Welcome to December! Here's what we've got cooking for this week's meal plan: braised lamb shanks, roasted broccoli salad, chicken and dumplings, and more. Happy cooking!

This month, we welcome back Marta Rivera for more of her meal plans. Marta is a trained chef, mom of twins, and Army wife – and she is also one of our Simply Recipes recipe testers!

December is here and with it comes veggies that are primed for using in your meals this month. I’m incorporating a few of my favorites: beets, kale, sweet potatoes, and of course cranberries.

After Thanksgiving, stores are looking to unload any additional inventory of cranberries, so you may be able to find them at great prices. Freeze them in freezer bags, unwashed, for up to a year and use them throughout the off season.