Hi and welcome to Five Weeknight Dishes — though will you ever be hungry for a meal again? (Or maybe you’ve already had leftovers-laced breakfast sandwiches from this heartwarming stoner-dude story by Priya Krishna, about two brothers who run a restaurant in L.A.?) There’s something I have to tell you: I know there are a million leftovers recipes floating around out there. We’ve published them, and they’re delicious. But I feel in my soul that the highest and best use of Thanksgiving leftovers is in a sandwich. Do the breakfast version, or just pile everything on there, including stuffing and squash, and especially the cranberry sauce, which makes it all sing.
The week after the holiday I like to keep dinner fast and simple, nothing heavy, not too many pots and pans. What are you thinking? And more crucially, what would you like to see in December, when things really get crazy? Please tell me! I’m dearemily@nytimes.com.
Here are five dishes for the week:
CreditLinda Xiao for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Monica Pierini.
While we’re on the topic of highest and best: This is arguably the best way of all to cook boneless, skinless chicken breasts (though let’s not forget chicken schnitzel or Parm). It’s a truly easy dish, and the lemon provides a bright wake-up call after all those sweet, blunt Thanksgiving flavors. Serve sprinkled with lots of parsley, alongside a tangle of spaghetti and simple steamed broccoli or a sturdy salad.
This recipe comes from “Six Seasons” by Joshua McFadden, a fantastic cookbook that’s brimming with ideas for vegetables — like this pasta sauce, which is an almost neon green and can be made while the water boils. My friend Scout, an excellent home cook who rarely seems to follow a recipe, even made this one. (O.K., she added lemon zest and topped it with toasted pine nuts.)
View this recipe in your weekly plan.
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Emphasis on “shortcut” — these aren’t authentic — but they are spicy (if you like) and fun and weeknight-approved. Chilaquiles are typically made with freshly fried tortillas simmered in salsa; this recipe calls for tortilla chips, and you build a sauce directly in the pan. Top with fried eggs and lots of pickled red onion and cilantro; you could even add shredded leftover turkey.
