5,081 four four recipes

Lemony ham and rice soup made in the microwave in just 20 minutes. A quick one-dish meal using canned chicken rice soup, chopped ham, lemon juice, and nutmeg.

Smooth carrot spread seasoned with dill, garlic, and miso, thickened with arrowroot. Vegetarian pate for crackers or veggie dipping.

Try these fruit cake bars instead of fruit bread, they are very handy and delicious, also they are great gifts at Thanksgiving or Christmas!

Pecan crunch apple pie with chopped apples, brown sugar, and toasted pecans baked into a single-crust pie. The separated egg trick gives the filling a light, almost cake-like lift.

Flour-coated chicken breasts seared golden then simmered in crushed Italian plum tomatoes with mushrooms, green pepper, onion, garlic, oregano, and basil. Electric skillet cacciatore over spaghetti.

Vegan tofu bourguignon with red wine-marinated baked tofu, sauteed mushrooms, and a rich thyme-tarragon gravy. A plant-based twist on the French classic, served over pasta or rice.

Peppered pork roast with sour cherry salsa: coarsely pepper-crusted pork loin roasted simple, served with a sweet-hot relish of cherries, green chiles, peppers, and cilantro. Holiday-worthy and easy.

This recipe, though fussy to make, is attractive and tasty. Cheryl Kaufenberg of Darien said it came from a very old Better Homes & Gardens magazine

Leftover turkey and broccoli linguine in a sage-scented pan gravy, topped with crunchy herb stuffing crumbs. The post-Thanksgiving pasta that rescues the fridge.

Light carrot cake made with applesauce instead of oil and egg whites instead of whole eggs, studded with raisins and drizzled with a fresh orange glaze. Lower in fat but still full of flavor.

Traditional Swiss Basel Leckerli: honey-spice cookie bars with cinnamon, cloves, candied peels, kirsch, and almonds under a crackly sugar glaze. Makes 50 to 60 bars that keep for weeks.

Layer cookies with a buttery shortbread base topped with a crisp brown sugar meringue and chopped nuts. The egg yolks go in the bottom layer, the whites become the chewy topping.

Lemon meringue pie from cooking school is the textbook version with a hand-rolled crust, cornstarch-and-flour curd, and a stable French meringue sealed to the crust. Detailed technique guarantees no weeping.

Molasses shoo-fly cake is the iconic Pennsylvania Dutch pie: alternating layers of dark molasses custard and spiced brown-sugar crumbs in a flaky pastry shell. Coffee, dunked, no negotiation.

Linzer tart with a spiced almond crust, raspberry fruit spread, and a piped lattice top. An Austrian-inspired pastry sweetened with apple juice concentrate instead of refined sugar.

Cocoa branana muffins blend bran flakes, ripe bananas, and unsweetened cocoa for high-fiber chocolate muffins. Egg whites and skim milk keep them lighter than typical bakery banana bread.