name. Next, spice things up without over-doing it. Most like Mexican so long as it’s not too hot.
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Great Grilled Chicken Kebabs
Here's the recipe Alicia grilled in the middle of Times Square live on Good Morning America one July Fourth.
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My Best-Ever Salvation Spaghetti
This is almost too simple to qualify as a recipe, but everyone I've ever served it to loves it.
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Topsail White Shrimp Spaghetti
One of our favorite recipes from our first cookbook is Topsail Shrimp Spaghetti. It has a red sauce and we wondered what would happen if we used an Alfredo sauce and fresh tomatoes.
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Mini Ham “Pizzas”
While our Mini Ham “Pizzas” won’t look exactly like the pizza older kids and teens might have in mind, they passed our teenage taste tests with raves all around. And they're actually healthy!
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Old-Fashioned Southern Chicken Salad
Back when the very best drug stores all served lunch at the soda fountain, you could always count on marvelous chicken salad. We’ve recreated this Southern classic with lots of sweet pickles.
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Risotto with Ham and Asparagus
What has has people talking -- in a tone of sheer reverence -- is the fact that risotto cooked in a microwave turns out exactly like the dish you expect in restaurants. And it’s foolproof.
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Scrumptious Crock Pot Beef Stew
This is my beef stew secret. Alicia and I are both thrilled to have an official copy in our virtual recipe box. Let us know if you like it as much as we do!
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Chili Beans over Rice
Here's a healthy bean dish that doesn't taste healthy at all!
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Copycat Chipotle Chicken
Try this easy grilled chicken and see if you think it tastes like the real thing!
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Crock Pot Risotto with Gourmet Mushrooms
Traditional risotto requires stirring for half an hour. Now all you have to do is cook some onions, give the rice a quick sauté, dump everything into the Crock Pot and leave the room.
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Thai Spaghetti Toss
We wouldn’t dare call this recipe “Pad Thai”. To make that you’d need pickled radishes, dried shrimp, and rice noodles. But here's our substitute for one of our world-class favorites.
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Mexican Stuffed Red Peppers
Here's a South-of-the-Border twist on traditional stuffed peppers. Steaming in the microwave makes for faster prep and bright, crisp-tender peppers that delight the eye and the palate.
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Chicken and Caramelized Onion Pizza
When we tested this “fancy” pizza by serving it to friends (and their children) for an impromptu Saturday night gathering, everyone raved! The secret is caramelized onions.
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Chili-Topped Potato Skins
Why only enjoy potato skins in restaurants when they’re so fun to make at home? Bring on the football game and call in the fans.
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Grilled Shrimp Dijon
This is delicious over steamed rice and you won't miss a drop of the sauce. Add corn on the cob and salad for a sweat-free meal. Makes a great appetizer when entertaining, too.
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Jumpin’ Jambalaya
A robust jambalaya practically jumps off the table. Serve with deli coleslaw and purchased corn muffins for a quick feast.
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Cajun Corn Chowder
Thanks for this soup's rich flavor go to New Orleans chef Paul Prudhomme. We turned his two-hour recipe into this 20-minute version.
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Rotini with Meatballs, Zucchini and Artichokes
Pull it together from pantry and freezer staples on the spur of the moment and no one will know you didn't plan for days.
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Slow-Cooker Spaghetti and Meatballs
When it's impossible for everyone to sit down together for dinner, how do you cook only once? Our answer is often a slow cooker. But pasta? Here's how.
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