2,800 better recipes

This irresistible apple coffee cake is easy to make, and it comes out moist and delicious. Even better with a cup of freshly brewed coffee or tea, it can be breakfast or a tasty dessert after a meal.

Turkey pasta salad with corn, zucchini, and picante-creamy garlic dressing. A Tex-Mex spin on leftover turkey, ready in 20 minutes and better after a chill in the fridge.

White chocolate brownies (blondies) with chunks of semisweet chocolate folded into a tender, butter-rich batter. Sweet, dense and dotted with dark chocolate pockets. Better than the box mix.

Braising can turn a tough piece of meat into a tender, fall off the bone, comfort food. I can think of no better example than the classic dish osso buco, made from veal shanks.

Homemade honey graham crackers made with graham flour, butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, and honey. Crisp, lightly sweet, and better than anything from a box.

Skillet garlic croutons toasted in butter with thyme. Homemade croutons with real garlic flavor in 15 minutes, far better than anything from a box.

Old-fashioned jelly cookies: buttery shortbread rounds sandwiched with red raspberry jelly and dusted in powdered sugar. The kind that gets softer and better as the jelly soaks in.

Hearty sausage kale soup with potatoes and kidney beans simmered in chicken broth. A one-pot comfort soup that feeds a crowd and gets better the next day.

Chinese-American General Tso's chicken with crispy deep-fried bites tossed in a sweet-and-tangy chili-garlic-ginger sauce. Better than takeout, ready in under two hours including marinade time.

Pork vindaloo is the Goan classic where cubes of pork braise in a fiery spice paste of cumin, mustard, fenugreek, cinnamon, and red chilies bound with white wine vinegar. A hot-and-sour curry that gets better the day after.

Cashew chicken made better than takeout: cornstarch-crisped chicken in a glossy hoisin glaze with garlic, green onion, and crunchy cashews over jasmine rice. A 30-minute stir fry.

Moist carrot date nut bread with a blended carrot-orange puree, slivered dates, and walnuts. Spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg, this recipe makes two loaves that slice even better the next day.

Chili macaroni is a one-pot weeknight dinner combining ground beef, kidney beans, corn, tomatoes, and elbow macaroni in a chili-spiced sauce, topped with melted cheddar. Think homemade Hamburger Helper chili mac, only better.

Homemade hamburger buns made in a bread machine for the dough, then baked into soft, pillowy rolls with sesame seed tops. Better than store-bought, and they freeze beautifully for burger night.

This super carrot raisin salad is very good for dinner, very light and tasty, but you had better finish it at one meal, don't let it overnight, will be not fresh.

Hearty ground beef simmers with chickpeas, kidney beans, carrots, and peppers in a cumin-spiked tomato base. This crowd-feeding chili serves 12 and tastes even better the next day.