Best Recipes to Make Before the End of 2019

Fun fact: at the time this is written, there are almost 1,000 recipes on Pinch of Yum. ONE THOUSAND RECIPES. That’s enough for a different recipe every day for like…almost three years? Woah.

Right now, life is a mix of busy busy busy but also whimsy and magical, and sometimes you just need someone to tell you what to eat around the holidays. We have options (930, to be exact) but there are a few that we just keep coming back to.

They’re the basic, yummy, (mostly) un-fussy recipes that become your weeknight/every night standbys. Some might be tried-and-true, and some brand new.

Either way: these are the recipes that are begging to be made before 2019 comes to a close.

The Best Detox Crockpot Lentil Soup

One of the top-rated soups on all of Pinch of Yum. Clean-eating friendly and simple to make, with onions, garlic, carrots, olive oil, squash, and LENTILS!

Get the recipe here.

Feel-Good Apple Muffins

We have a major thing for these muffins. Simple unrefined ingredients that you just blend up and pour. MAGIC.

Get the recipe here.

Slow Cooker Beef Ragu with Pappardelle

The easiest cold-weather comfort food. Let it slow cook all day in a crockpot and pile on top of fresh pappardelle.

Get the recipe here.

The Best Chicken Tinga Tacos

It really, honestly, does not get any more delicious than this. Spicy, saucy, simple, and so fresh. 

Get the recipe here.

Cinnamon Sugar Apple Cake

Apple Cake that is light and fluffy, loaded with fresh apples, and topped with a crunchy cinnamon sugar layer.

Get the recipe here.

Sunday Chili

If it’s a Sunday afternoon and you don’t have a giant pot of chili simmering on the stove, what are you even doing?

Get the recipe here.

Pumpkin Rigatoni with Rosemary Walnut Crispies

Flavor + texture perfection, right here. A creamy pumpkin sauce, some chewy rigatoni, and a heap of rosemary walnut crispies. Say it again for everyone in the back: CRISPIES.

Get the recipe here.

Instant Pot Wild Rice Soup

If there’s one recipe on our winter hits playlist, this is it. Creamy, simple, and hands-off ready in under an hour.

Get the recipe here.

Easy Crockpot Carnitas

Tacos for life. And these crispy crockpot carnitas? The star of any game day, any dinner party, any regular Tuesday dinner.

Get the recipe here.

Best Anytime Baked Chicken Meatballs

These meatballs are a game-changer just on their own or in just about any recipe (see here and here). Easy to mix, hands-off to make, and yummiest to eat.

Get the recipe here.

The Best Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies

The most-reviewed recipe on all of POY! Ultra thick, soft, classic chocolate chip cookies.

Get the recipe here.

Miracle No Knead Bread

We aren’t kidding when we say this is a miracle. Just mix, let it rest, and bake (and add some cheese if you wanna).

Get the recipe here.

Yummy Salmon Burgers with Slaw

STUPIDLY EASY salmon burgers on top of a bed of creamy, crunchy slaw. The texture? The flavor? Yes and yes. This is a weekly healthy-eating staple around these parts.

Get the recipe here.

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We love food, and we love you all, and we hereby send you forth into the world to make these recipes before the end of the year!

Anything recipes would add to the list? You know we’re all about it.

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The Best Swedish Meatballs

This recipe is sponsored by LAND O’LAKES, INC.

All hail the tender, savory, creamy Swedish Meatball!

I grew up eating a lot of Swedish meatballs, and I have to say – Swedish meatball recipes are varied and they all kind of have their own personality. But after testing several ingredient combinations and methods, this is the one that I like best:

Sautéed garlic and onion and cream-soaked bread pulsed into a semi-smooth paste, mixed with ground beef and ground pork with plenty of salt and pepper, browned to golden meatball perfection, baked to tender meatball perfection, and finally rolled around in a rich and creamy, savory, sour cream-based gravy. It is mellow, comforting, and flavorful all at the same time.

The meatballs in and of themselves are a world wonder, but let me fill out the plate for you for what to serve with Swedish meatballs.

• Creamy Mashed Potatoes <– I like these, obviously, because they’re very easy and have so much garlic herb flavor.
• Tangy Cranberry Sauce, for which we use the recipe on the back of the cranberry package.
• Vinegary Cucumber Salad, which seems a little strange at first glance but is so essential for cutting through everything and waking the whole plate up.

Let’s Make Swedish Meatballs!

Step 1: Soak your bread, sauté your garlic and onions, and make a paste out of the whole thing. The idea with the paste is that you get the flavor of freshly sautéed garlic and onion without the little bits and pieces in your meatballs.

Step 2: Mix up the meat, bread-garlic-onion paste, salt, pepper, and egg. Roll into balls.

Step 3: Sauté your meatballs long enough to get some browning on the outside. They don’t have to be done on the inside – just browned on the outside. Pop ’em in the oven to finish cooking while you make the gravy.

Step 4: Hello gray–vee! We are using our beloved Land O Lakes® Butter as the base here, which is a foolproof way to make sure you’re getting the best butter flavor and luscious texture in your gravy. Use the good stuff!

Step 5: Get your meatballs up in that gravy and serve with mashed potatoes, cranberries, and vinegary cucumber salad. HOLY HEAVEN.

Okay now friends, be warned: Swedish meatballs are a tad bit more diva-status than most of the recipes we share on POY. They’re gonna take a little time to make. You’ve got the rolling, you’ve got the browning, you’ve got the baking and gravy-making…

But they are SPECIAL. They are perfect for holiday meals or dinner club or just a little something extra on a Thursday.

May your gravy be creamy and your meatballs be extra-savory and your special dinner be one to remember. ♡

Swedish Meatballs

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• Author: Lindsay
• Prep Time: 30 minutes
• Cook Time: 1 hour
• Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
• Yield: 6 servings

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Description

Swedish Meatballs that are perfectly tender and spiced, served with creamy, savory, tangy gravy. Comfort food at its best!

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Ingredients

Swedish Meatballs:

• 4 slices white bread, no crusts
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons Land O Lakes® Butter, divided
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 pound ground pork
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons salt (more to taste)
• a few shakes of black pepper

Gravy:

• 4 tablespoons Land O Lakes® Butter
• 1/4 cup flour
• 2 cups beef broth
• 8 ounces sour cream
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce (more to taste)

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Instructions

1. In a small bowl, soak the white bread in the heavy cream. Heat 1 tablespoon butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and the garlic; sauté for 5 minutes until softened. Add the soaked bread and the cooked onion / garlic mixture to the bowl of a food processor. Pulse for 10-15 seconds until mostly smooth. 
2. Add your bread / garlic / onion mixture to a large bowl with the remaining meatball ingredients. Mix well. Roll into meatballs.
3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon butter; sauté the meatballs in batches, turning occasionally, to get them browned on the outside (the inside doesn’t have to be cooked yet). Transfer browned meatballs to a pan, cover with foil, and bake for 30 minutes until cooked through.
4. Gravy time! Wipe the skillet out so it’s clean. Melt the butter. Whisk in the flour; sauté for 2-3 minutes. Add the beef broth, slowly, stirring after each addition. Gradually a smooth sauce should start to form. Stir in the sour cream and season with Worcestershire sauce and extra salt.
5. Put meatballs back in the gravy pan and let them get nice and coated. Serve over mashed potatoes, with a cucumber salad and cranberries.

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Notes

You can use pan drippings to make your gravy, but the gravy will be more lumpy and flecked with meatball bits. I prefer a smooth gravy, which is why I like to wipe out the pan first and just start fresh with butter.

The meatball mixture is WET! That’s normal. We want that because it makes for a very tender meatball once it’s cooked. If you get your hands slightly wet, you’ll have an easier time rolling them. 

If you are using thin, plain white sandwich bread, you may want to use 6-8 slices instead to make a thicker bread mixture.

• Category: Dinner
• Method: Sauté
• Cuisine: Swedish

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Thank you to Land O’Lakes for sponsoring this recipe!

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Ang’s Creamy Tortellini Soup

Dear creamy tortellini soup, with sausage, and spinach, and that rich and creamy tomato broth: ILYSB!

If there is just *one* soup you make this month, absolutely make it this one.

I’m not going to beat around the bush with you. Is it the healthiest: no.

Is it the most delicious, the most memorable, the most cozy, and the most compelling for bringing friends together around a table? Yes.

There’s something a little magical about savory sausage coming together with a sauté trio of onion, carrot, and celery, a generous bit of garlic, fresh spinach, and cheese tortellini, all of it enveloped in a rich and creamy base that is just tangy and tomatoey enough to cut the richness. Magical, I guess, or you could also just say alarmingly easy to eat bowl after bowl after bowl.

It’s one of those meals that you make and then you can’t stop thinking about the next day which is what happened to us, when our friend Angela was casually like, “Come over for soup,” and we left 100% changed human beings, and then I asked her if I could please put this recipe on POY immediately because I COULDN’T STOP THINKING ABOUT IT.

She also made us a loaf of no-knead cheese bread for dunking, sopping, and generally soup-scooping, which is definitely what I’d recommend with this particular tortellini soup situation.

Let’s Make Some Creamy Tortellini Soup:

Step 1: Brown your sausage. Add your veggies. IT SMELLS SO GOOD.

Step 2: Hello garlic, spices, and tomato paste. We’re in soup-base territory now.

Step 3: Layer in that wine, flour, and broth.

Step 4: Add tortellini and spinach and let it simmer until it’s all cooked up. Get your crusty bread ready. Annnnd go!

You are ready. Tonight it’s just you, your coziest sweater (okay be real, sweatpants) and a deep bowl of creamy tortellini soup. ♡ A BIG WINNING MOMENT.

Ang’s Creamy Tortellini Soup

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• Author: Lindsay
• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• Cook Time: 20 minutes
• Total Time: 40 minutes
• Yield: 6-8 servings

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Ingredients

• 1 lb. Italian sausage
• 1 small yellow onion, diced
• 2 celery stalks, diced
• 2 large carrots, peeled and diced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tsp. kosher sea salt
• 1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning
• 1 tsp. fennel seed, crushed or chopped
• 1 6-oz. can tomato paste
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• ½  cup all-purpose flour
• 6–7 cups chicken broth
• 14 oz. refrigerated cheese tortellini*
• 2 large handfuls chopped fresh spinach
• 2 cups half and half or heavy cream

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Instructions

1. In a large stockpot set over medium-high, cook the sausage, breaking up into little pieces. When sausage is mostly browned, add onion, celery and carrot, sauté for 5 minutes or until the vegetables are soft. 
2. Add the garlic, spices, and tomato paste; sauté for an additional 3-5 minutes, or until fragrant, stirring occasionally to prevent it from burning.
3. Add wine and let it cook out for a few minutes. Stir the flour into the sausage and cook for 1 minute. It’ll be sticky and dry. Gradually add in the chicken broth, stir to combine and make a creamy mixture. Continue cooking until the mixture reaches a simmer, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes.
4. Add the cream, then bring back to a low simmer. Add the tortellini and spinach. Cook just until tortellini is al dente, per package directions. Serve with fresh parsley and Parmesan and dunk with cheese bread. Oh my goodness. This is living.

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Coconut Curry Salmon

Salmon has never been this good.

I mean, I know we talked a big game with those barbecue salmon bowls, and those salmon burgers with the crunchy slaw may be one of the most-made, last-minute, healthy-delicious meals of my life.

But I think this one is top of the list for me now. Coconut curry salmon is everything I ever needed to happen to salmon, like, actually happening.

A quality piece of salmon. An aggressively salty-sweet spice rub. A quick high-heat trip to the oven. A simple, creamy, barely spicy, and MEGA flavorful sauce poured over the whole thing. Probably too much (but never too much) lime squeezing. And a steamy rice bed sopping everything up.

Count me in.

Reasons this salmon is my everything right now:

• So fast
• So easy
• Comfort food
• Healthy
• High protein
• Lots of good fats
• Creamy but not in a heavy way
• JUST THE FLAVOR HONESTLY

And if you like the curry vibe but you’re not so sure about salmon, no judgement. You are in the right place.

• Tofu Green Curry
• Instant Pot Cauliflower Curry
• Lentil Curry
• Curry Soup
• Curry Noodles

Coconut Curry Salmon

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• Author: Lindsay
• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 20 minutes
• Total Time: 30 minutes
• Yield: 4 servings

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Description

Coconut Curry Salmon! Broiled salmon with a salty-sweet spice rub, creamy coconut curry sauce, and steamy rice to soak it all up. YUM.

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Ingredients

Salmon:

• 1 1/2 lbs. salmon
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon curry powder
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (more for a larger filet)
• 1–2 teaspoons olive oil

Coconut Curry Sauce:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 small knob of ginger
• 1 tablespoon of lemongrass paste 
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon red curry paste
• 1 can coconut milk
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce or soy sauce
• lots of lime juice and zest
• 3 cups fresh spinach, chopped
• cilantro, basil, mint, or other fresh herbs 

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Instructions

1. Get the oven ready: Preheat the oven to 475 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil. Place one of the oven racks is close-ish to the top, about 6 inches or so.
2. Salmon: Mix the spices and the olive oil to make a paste. Place the salmon skin side down on the baking sheet. Rub the paste liberally over the top part of the salmon. Bake for 6-12 minutes (depends on salmon thickness and desired doneness – I usually opt for 8-10 minutes). See notes for potential broiling issues and alternative methods.
3. Coconut Curry Sauce: Heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic, ginger, and lemongrass; sauté for 5 minutes. Add curry paste; sauté for 3 minutes. Add coconut milk. Season with fish sauce and lime juice to taste. Add spinach; stir into the sauce until wilted.
4. Serve: Place salmon over rice. Cover with sauce, lime juice, and fresh herbs.

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Notes

If you prefer, you can cut the salmon into steaks, salt and pepper them, and just add them to the simmering coconut curry sauce for 8-10 minutes. This will poach the salmon. I prefer the texture of the roasted / spiced salmon but I have done it both ways and it will work either way!

If you try broiling the salmon, it can work (I have done it many times) but it is possible for your salmon, when rubbed with the sugar mixture, to light on fire if you get it too close to the heating element of your oven. If you are concerned about this, I would just use the regular oven temp of 450/475 as directed and wait until the oven has preheated to put your salmon in.

• Category: Dinner
• Method: Bake
• Cuisine: Thai-Inspired

Keywords: salmon recipe, salmon curry, coconut curry, curry recipe, seafood curry

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