With this year’s tighter budgets, families across the country have traded in their elaborate holiday recipes for a much more simple dish–the casserole. Why spend $50 making a venison roast, when you can throw together baked risotto with portobello mushrooms for $20?

Local cookbook author Elizabeth Yarnell couldn’t agree more: One-pot meals make for easy cooking and comfort dining, and Yarnell offers helpful tips for both on her website and in her book Glorious One-Pot Meals. Check out her hands-on demonstration, pick up her book at the Tattered Cover, or log on to Amazon to place an early order for the newest edition of Glorious One-Pot Meals, which has 50 new recipes.

Tip: One of my favorite dishes is the hearty Lake Como Pasta with zucchini, porcini mushrooms, and ricotta.