How do you make dinner happen every night without feeling like you’re starting from scratch?If you’re staring into the fridge at 5 p.m. with no idea what to make, this week Maggie Hoffman, host of The Dinner Plan, shares smart strategies for making weeknight cooking easier, along with a lineup of deeply satisfying fall dinners that come together quickly.Think: chewy noodles tossed in a 5-minute sauce, a crowd-pleasing sheet-pan meal, and a foolproof take on pasta e ceci.By the end of this episode, you’ll discover:Flexible meal-planning tricks that help ingredients stretch furtherFlavorful, low-effort meals that can pull you out of even the deepest cooking rutTwo meatless dinners that might end up in regular rotation in your kitchenPress play now for practical strategies and quick fall dinners that will make answering the question, “What’s for dinner?” a little easier.***For more recipes and cooking inspiration, sign up for our free Substack here. And join us on our live monthly calls by upgrading your subscription to paid!***Links: Follow “The Dinner Plan” now wherever you listen to podcastsSubscribe to Maggie’s Substack: The Dinner Plan for more recipe inspiration. You can also find Maggie and more about The Dinner Plan on Instagram!Maggie’s favorite pasta: Zaynab Issa's Gochujang-Sesame noodles (With Sun Ramen Noodles)Meatless dinner: Georgina Hayden's clean-out-the-fridge pasta salad, from her cookbook: Medesque (with tons of weeknight-friendly recipes)Sheet pan meal: Melissa Clark's Harissa chicken with Leeks, from her book: “Dinner Changing the Game” which has many more sheet pan recipes.Maggie also highly recommends switching from half sheet to using stainless steel quarter sheet pans for this style of cooking (they fit in a toaster oven, and are dishwasher safe!)Maggie (and our!) favorite brand of harissa paste is from NY ShukComforting fall dinner: Jamie Oliver's Pasta e Ceci, from his book: Jamie’s Italy. Maggie loves to make small batches of stock with leftover rotisserie chicken bones in an Instantpot.Standout from “The Dinner Plan:” Maureen Abood's Arayes from her cookbook: Lebanese BakingWhat to cook when you don’t feel like cooking: A great loaded up sandwich like this Feta brined-chicken sandwiches made with grilled chicken. Maggie recommends grilling proteins for multiple meals at the same time, and for recipe inspiration she recs Noah Galuten’s Grill Time! Some of Maggie’s favorite cookbooks right now:River Cafe Green by Rose Gray and Ruth RogersVegetables the Italian Way by Giulia ScarpaleggiaCarla Lalli’s new book: Food is a Feeling****Got a cooking question? Leave us a message on our hotline at: 323-452-9084For more recipes and cooking inspiration, sign up for our Substack here.Are you a local to Portland or planning a visit? You can now book a private farmers’ market tour with Sonya through Airbnb Experiences! Or order Sonya's cookbook Braids for more Food Friends recipes!

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