Use a sturdy pot, skillet, or slow cooker to prepare complete hearty meals, including beef stew, chicken and dumplings, chili, vegetarian curry, gumbo, shrimp jambalaya, paella, arroz con pollo, and much more.

Also known as chicken cacciatore, this rustic stew cooks in a rich tomato-mushroom sauce. Serve over rice or with a thick slice of crusty bread.

You can make this beef stew in the oven or a slow cooker. Either way, you will have a warming, wholesome, and wonderfully flavorful meal.

Steam dill-flecked dumplings over a stew of chicken thighs, carrots, and peas. No need to spend all day in the kitchen -- this down-home favorite is ready in an hour.

Canned plum tomatoes and fresh garlic make an easy, flavorful marinara sauce. Baking the lasagna in the same skillet used to simmer the tomato sauce makes this pasta dish extra quick to whip up.

Bacon, jalapenos, and lots of garlic amp up the flavor in this pot of chili. Cumin, cocoa powder, and molasses add depth. Feel free to substitute lean ground beef for the turkey.

Use your slow cooker or a Dutch oven to simmer sliced beef chuck with onion and mushrooms. Just before you're ready to serve the stroganoff, thicken the sauce with cornstarch and stir in sour cream and Dijon mustard.

Thai red curry paste and light coconut milk lend an exotic twist to chicken casserole. In addition to red bell peppers and green beans, you could also add eggplant, zucchini, or carrots.

Sweet potatoes, cauliflower, and canned diced tomatoes make this vegetarian stew hearty and colorful. Saute the curry powder to release its fragrance before adding the other ingredients.

Try this spicy shrimp and rice dish -- a New Orleans favorite -- for a simple dinner for family or friends. If you prefer a milder smoked sausage, use chorizo or kielbasa in place of the traditional Cajun andouille.

Rotisserie chicken, precooked andouille sausage, and frozen okra are the secret shortcuts that get this stew on the table in 30 minutes. Bake a batch of cornbread while the gumbo simmers.

Dark beer and dried thyme flavor this hearty lamb stew. Stir in chopped fresh parsley just before serving.

The traditional Spanish chicken and rice casserole gets its distinctive flavor from white wine, saffron, and pimiento-stuffed green olives. Nestle seared chicken thighs into the seasoned rice and cook everything together on the stovetop.

Coleslaw mix -- a combination of shredded cabbage and carrots, available in the produce section of most supermarkets -- is a great time-saver in this hearty pork chop recipe. Caraway seeds and cider vinegar give it a nice punch.

Butternut squash and kale cook along with short-grain Arborio rice, making this risotto extra hearty and sweet. After sauteing for a few minutes on the stove, this dish goes into the oven -- unlike most risottos, there's no need to stand and stir!

Sweet, plump mussels are steamed in a sauce made with tomatoes, garlic, red chile flakes, and wine; chorizo, a Spanish sausage, adds extra heat.

Smart shortcuts, such as using canned beans and bagged baby spinach, make this a quick and satisfying weeknight meal with all the flavor of a slow-simmered stew.

A dry rub of paprika, ginger, coriander, and cumin adds warmth to roast chicken. Sweet potatoes, carrots, and orange wedges cook in the same pot.

This easy version of the Spanish favorite combines chicken, sausage, and shrimp with long-grain rice, peas, and canned tomatoes. Saffron, which usually gives paella its brilliant yellow-orange hue, is replaced here by budget-friendly turmeric. This party-friendly dish can be made ahead and reheated.

Cubes of beef chuck become melt-in-your-mouth tender when braised with Irish stout beer and tomato paste. This dish freezes well: Simply pack the cooled stew into plastic containers and store for up to three months.

Better known as coq au vin, this rustic French chicken stew gets its richness from bacon and red wine. Serve with crusty bread or buttered noodles.

Three varieties of dried chilies, plus cinnamon and cumin, give this pork chili deep flavor. This recipe calls for yuca (also known as cassava), a starchy tuber that can be found in the produce section of Latin groceries.

In this one-skillet dinner, sauteed onion and garlic are mixed with tomato paste, fennel, potato slices, and orange zest, and then simmered in chicken stock. Cod fillets are arranged on top of the vegetable mixture and cooked just until opaque.

Fennel bulb and canned artichoke hearts give this quick braised chicken dish a sophisticated flair. Serve with crusty bread for soaking up the delicious sauce.

Make your own spice packet for this New Orleans-style shrimp boil by tying up allspice berries, bay leaves, and coriander, mustard, and dill seeds in a square of cheesecloth. Serve this dinner-party dish with lots of melted butter spiked with hot sauce.

This stew includes the customary pairing of pork and apples, as well as cabbage and potatoes; these combinations are common in Alsace, in northeastern France.

Sun-dried tomatoes, lemon zest, and frozen corn add a summery zing to chicken and rice any time of year. Adjust the amount of cayenne pepper to suit your family's tastes.

Leave the baking sheet in the cabinet and bake a batch of golden-brown cornbread biscuits atop a tasty mix of beef and bell peppers, on the table in 45 minutes.

Smoky chipotle chiles in adobo sauce heat up this stove-top chicken casserole, which also serves as a delicious quesadilla filling: simply cut the chicken thighs into bite-size pieces before cooking, and eliminate the rice if you wish.

Canned black beans and kielbasa (or any other smoked sausage you choose) make a hearty meal. Top each portion of stew with chopped parsley and a dollop of plain yogurt. This quick weeknight meal is ready in 40 minutes.

This slightly sweet Moroccan chickpea and lentil stew, known as harira, is brightened by spices and lemon.

This hearty chicken stew calls for collard greens, potato, carrot, celery, and onion, but it's a great way to use any other vegetables you have on hand, too. Canned vegetable juice spiked with Worcestershire sauce and vinegar comprises the broth.

Thin slices of pork tenderloin take just a few minutes to cook. Serve the seared pork with sauteed potatoes and cilantro for a family dinner that's ready in about a half-hour.

This easy, economical dinner combines chicken thighs and fiber-rich brown rice with vegetables you probably already have on hand: onion, carrots, and celery. Feel free to add spices to the mixture, such as paprika, cumin, or curry powder.

Chicken cooks right on top of seasoned rice in this easy one-pot dinner. In addition to broccoli, you can also add carrots, green beans, cauliflower, or bell peppers to the recipe.

This light and brothy soup makes a satisfying dinner in just 30 minutes. Choose your favorite combination of seafood from shrimp, diver scallops, striped bass, and red snapper.

Cumin and cinnamon evoke the exotic warmth of North Africa in this chicken, rice, and vegetable casserole. Sear the chicken pieces to make the skin browned and tasty, then arrange on top of the rice to steam.

Pale ale makes a flavorful braising liquid for sweet Italian sausages and red potatoes. Make a quick sauce of olive oil, red-wine vinegar, and parsley to drizzle over the potatoes.

This tomato-based chicken stew gets a boost from thyme, red-wine vinegar, and two bottles of beer. Drop spoonfuls of cornmeal-buttermilk dumpling dough to steam on top of the stew.

Carrots, red cabbage, and butternut squash cook alongside a top loin roast in this classic Sunday supper. Enjoy the leftovers in roast beef sandwiches or soup.

Turmeric gives the rice its sunny hue, while cumin and coriander give it a warm, earthy flavor. To make this hearty one-pot dinner, mix diced potato, cauliflower florets, and frozen peas into uncooked rice, top with seared chicken pieces, and bake everything together.

Lamb, leeks, and potatoes mingle in this flavorful stew. Garnish each serving with chopped parsley. Feel free to substitute cubed beef chuck, pork shoulder, or boneless, skinless chicken thighs for the lamb.

This light but hearty seafood stew is packed with potatoes, carrots, chicken sausage, and shrimp. Be sure to add the shrimp at the very end of cooking time so it doesn't become tough.

No need to dig a pit in the sand! Steam lobsters, clams, mussels, shrimp, corn on the cob, potatoes, and chorizo in beer from the comfort of your kitchen for a casual summer dinner party.

Simmer seared Italian sausage and chicken breasts with potatoes and celery to make this hearty one-pot meal. Serve with a pan sauce seasoned with fresh oregano and red-wine vinegar.

The wine in coq au vin mellows into a luxuriously rich, velvety sauce, punctuated by smoky bacon and earthy mushrooms, that envelopes each piece of tender chicken.

Boneless chicken breasts, along with smoky andouille sausage, green bell pepper, and Old Bay seasoning, give this one-pot New Orleans rice dish its characteristic flavor. Shrimp is a great addition to jambalaya too: add it during the last five minutes of cooking.

Roasted red peppers and frozen peas add color and sweetness to this chicken and rice casserole. You can speed up the cooking time by first soaking the brown rice in water all day.

In this classic French "chicken in the pot," a whole chicken simmers with leeks, carrots, baby turnips, and vermicelli pasta. A rich stuffing of breadcrumbs, chicken livers, and Bayonne ham cooks inside the chicken. This recipe is courtesy of culinary historian Anne Willan.