The latest from our Heart and Soul

Despite the onslaught of January birthdays in our family, I'm getting a little more kitchen time to myself lately, with the days still short and chilly. I find myself wanting to experiment a bit more - while the holidays were all about baking, January tends to be all about eating well. Here's a week's worth of healthy meals that will appeal to everyone at the dinner table.

Mac & cheese is a family favourite, and a great way to smuggle nutrient-dense squash into your meal. Made with whole wheat pasta, this is a delicious and nutritious dish for meatless Monday.

Mac & Cheese with Butternut Squash

Photo credit: Aimee of Simple Bites

When you're starving for a taste of summer in the middle of winter, pack this summery sandwich, swapping leftover roast chicken or turkey for the grilled chicken if you like, and have a picnic on the living room floor.

Roasted Pepper Sandwiches with Grilled Chicken, Caramelized Onion and Basil

Photo credit: Jaime of Sophistimom

If you're trying to get your family to eat more fish, try broiling it and serving wrapped in white corn tortillas and topped with homemade guacamole, lettuce, cilantro, green onion and chunky tomato salsa.

Broiled Fish Tacos

Photo credit: Lori of Recipe Girl

A big pan of warming paella - a Spanish meal-in-a-dish made with rice, chicken and roasted peppers - is a great way to serve the family with only one pot to wash afterward. Use brown rice if you like for added nutrients and fibre.

Simple Paella

Photo credit: Aimee of Simple Bites

Made famous by Julia Child, Boeuf Bourguignon doesn't have to be as complex as it sounds. A refined sort of beef stew, the oven does most of the work, leaving you with a rich, saucy dish everyone will love. Must be served with mashed potatoes or egg noodles to catch all the drips.

Streamlined Boeuf Bourguignon

It's still the holidays, sort of - with many kids still off school, lazy comfort food is in order. A turkified version of shepherd's pie will take care of any lingering leftovers, from turkey to gravy to veggies - even mashed potatoes to spread on top. Black Bean Burgers will be a welcome change from rich holiday food, penne with sausage is simple to make on the day after all those festivities, and make your own tacos will appeal to any extra kids you have around.

A great way to stretch a small quantity of inexpensive meat a long way, penne with sausage is chunky comfort food that's easy to eat out of one bowl. Big chunky pasta shapes are perfect for little fingers to stab with a fork.

Penne with Sausage

Photo credit: Kelsey of Naptime Chef

If you have leftover turkey stashed in your freezer, this is a great use of it - in a cozy take on shepherd's pie topped with mashed potatoes that makes a great weeknight meal.

Turkey Shepherd's Pie

Photo credit: Aimee of Simple Bites

Beans are easy and inexpensive, and black beans make a superb burger that's high in fibre, protein, vitamins and minerals, and is delicious topped with cheese.

Black Bean Burgers

Photo credit: SaskPulse

Brooke has a killer taqueria-style taco meat recipe - make a big batch and freeze half for a quick meal down the road. Serve the rest family-style, with flour tortillas or taco shells and all the fixins - grated cheese, salsa, shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes and sour cream, then gather around the kitchen table for DIY taco night!

Make Your Own Tacos

Photo credit: Brooke of Cheeky Kitchen

The best way to cook winter vegetables - think root veggies, squash and onions - is to roast them. Tossed with simply made couscous and crumbled feta, it makes a great meatless main, or substantial side if you want to add a roasted chicken - there's no shame in picking one up from the grocery store. Try sweet potatoes, squash, beets, red peppers, zucchini, asparagus... whatever you like or is in season. Try swapping other grains - rice, quinoa or barley all work well - for the couscous, which is actually little bits of pasta.

Roasted Winter Vegetables with Couscous and Feta

Kids are making their way back to school, decorations are coming down, and homes are getting back to normal. I like to slide into the new year swing of things with good-for-you dinners that are still easy to pull together (hey, I haven't recovered yet) and will feed my family well as they come down off their holiday chocolate highs.

A great use of squash, a classic winter vegetable, paired with mushrooms, peas, onions and celery, these individual pot pies are a great meatless main dish.

Winter Veggie Pot Pies

Photo credit: Maya Visneyi, Sweet Potato Chronicles

A simple midweek dinner, this is cheaper than take out, and every bit as tasty. Boost the veggies if you like, or swap broccoli for your favourites.

Cashew Chicken & Broccoli

Photo credit: Brooke of Cheeky Kitchen

Total comfort food, pasta carbonara comes together in as much time as it takes to cook dry pasta - any shape will work. It's real fast food, and comfort food to boot.

Pasta Carbonara

Photo credit: Gwendolyn of Patent and the Pantry

Tasty assemble-yourself beef and lettuce wraps won't weigh you down - they're light and crunchy, and the kids will love stuffing leaves with seasoned strips of beef, crunchy veggies and sticky rice. It's an easy way to take a stab at Asian cuisine in your own home.

Beef Lettuce Wraps

Photo credit: Aimee of Under the High Chair

Traditional shepherd's pie is made with lamb; in North America we've made the switch to beef. Ground lean beef or bison works well here - bison is far leaner, with about a quarter the fat of beef. If you use ground lamb, call it shepherd's pie - if it's beef, it's cottage pie.

Classic Shepherd's Pie (aka Cottage Pie)

The week between Christmas and New Year's Eve will almost certainly involve more celebrating - more reasons to gather with family, friends and neighbours, and with the kids off school, more reasons to involve them in kitchen preparations. This week's menu is more social - I've included a link to how to host your own neighbourhood pizza party - a great way to casually socialize while using up some of those turkey dinner leftovers - a cheese fondue that's great for sharing, and homemade peroghies and ravioli - a great way to spend the afternoon when it's cold outside and there are extra little hands around.

Gather whomever is around and have an old-fashioned peroghy bee - stir up a batch of dough, then roll, fill, fold and freeze - socialize and catch up with friends and relatives the way they did before Starbucks!

Homemade Peroghies

Photo credit: Gwendolyn of Patent and the Pantry

Whether it's just your own family, the extended family, or whomever is occupying your home for the holidays, a cheese fondue is a simple and festive way to feed a crowd. And fun for kids to skewer and dip bread and vegggies!

Cheese Fondue for the Whole (Extended) Family

Photo credit: Aimee of Simple Bites

Ravioli makes a great kitchen project for little hands; spend the afternoon rolling dough, stuffing, cutting and sealing, and not only will dinner be done, but a stash for easy meals down the road.

Homemade Ravioli

Photo credit: Brooke of Cheeky Kitchen

Do-it-yourself pizzas are a fun way to entertain, particularly when you have a range of ages around the table. Invite the neighbourhood in, or feed the extended family by setting out bowls of ingredients from gourmet to kid-friendly and let everyone make their own. Buy pitas, pre-made pizza crusts or naan, or make a big batch of dough from scratch.

A Neighbourhood Pizza Party

Photo credit: Brooke of Cheeky Kitchen

Carnitas, or "little meats", are the new trend in Tex-Mex - similar to tacos, but without the crumbled ground beef and taco shells, carnets are made with braised pork (or other types of meat) and your choice of toppings. It's easy to buy a chunk of pork shoulder and braise it over the course of an afternoon, then pull it apart and serve it straight from the pot, family-style, with corn or flour tortillas, grated cheese, salsa, avocado, chopped tomato and lettuce and sour cream. It's a great way to feed a crowd - or a party.

Pork Carnitas