Photo by thefoodplace.co.uk

Making restaurant-worthy mussels in white wine is easier than it seems.

I love cooking for my fiancé and planning meals for us, but cooking for two often proves to be difficult. If I don't make a plan, I end up running around in circles at the grocery store and wasting half the ingredients I've bought (and I hate wasting food). Enter What's Cooking This Week - my meal plan and grocery guide. This way, I can make the most of my ingredients and my leftovers.

Last week, Mushroom Risotto was reused to make Fried Arancini. This week, a Roast Chicken is served over tomato salad and remade into an Antipasti Chop Salad and Chicken & Chorizo Empanadas.

Here's the rest of the plan:

Spicy Mussels w/ Chorizo & White Wine

Herb Roasted Chicken w/ Tomato & Cucumber Salad

Antipasti Chop Salad

French Bread Pizzas

Easy Chicken & Chorizo Empanadas

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Photo by Ewan Munro

Mushroom risotto is transformed into crisp and delicate arancini.

I love cooking for my fiancé and planning meals for us, but cooking for two often proves to be difficult. If I don't make a plan, I end up running around in circles at the grocery store and wasting half the ingredients I've bought (and I hate wasting food). Enter What's Cooking This Week -- my meal plan and grocery guide. This way, I can make the most of my ingredients and my leftovers.

Last week, leftover French Onion Soup made the dip for Roast Beef Sandwiches. This week, Italian Meatloaf is served alongside sweet potatoes and remade into a garlic-mayo-topped Stuffed Meatloaf Sandwich.

Here's the rest of the plan:

Fish en Papillote w/ Garlic Broccolini

Easy Mushroom Risotto

Italian Turkey Meatloaf w/ Baked Sweet Potato

Pancetta & Mushroom Stuffed Arancini

Meatloaf Sandwiches w/ Garlic & Herb Mayo

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Photo by Accretion Disc

Transform that leftover Halloween candy into a different sweet.

So, not enough trick-or-treaters came to your house this Halloween and you're stuck with bags and bags of candy, right? This happens to my family every year, and we usually leave it in the pantry until Easter, then replace it with chocolate-covered bunnies and robins' eggs. But how about putting that candy to good use.

Honorable Mention: While it's fun to transform those chocolate bars into a different type of sweet, it's also perfectly fine to stick a few in the freezer. I love eating a frozen candy bar while munching on popcorn and watching a movie, or just as a delightful after-dinner dessert.

5. Milkshakes

Pretty much any chocolate bar will work in a milkshake -- Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, Hershey's Kisses, Almond Joys (or Mounds), Kit Kats, Butterfingers, etc. Simply add chocolate or vanilla ice cream to the blender, then pour in milk (add more for a thinner consistency) and several snack-size candy bars, or a whole candy bar. Blend that sucker until all the candy bar bits and pieces are pulverized. Add the candy after the ice cream and milk have mixed together and the result will be like a Dairy Queen Blizzard.

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Photo by Christina Uticone

Cheese, peas and pasta: a one-dish oasis.

Have you ever had one of those stretches in life where you just can't seem to catch a break, or your breath? When everything is going wrong all at once? We're coming off a month like that at our house -- in fact, we're feeling a little bit like a country song these days. My husband and I can't seem to be in the same city at the same time, literally passing one another in the night as we fly off on separate trips; I had the Death Flu, during which I had to write a 2,000-word article while high on DayQuil; our beautiful old puppy dog (who we knew wasn't long for this world) has finally bid us adieu. Oh, and we are in the middle of moving, which is always a relaxing and rewarding experience.

Needless to say, food -- and eating in general -- have not been a priority. It's not the healthiest, but we've been alternating between day drinking on empty bellies and gorging ourselves on our favorite comfort foods. In the spirit of giving (it makes everyone feel better!), I want to share a few dishes with you that I turn to for comfort.

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Photo by Mr. T in DC

Think this French onion soup looks good? Just wait 'until you see what we do with the leftovers.

I love cooking for my fiancé and planning meals for us, but cooking for two often proves to be difficult. If I don't make a plan, I end up running around in circles at the grocery store and wasting half the ingredients I've bought (and I hate wasting food). Enter What's Cooking This Week - my meal plan and grocery guide. This way, I can make the most of my ingredients and my leftovers.

Last week, roasted sweet potatoes were served alongside Dijon Pork Chops and reused in a Sweet Potato Bisque. This week, a mixture of cream cheese and spinach gets stuffed into both Baked Shells and a Crispy Chicken Roulade.

Here's the rest of the plan:

Grilled Chicken Parm Subs

Spinach & Cream Cheese Stuffed Shells

French Onion Soup

Panko-Crusted Chicken Roulade

Weeknight French Dips

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Photo by Molly Dunn

It's not that difficult to make your own almond milk -- and it's easy to flavor it.

Making almond milk at home is a lot easier than it sounds. I always use almond milk instead of regular milk for my cereal and in my coffee, because I think it adds more flavor and tastes better than ordinary milk.

However, buying a gallon of almond milk from the store is quite pricey. I decided to take a whack at making the milk substitute at home.

All you need is several cups of almonds, water, cheesecloth (or a fine sieve), a blender and a few extra sweeteners or flavor enhancements (depending on your taste preference).

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Photo by Paula Murphy

Hugo Ortega, left, and his wife and partner, Tracy Vaught, right, will host famed cookbook author Diana Kennedy at a book-signing event on Oct. 24 at Hugo's.

Here in Texas, we know a lot about Mexican food. But what most of America (including Texas) thinks of as Mexican is actually Tex-Mex, a hybrid of Mexican cuisine and American ingredients. It's comforting to us native Texans, for sure, but it's not true Mexican food.

Diana Kennedy knows real Mexican food. The famed cookbook author has been living in Mexico since 1957, studying the cuisine and codifying recipes that had previously been passed around by word of mouth only. In 1998, Kennedy published My Mexico: A Culinary Odyssey with More Than 300 Recipes, her definitive guide to Mexican cuisine, in which she details her travels around the Central American country and her discoveries and memories of the food and recipes she encountered.

Kennedy will be at Hugo's on Thursday, October 24, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. to sign the new edition of her book, which is considered a classic.

"Thank goodness it's coming out again." Kennedy says. "It's a very, very valuable book!"

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Photo by Brooke Viggiano

This sweet potato bisque is made even better with candied bacon and spiced shrimp.

I love cooking for my fiancé and planning meals for us, but cooking for two often proves to be difficult. If I don't make a plan, I end up running around in circles at the grocery store and wasting half the ingredients I've bought (and I hate wasting food). Enter What's Cooking This Week - my weekly meal plan and grocery guide. This way, I can make the most of my ingredients and my leftovers.

Last week, boneless chicken thighs made the filling for both Enchiladas with Pumpkin Sauce and a Chicken Tortilla Soup. This week, roasted sweet potatoes are served alongside Dijon Pork Chops and reused in a Sweet Potato Bisque.

Here's the rest of the plan:

Spaghetti Carbonara w/ Brussels Sprouts

Pork Chops & Roasted Sweet Potatoes w/ Dijon Pan Sauce

Fried Shrimp w/ Apple & Sprouts Salad

Sweet Potato Bisque w/ Spicy Shrimp & Candied Bacon

Dijon Pork Chops w/ Sweet Potato Mash

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Photo by Molly Dunn

There are so many dishes you can make with canned pumpkin, but just because you can doesn't mean you should.

During the holidays, Pinterest is my go-to recipe index. You can always find a plethora of dishes to cook for any meal or party, or to give as gifts to friends, family and neighbors.

One simple search on the Food & Drink section of Pinterest will turn up an overwhelming number of pumpkin recipes, and I'm not talking about different ways to make pumpkin pie. You can make practically any dish you can imagine with a can of pumpkin purée, but the real question is, should you?

I decided to try my hand at five pumpkin recipes from Pinterest and have ranked them from worst to best. Here's how things played out.

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Photo by jeffreyw

This homemade pumpkin pie couldn't be easier to make, and it tastes a lot better than one made from a can.

There's perhaps no dessert that feels more "fall" than pumpkin pie. Better yet? Homemade pumpkin pie. So we're sharing a step-by-step recipe that's easy to follow and whose end product is even easier to devour.

Here's how to make it:

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