cozy meals – Live Laugh Love Do http://livelaughlovedo.com A Super Fun Site Sun, 12 Oct 2025 17:02:44 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9 31 Winter Salads We’re Loving Right Now http://livelaughlovedo.com/31-winter-salads-were-loving-right-now/ http://livelaughlovedo.com/31-winter-salads-were-loving-right-now/#respond Sun, 12 Oct 2025 17:02:44 +0000 http://livelaughlovedo.com/2025/10/12/31-winter-salads-were-loving-right-now/ [ad_1]

Who says salad season ends when the temperature drops? These winter salad recipes prove a big bowl of produce can be just as cozy as any stew. Think kale, roasted squash, and cabbage—hearty, cold-weather vegetables that shine when tossed with sharp vinaigrettes, creamy dressings, or a little salty cheese. Mix bitter lettuce varieties like radicchio and endive with tender greens, add something substantial like lentils or roasted sweet potatoes, and finish with bright pops of pomegranate or dried cranberries. Whether you’re after a quick lunch, a side for roast chicken, or a satisfying weeknight dinner, these winter salad recipes bring warmth, crunch, and color to the colder months.

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]]> http://livelaughlovedo.com/31-winter-salads-were-loving-right-now/feed/ 0 22 Easy Fall Recipes for Busy Nights http://livelaughlovedo.com/22-easy-fall-recipes-for-busy-nights/ http://livelaughlovedo.com/22-easy-fall-recipes-for-busy-nights/#respond Sat, 13 Sep 2025 19:43:00 +0000 http://livelaughlovedo.com/2025/09/14/22-easy-fall-recipes-for-busy-nights/ [ad_1]

Easy fall dinners that are cozy, simple, and totally doable for busy weeknights. Soups, curries, casseroles, and more!

Easy fall recipes for busy nights.

Fall feels like the best and busiest time of year! It’s the back-to-school transition, the arrival of evening activities, and all kinds of new routines. It feels like a lot, and somehow dinner still needs to be made!?

These recipes are the weeknight lifesavers that I need when life feels a little crazy: cozy, simple, and very doable meals that don’t ask for much, but deliver big.

Here are the easy fall dinners I’m making on repeat!

Easy Fall Dinner Recipes

Short rib noodle soup in a bowl.

Instant Pot Spicy Short Rib Noodle Soup

Short ribs simmer away in an Instant Pot or slow cooker, and are served in bowls with tender noodles and lots of delicious broth! This is one of my all-time cold-weather favorites.

Ricotta meatballs in a skillet.

Ricotta Meatballs with the Crispy Topping

One of the most popular weeknight dinners on the site! Homemade ricotta meatballs baked under a blanket of crispy topping. Serve it with garlic bread or pasta!

Coconut chicken in a skillet.

Chicken with Coconut Kale

A luxurious-feeling but super easy one-skillet meal packed with protein! I love to serve this one over a pile of steamy rice.

Sausage, kale, and white bean soup in a bowl.

Sausage, Kale, and White Bean Soup

Such a simple, delicious, and cozy soup! Herby Italian sausage, kale, smoky paprika, creamy beans and potatoes, and a splash of cream.

Chickpea curry in a skillet.

Steph’s Chickpea Curry with Spinach and Rice

Amazingly creamy, saucy chickpea curry served over rice with a dollop of chili crisp and a side of cucumber salad. Ready in 20 minutes!

Red pepper cashew pasta in a bowl.

Red Pepper Cashew Pasta with Roasted Cauliflower

Three-ingredient red pepper cashew sauce, roasted crispy cauliflower, and piles of noodles. Hearty and so delicious!

Butter chicken meatballs in a bowl with rice.

Butter Chicken Meatballs

Storebought (or homemade) chicken meatballs covered in a rich and mildly spiced tomato gravy that is made luxurious with just a little bit of butter and cream. One of my family’s absolute favorites!

Egg roll tacos on a plate.

Brandon’s Egg Roll Tacos

Egg rolls meet tacos! I love this! Easy to make and ridiculously good with a classic egg roll filling, crunchy veg, pillowy tortillas, and a spicy gochujang sauce.

Sesame butter noodles in a bowl with cabbage salad and egg.

Shortcut Sesame Butter Noodles

One of my favorite back-pocket recipes! Packaged noodles for ease, butter for creaminess, honey for sweetness, and sesame oil for depth. Just tangly slips of joy!

Wontons in a chili sauce in a bowl.

Chicken Wontons in Spicy Chili Sauce

Big, beautiful, bossy flavors! Shiitake mushrooms and chicken wontons swim in a brothy flavor-filled sauce and get finished with a swirl of sesame oil and chili crisp on top.

Lentil soup in a bowl.

The Best Detox Crockpot Lentil Soup

This one is such a classic, and has been made so many times by so many of you! Lentils, squash, kale, and all sorts of soothing and nutritious things. Made in the crockpot so super hands-off, too!

Gnocchi in a bowl with mushroom sauce.

Gnocchi with Creamy Mushroom Sauce

Delicious pillowy gnocchi swimming in a silky creamy sauce that’s laced with thyme and loaded with little slips of garlic butter-browned mushrooms! This is fall!

Beef stew in a dutch oven.

Life Changing Instant Pot Beef Stew

Six ingredients, 45 minutes, SO EASY. The perfect, comforting meal that’s filling, heart, and incredibly simple to make.

Bowl with sweet potatoes, quinoa, kale, avocado, egg, and chipotle tahini.

Chipotle Tahini Bowls

The chipotle tahini in this recipe is in my top 10 sauces of all time. It’s perfectly smoky, luxuriously creamy, and the perfect spicy combo with a pile of roasted sweet potatoes.

Gnocchi soup in a bowl.

Crockpot Chicken Gnocchi Soup

Another crockpot favorite for fall soups! You let it simmer all day with chicken to make a delicious soup base, and then add creaminess and carby-ness with gnocchi before serving. Love this one!

Chicken tortilla soup in a bowl.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Just a basic and super delicious chicken tortilla soup! I could eat this every week, and the bonus is that it makes for excellent leftovers for lunch.

Gnocchi in a skillet baked with cheese.

Three Cheese Baked Gnocchi with Spinach

This is so cheesy, cozy, and comforting and it really is a stunner all bubbled up in a skillet. Serve with bread and salad!

Wild rice soup in a bowl.

Instant Pot Wild Rice Soup

This really is the best wild rice soup (and as a Minnesotan, I know these things!). You can even add chicken too if that’s your thing, or keep it veg with mushrooms only. Either way, it’s not fall without it!

Minestrone soup in a bowl.

Instant Pot Minestrone Soup

This soup has a shocking amount of veggies! And packed with cannelini beans and cheese, it’s the perfect balance of nourishing and nutritious but also filling and comforting. Made all in one pot!

Spicy peanut soup in two bowls.

Spicy Peanut Soup with Sweet Potato + Kale

Another one of the most popular soups on the site! There’s something so magical about the sweet potatoes, coconut milk, and peanut butter coming together to make the most creamy (vegan!) bowl of deliciousness.

Red curry chicken in a bowl with rice and broccoli.

Red Curry Chicken Stir Fry with Spicy Cashew Sauce

Caramelized red curry chicken sits next to a bed of hot, fluffy rice and steamed broccoli and then totally sauced up with the BEST spicy cashew sauce. Ooof, this is so, so good.

Slice of chicken enchilada casserole on a spatula.

Chicken Enchilada Casserole

A five-ingredient stacked enchilada casserole layered with tortillas, beans, and chicken and covered with cheese and enchilada sauce. Basic, easy, filling, and so good.

Little Things That Make Fall Cooking Easy

I have a few favorite tricks and tools to make dinner easier throughout the week. Here’s what I recommend checking out! (FYI: Some links below are affiliate links!)

  • Air Fryer: I use this multiple times per week, if not every day. My favorite use is for the Air Fryer Chicken – it is the best chicken I’ve ever made and is quick enough to add to a dinner plate in under 15 minutes.
  • Instant Pot: Perfect for soups, and a whole lot of other things!
  • Slow Cooker: The OG of making dinner easier. There are several recipes above that use it, and so many others to enjoy! The bonus is that it also makes your house smell amazing on cozy chilly nights after school/work.
  • Freezer Meals: This kit of freezer meals is a lifesaver. You can prep up to 22 meals, stick them in the freezer, and pull them out to get dinner on the table (hands-off!) quickly and easily.

Happy fall to you and yours! Here’s to making weenight cooking easier!

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]]> http://livelaughlovedo.com/22-easy-fall-recipes-for-busy-nights/feed/ 0 The Cozy Soup Recipe I Make Every September http://livelaughlovedo.com/the-cozy-soup-recipe-i-make-every-september/ http://livelaughlovedo.com/the-cozy-soup-recipe-i-make-every-september/#respond Mon, 08 Sep 2025 04:04:00 +0000 http://livelaughlovedo.com/2025/09/08/the-cozy-soup-recipe-i-make-every-september/ [ad_1]

I make this corn chowder every September. It’s perfect for the transition from summer to fall—cozy and comforting, but still filled with fresh produce.





Every September, I do my best to hang on to summer for as long as possible. I still go to the beach. My fridge is still full of summer produce. But then one day, the temps dip, and I find myself craving soup. Could it be that I’m actually ready for fall?

That’s when I make this corn chowder recipe. I think of it as a compromise. It’s packed with peppers and sweet corn, two of my favorite summer veggies, but it’s also cozy and comforting—a perfect early fall meal. I made my first batch earlier this week, and it totally hit the spot. I have a feeling it will be on repeat around here all September long.

Here’s why I love this corn chowder recipe:

  • It uses the corn kernels AND the cobs. Waste not, want not! Instead of tossing the corncobs right away, I simmer them in the soup to deepen the corn flavor.
  • It’s sweet and savory. The corn gives this recipe a delicious natural sweetness. To balance it, I add celery, Old Bay seasoning, onion, garlic, thyme, and smoked paprika. I love this sweet and savory combination of ingredients!
  • It’s super comforting. I blend part of the soup before serving, which thickens the broth and makes it nice and creamy. With chunks of potato and corn in there too, it’s so cozy and satisfying!

If you’re looking for the right recipe for this transitional season, I hope you’ll try this chowder. I’m not the only one who’d recommend it, either.

L&L reader Catalina wrote, “It’s perfect for that early fall in between weather, it’s light enough for warmer days and cozy enough for cooler evenings. It’s a keeper.”

Miranda said, “This soup was amazing and made me so so ready for fall!”

Get the recipe:


Making corn chowder - Corncobs simmering in soup pot with bay leaf


Want to make this recipe? Here are a few tips:

  • Dairy-free? No problem. You can make this soup two ways: with heavy cream for creaminess or with cashews. Just add the cashews to the blender when you blend part of the soup—they create an amazingly creamy plant-based chowder!
  • It’s good all week. Make this chowder on the weekend, and enjoy the leftovers for lunches all week! The flavors just get better as it sits in the fridge. If it thickens too much, thin it with a little water when you reheat.

Get the recipe:

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