25 hay stack recipes

These were a favorite of mine when I was a kid. They still are and they're sooooo easy to make!

No-bake butterscotch haystacks coat corn flakes in melted butterscotch and peanut butter, then fold in mini chocolate chips. Crispy, sweet-salty, and freezer-stable. A 20-minute holiday cookie that needs no oven.

Crispy chow mein noodles coated in melted chocolate and shaped into spooky spider clusters. These no-bake Halloween treats take just 15 minutes to make.

Pressure cooker black bean soup with smoked ham hock, leeks, and beef stock pureed silky smooth with a splash of dry sherry. Hearty, smoky, and ready in under an hour.

Vegetarian potato corn chowder with carrots, celery, tomatoes, and herbs, thickened by mashing some of the potatoes back into the broth. Hearty, creamy, and dairy-free.

Authentic Bermuda fish chowder built on a rich stock from fish heads, simmered with tomato, white wine, and warm spice, then finished the island way with sherry and dark rum. A deep, savory tomato-based chowder.

Rice pilaf with green peas, bay leaves, and a whole cinnamon stick cooked in the Middle Eastern soaked-rice method. A fragrant vegetarian side with toasted, fluffy grains.

Two whole chickens simmered with leeks, carrots, celery, and fresh thyme yield a crystal-clear broth and tender diced meat. A from-scratch chicken soup that's worth every minute of the 2.5-hour simmer.

Maryland crab soup loaded with sweet lump crab meat, Old Bay seasoning, potatoes, corn, green beans, and carrots in a beef and tomato broth. The classic Chesapeake Bay vegetable soup.

Browned chicken breasts bake gently with carrots, pearl onions, potatoes, and celery in a creamy mushroom and herb sauce. Low-calorie comfort in one covered casserole dish, ready in an hour.

Crab gumbo simmered with okra, tomatoes, and Cajun seasonings served over rice. A rich, tomato-based Louisiana-style seafood stew loaded with sweet crab meat.

Aloo matar rasedaar: North Indian potato and pea curry in a thin tomato gravy with garam masala, ghee, and warming whole spices. The 25-minute weeknight vegetarian comfort dish.

Rich Mughlai chicken curry with a ground almond, ginger, and garlic paste in a creamy yogurt and cardamom sauce. A royal Indian dish with whole spices and whipped cream.

Chicken biryani with toasted rice, whole spices, turmeric, golden raisins, and crispy fried onion flakes. An aromatic one-pot Indian rice dish garnished with hard-boiled eggs and tomato.

Fish fillets with tomatoes, capers, and olives is the Veracruz-style Mexican classic: lime-marinated red snapper or halibut simmered in tomato-olive-caper sauce spiked with pickled jalapeños and warm spices.

Filipino-style caldereta: vinegar-marinated lamb braised with dried chiles, cinnamon, peppercorns, potatoes, bell pepper, and green olives. A rich, spiced stew that fills the house with warmth.