Mexican Pork and Rice Bowl

This tasty rice bowl is terrific with just about any kind of leftover cooked rice. Add 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper if you like heat , and top with more salsa for a hit of fresh flavour. For a decadent dinner, serve with tortilla chips – they make a crunchy, fun side.

Curried Beef Balls

Spicy hot curries are doubly warming and therefore appropriate for a winter dinner. Serve this northern Indian dish with rice (nutty-flavoured basmati if possible, available in Indian speciality shops), a yogurt and cucumber salad, and a fruit chutney. For a milder curry, reduce the cayenne pepper to 1/4 tsp (1 mL).

Curried Eggplant Rolls

Massaman curry powder is a bit hotter than regular grocery store curry blends. If you can't find it, mix regular curry powder with a pinch of cayenne pepper. And don't worry if you don't have an immersion blender for the sauce: A regular blender will work just fine too. If you're not avoiding dairy, a dollop of Balkanstyle plain yogurt on top is a nice way to cool the heat.

Jicama Salad With Avocado Pur?e

Who says fall side dishes have to be full of roasted vegetables? This crisp salad looks unconventional, but trust us: It's a crowd-pleaser! Our Test Kitchen and other Canadian Living staffers gobbled it up in record time during testing.

Spicy Moroccan Tomato Soup

Maple & Mustard Salmon With Soba Noodles

Chilled Avocado & Watercress Soup

To give this velvety soup a smoother texture, strain it through a fine-mesh sieve. If you can't find watercress, arugula makes a good substitute.

Baked Crispy Spicy Wings

Wing night just got a little bit more exciting.

Classic Chili Sauce

Our retro version of this chili sauce, which first appeared in our November 1990 issue, called for canned tomatoes; here, we've used fresh instead for an intensified taste. To strike the perfect balance between sweet and spicy, you may want to add more sugar, depending on how sweet the tomatoes are.

Garam Masala Drumsticks With Aloo Gobi

This Indian-inspired one-pan dinner is an easy weeknight meal. Aloo gobi means potato cauliflower, which is often seasoned with garlic, onion, ginger, curry and turmeric, which gives it its yellow colour.