Bringing back an oldie, but goodie. Revised 1.17.22.

The recent chill means it’s time to pull out my top five quick and easy cold-weather dinner recipes. They are cheap and tasty. Now that we’re full-swing into winter, I am looking forward to making them again. No more McDonald’s (or takeout) for us in 2022, except for my Diet Coke, of course.

Do you have recipes that you only make in winter? I love to cook comfort food that conjures up feelings of warmth and coziness. These five recipes I am sharing do that for me and, hopefully, will for you, too.

I am a big fan of buying lots of chicken cutlets on sale, portioning them out, and freezing them. Our Aldi has chicken cutlets for $1.99 a pound every week. I buy the most oversized packages I can find in the case every time. There are always cutlets in our house!

Note: All of these recipes feed four people. That is, four of us that eat more than what is considered a typical serving.

Cold Weather-Dinner Recipes

1. Cranberry Chicken

A favorite chicken cutlet meal that is good enough to serve your company is Cranberry Chicken. It is only four ingredients, and the prep is effortless.

You need one can of whole cranberry sauce (or jellied), one bottle of Milani 1890 French Dressing (or any country French dressing 8 oz), and one dry onion soup mix package. You trim one pound of cutlets and layer in a casserole dish. Mix the other ingredients on low heat until combined. Evenly coat cutlets in the casserole with the heated dressing—Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes. Serve over rice or buttered noodles with a green vegetable.

The soup and dressing combine to make the most delicious gravy!

If making for company, I serve the cutlets on a platter with a light sauce coating and a sprinkle of parsley flakes. I put the rest of the sauce in a pretty gravy boat. It makes a lovely presentation!

You might also want to offer homemade biscuits to sop up all that delicious gravy.

2. Crockpot Pulled Pork

My “go-to” crockpot meal is country-style pork spareribs turned into pulled-pork sandwiches. Cut up the spareribs and place as many as you can fit in your crockpot. Pour one bottle of Sweet Baby Rays barbecue sauce over the ribs. Slice up a white onion, punch out the rings, and lay them on top of the sauce. Cover and cook on low for 9-10 hours. Once done, the meat will slide right off the bones, and the onions will have disintegrated, leaving only their sweet flavor. Remove the bones and shred the meat. Serve on hamburger buns with coleslaw. Yummy!

3. Chicken Enchiladas

I am a lover of all Mexican food! One of my guilty pleasures is Pork Nachos from Moe’s. Our budget has made takeout taboo, so I have tried out various new recipes at home. I found one for Chicken Enchiladas on the Betty Crocker website, and it is excellent! It’s very economical too. I serve it with black beans and rice. I put on my Sombrero and poncho when we eat this, and I feel like we’re at a restaurant. Okay, that’s not true, but it might be fun to try one night! Here’s a link to the recipe: https://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/easy-creamy-chicken-enchiladas/8c423ac2-f2a6-4a81-aeb7-06c10f30aa54

4. Oven Pot Roast

For serious comfort food, I go with the Quigley Pot Roast (Quigley is my mom’s maiden name). It was a staple for us growing up, and I could never figure out why Mom called it pot roast when she baked it in the oven. Whatever!

It would be best to have a 2.5-3lb piece of Rump Roast or Bottom Round beef (make sure you find it on sale). You place the meat on a double layer of tin foil. Slather one can of cream of mushroom soup and one of golden mushroom soup on the meat. Do not dilute the soup. Sprinkle one envelope of onion soup mix on top of the mushroom soups.

Tightly seal the tin foil around the meat (it will look pretty gross, just trust me on this one). Bake the meat at 350 degrees for twenty minutes per pound.

Meanwhile, boil one bag of mini carrots and two cut-up white onions on the stove. Follow bag directions to make one pound of egg noodles. Let the meat sit for ten minutes before thinly slicing.

The soups will combine with the juices of the meat to make a yummy gravy. Pour some gravy over the carrots and onions and serve the rest in a gravy boat for the noodles. Plate the beef and serve. Your family will love you for this one!

5. Quesadillas

Last on the menu is quesadillas. I use whatever meat I have leftover from a previous dinner. Lightly spray a frying pan with Pam (or any cooking spray). Heat tortillas on both sides, place the meat on one tortilla, smother the meat with cheddar cheese or a Mexican cheese blend, seal it with the other tortilla and fry until the cheese melts. Be sure and flip the quesadilla frequently, so it does not burn.

I repeat this process to make one quesadilla per person. I serve them with sour cream, salsa, and chips. They are filling, quick to make, and they allow you to re-purpose meat that you would otherwise probably toss in a couple of days.

Bonus Dinner Recipe: for those of you that have read through the end of this post!

Weird Chicken Cutlets

Lightly brown 1.5 lb of chicken cutlets in a frying pan with butter. Pour one can of Diet Coke and one cup of ketchup over cutlets and mix around. Bring to a boil and then simmer for twenty minutes. Serve cutlets over rice (with the gravy the soda and ketchup make) and whatever green vegetable you like. I know it sounds a little strange, but it is pretty tasty. My kids loved it!

Let me know if you make one of these recipes and how you and your family liked it. What’s your favorite “go-to” meal(s)? Feel free to share in the comment section below. Enjoy!