Penne

For a richer dish, splurge by adding an ounce of reconstituted dried porcini mushrooms to the sauce.

If you're feeling extravagant, try replacing the scallops with half a pound of lobster. Or substitute a pound of cubed chicken for the seafood and chicken broth for the clam juice.

A full-flavored Italian blue cheese adds pizzazz to this pasta. Serve the dish with a salad, bread and a glass of white wine for a lovely weekday dinner.

Crusty bread and a salad complete the meal.

Canned tuna sparked with lemon and capers creates a superb sauce that complements many pasta shapes — penne, shells, or linguine, to name only a few. I prefer solid-pack tuna in olive oil for the best flavor and texture. I sometimes add a small handful of unpitted black olives — Kalamata or Gaeta — and a large, ripe tomato, seeded and diced, for a delicious variation. Italians would never serve cheese with fish, but you have my permission to break the rules!

This is a satisfying vegetarian main course that takes full advantage of the flavor possibilities of garlic, here cooked until soft for sweetness and body, sautéed until golden for depth, and added raw for brightness.

More sophisticated than macaroni and cheese—and just as good. Use a cheese slicer to make the very thin slices of Fontina called for here.

Wendy Popp of Richmond, Virginia, writes: "My job as a physical therapist and my hobby, horseback riding, keep me pretty busy. But my sons — Sammy, two, and Weston, four — keep me moving the most, which has changed my cooking style. I used to be much more experimental, but now I need low-maintenance, tried-and-true recipes that will please the boys (including my husband, Jim) and impress dinner guests."

Full-flavored and hearty, this classic pasta dish with bacon and tomato sauce is always a hit. Top it with plenty of grated Parmesan cheese.

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

A colorful, fresh-tasting dish that comes together in minutes. Serve this with a mixed green salad and some bread.

Offer this simple, hearty dish with a green salad, crusty garlic bread and a light red wine, like Beaujolais.

Buffalo chicken dip, but make it dinner.

Everything you love about the iconic party app—spinach and artichokes in a creamy, oozy sauce—transformed into a one-pot weeknight dinner.

Transform a can of pumpkin purée into a near-instant pasta sauce that delivers major fall feels.

This tomatoey vegetarian pasta from Southern Italy makes the most of green beans.