Simmer

Here’s a killer dinner that even a charging Pamplona bull would brake for. Olé!

If you have a mini meatball in your house (or you’re just a kid at heart) this one will feed you well, stomach and soul!

You can make this dish again, subbing cubed white or dark meat chicken for the lamb if you have extra spice blend on hand.

When you’re watching the big game it’s important to have some smashmouth, tough-guy food like this.

Though I haven’t lived on Cape Code since I was eight, this dish proves I’m not just a Red Sox fan but a true New England Patriot. With Chowda and Mac ’n’ Cheese in one dinner, you can get to Massachusetts in 30 minutes or less, even if you live in Michigan.

Tuna casserole was a classic back in the day when I was a kid. I’m bringing it back—Mediterranean style!

My “favorite” pasta changes each time I whip up a new one. Here I go again.

Bacon, Leek, and Tomato Soup is a soup for all seasons! So easy and too delicious; you’ll make this one January or August, year after year. It is especially welcome on rainy nights.

The saffron does all the work for you in this dish—you’ll freak out when you take your first bite and actually taste how easy this was to make. Since you now have saffron on hand, next time you’re making regular old rice, add a pinch of saffron and your rice will taste extraordinary.

Stoup is good food. Homemade? Well, that’s even better

This is a chop, drop, and open recipe. Place your cutting board next to the stove, heat up the pots, chop everything on the board, drop it into the pan, then open up your cans. As soon as the stoup bubbles, dinner is done.

I know, I know, you’re exhausted. Well, let me tell you, this stew is easy to make, is good for you, and has a big satisfying flavor. You’ll be slurping away in front of the TV before you know it . . . and then you can go to bed, early, like your mom always said you should.

Nutty toasted garlic and sweet peas? Oh, my! I could eat the whole potful myself, then drift off into sweet dreams!

This stoup will quickly become one of your comfort food favorites, promise!

If you like those spinach and artichoke dips you get on the appetizer menu in restaurants, you’re gonna LOVE this!

Pappa al Pomodoro is Tuscan stale bread soup. It is a favorite of my mom, Elsa. When we are both tired this is a good go-to recipe: pappa for my mama. Use a vegetable peeler to curl off nice big shavings of Parmigiano-Reggiano to float on top of the soup.

With veggies and pasta in one dish, there’s no need to make any sides—plus, you only have to wash one pot!

Anchovies work magic here. Once they melt they will not taste fishy; they’ll taste more like salted nuts, really. Plus, anchovies in any seafood sauce I serve are the secret ingredient that makes the eaters go “Hmm, what is that?” (Don’t tell anyone my secret, k?)

Ceci are chickpeas. This is a classic, simple Italian dinner. Thousands of tired Romans will be eating it tonight; how about we join them? Greens dressed with vinegar and oil would make a good side dish.

I won’t count this one—it’s a dessert, not a meal—but it has three Boo favorites in one dish.