5-Ingredients or Less: November 2011

Top skillet-cooked chicken with sweet onions, savory bacon, and tangy apple cider for a flavorful and easy weeknight dinner.

This simple salad is made special with the use of high-quality seasonal ingredients and is perfect with beef, pork or chicken entrees.

Roast a batch of pumpkin seeds with olive oil, salt and pepper to keep on hand for snacking or for topping salads and soups.

This simple and tasty boneless pork loin is flavored with on-hand pantry ingredients and is super-easy to prepare. If you have leftovers, you can use the pork in sandwiches and salads.

Vary this side salad with whatever type of dried fruit and nuts you have on hand.

Three kinds of cheese plus bread and butter equals sandwich heaven.

Why order takeout when you can make this tasty pizza in less than 20 minutes?

Add yeast to all-purpose baking mix and let the dough rise just once for these shortcut dinner rolls. You can make these up to two months ahead and store in the freezer.

Layer sliced sweet potato in a baking dish and bake in a mixture of whipping cream and Parmesan cheese for a luxurious variation of a sweet potato casserole.

Add quick and easy flavor to salmon fillets with oregano, chili powder and olive oil.

Turn breakfast into dinner when you use frozen waffles instead of bread for ham and cheese sandwiches.

For a small holiday gathering, hens offer a smart-sized option in lieu of a large turkey. Mustard, jelly, and black pepper combine for a simple glaze.

Instead of green bean casserole, go with a simpler dish featuring beans flavored with bacon, onion, sugar, and cider vinegar.

This decadent ice cream dessert starts with a frozen pumpkin pie or a pie from your supermarket bakery. All you have to do is freeze it, break it into chunks, then combine with ice cream, caramel topping, and toasted pecans. You may never go back to plain pumpkin pie.

These superlative rolls derive their texture and beautiful shape from employing a simple folding technique twice and allowing them to rise just once.

For a quick and easy alternative to sweet potato casserole, stir maple syrup and butter into mashed sweet potatoes and top with toasted pecans.

If you want to break outside of the turkey routine this year, consider a simple ham that’s flavored with cloves, apple juice, brown sugar and mustard. And, like turkey, there are a number of ways you can use up leftover ham.

Deconstruct a sweet potato pie and turn it into a frozen dessert by simply folding mashed sweet potatoes and baked pastry crust dough into vanilla ice cream. Simply amazing.

Make the most of the natural sweetness of carrots by cooking them in a skillet with brown sugar and minced fresh ginger, and add just the right crunch with toasted pecan halves.

No Thanksgiving meal is complete without the cranberry relish, and this easy one will help streamline your holiday meal preparation because you can make it up to 3 days ahead.

Add sweet, tangy flavor to your holiday bird by brushing it with a mixture of molasses and Dijon mustard.

Transform mashed potatoes from plain to perfect with the addition of tangy buttermilk and sharp Parmesan cheese.

Add amazing flavor to Brussels sprouts by combining them with sweet-tart apples and roasting them for about 25 minutes or until they are tender and mellow.

Serve your holiday guests a festive fall drink made with pomegranate juice, pineapple juice and ginger ale.

Use your Thanksgiving leftovers to make a hearty salad. Cut cornbread dressing into cubes and toast for croutons, and top mixed greens with leftover turkey and cranberry sauce.

A jar of Nutella spread, a refrigerated pie crust, and whipped cream are all you need for this last-minute dessert.

Why buy frozen French fries when these home fries are so much better?

Grapefruit's in season, so use it in this simple and elegant dessert.

Get a head start on your holiday gifts. Making homemade candy is easy when you put your microwave to work.

This simple twist on the traditional kir royale blends tart-sweet pomegranate juice with subtle herbal notes from a rosemary-infused syrup.