Want to improve the quality of your dinners, but feel frustrated by recipes that call for specialty items you might not use again? Pick up a copy of newly released “The Ultimate 5-Ingredient Cookbook: Whole Food Flavorful Meals Made Simple” by Rebecca White (Page Street Publishing, $21.99).

White, creator of the blog “A Pleasant Little Kitchen,” offers detailed instructions that transform a few key ingredients into wholesome comfort food. In addition to helping you build a thoughtfully stocked pantry, White also builds your kitchen confidence. “If I could tell home cooks one thing, it’s ‘You are a good cook. You are capable and able!’” White said in a recent interview.

White’s recipes rely on supermarket cuts of meat and seasonal produce. The recipes are written with busy cooks in mind; many are sheet-pan or slow-cooked meals. This one-dish Tomato and Horseradish-Braised Chicken Thighs now makes a regular appearance in our fall weeknight rotation.

I made a few gentle changes to White’s recipe. Chicken skin has plenty of fat, so I browned the thighs in half of the oil that White recommends. And I saved time — and dishes — by pureeing the sauce in the Dutch oven with an immersion blender, instead of blitzing the tomatoes in a countertop blender as White’s recipe instructs.

But overall, the ease of this recipe feels like a gift. Serve it with a side of rice or mashed potatoes, and you’ll find that the “simple” means “simply delicious.”

Rice is one of the possible sides for Tomato and Horseradish-Braised Chicken Thighs. (Kellie Hynes for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

Credit: Kellie Hynes

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Credit: Kellie Hynes

Adapted from “The Ultimate 5-Ingredient Cookbook: Whole Food Flavorful Meals Made Simple” by Rebecca White (Page Street Publishing, 2021).

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The city of Brookhaven's mayor and City Council last week decided to remove the colored panes of glass from the dome of Brookhaven's new City Centre after residents objected to the brightness of the colors, seen here Friday, June 27, 2025. (Reed Williams/AJC)

Credit: Reed Williams/AJC