Warm Up With Easy Winter Weeknight Meals

If you're at that point in the season where all of your dinners are boring repeats of meals you attempted earlier in the winter, we're here to help with a few new ideas that will keep your insides warm and your culinary creativity in peak form.

Click here for Warm Up with Easy Winter Weeknight Meals (Slideshow)

Although chili is a cheap and tasty staple for winter, you've probably already made that particular stew a few too many times this season. You can, however, repurpose leftover chili on baked potatoes and create an entirely new, filling meal.

Why not use this time of the year, when everyone is anxiously awaiting spring, to put whatever's in the refrigerator, freezer, or pantry to good use? Do a pre–spring cleaning clean out and use those stockpiles of shelf-stable food to create some interesting and tasty meals.

If you haven't been already been using it all winter long, break out the slow cooker and create a completely new soup with whatever you have on hand: hardy vegetables like potatoes and parsnips can stew for hours without falling apart. Choose cheaper cuts of meat (think bone-in chicken thighs, beef brisket, and skirt steak) that taste best after cooking low and slow all day.

Check out some other ways to keep things interesting in the kitchen for the last few weeks of winter.

Chicken Stuffed with Tapenade

Dried plums (a.k.a. prunes) give super-savory tapenade a slightly sweet spin. Stuffing chicken with tapenade helps keep it moist as it cooks. Click here for the recipe.

Chickpea and Kale Soup

Kale, carrots, and tomatoes add color and nutrients to this vegetable-heavy pork soup. Prep the slow cooker when you wake up and your soup will be ready to eat by the time you come home. Click here for the recipe.