Recipes with milk

Crisp, flourless oatmeal pecan lace cookies with a delicate see-through pattern and buttery caramel snap. Five minutes of mixing, eight minutes to bake, perfect rolled into cornucopias.

Microwave oyster stew warms canned oysters in buttery milk with celery salt and cayenne. A six-ingredient seafood soup ready in 5 minutes flat.

Creamy homemade cornstarch pudding from scratch with butter and vanilla. Includes variations for chocolate, banana, and butterscotch pudding. One base recipe, four desserts.

Pecan and red onion bread made in a bread machine or by hand. Savory yeast bread with chopped nuts and sweet onion baked into a soft, buttery crumb.

Self-saucing sticky toffee pudding, a date-studded muscovado sponge that creates its own rich toffee sauce underneath as it bakes. Spoon it warm over vanilla ice cream or pouring cream.

Cheesy hash brown casserole with sour cream, sharp cheddar, and buttery corn flake topping. The ultimate potluck side dish that feeds a crowd and gets rave reviews.

Spicy Italian sausage mac and cheese with mushrooms, hot peppers, and two cheeses baked until bubbly. Hearty one-dish comfort food with oregano, basil, and garlic in creamy sauce.

Layered vegetarian moussaka with sauteed eggplant, rich mushroom-tomato sauce with red wine, and creamy ricotta bechamel baked until golden. Greek comfort food, no lamb needed.

Egg-dipped Spam and Swiss cheese sandwiches griddled in butter until golden and crispy, served with strawberry cream cheese. A retro comfort sandwich that's unapologetically indulgent.

Leek, asparagus and herb soup pureed with potatoes, chives, parsley, dill, and chervil into a silky spring-green soup. Finished with lemon and a dollop of yogurt. Lighter than cream-based soups but just as satisfying.

This cake won me First Prize at the county fair last year. It is very chocolaty.

This is one of those "ooooof!" cakes. Between the chocolate ganache and the chocolate mousse filling you might break out in some butter sweats, but it is very worth it. The cake is fluffy and moist, the mousse cool and airy, and the ganache smooth and creamy. A great show off cake for special occasions. Best of all, really easy to make!

Stuffed chile rellenos layered casserole with whole green chiles, crab and shrimp, Monterey Jack, and aged cheddar, bound by a simple egg custard. A Tex-Mex seafood bake.

Czech kolaches made with soft yeast dough and a homemade apricot filling. These pillowy rolls get an indentation pressed in the center to hold sweet fruit puree.

Aunt Lucille's tamale pie with ground beef, cornmeal, canned corn, and chili powder baked until golden. A dump-and-stir casserole with a spicy tomato-butter sauce on top.

Slow cooker apple cake layers a biscuit-style base under sliced tart apples, cinnamon-sugar dust, and apricot jam. A vented crockpot lid keeps the cake from steaming dense.