Recipe Sifter

Minestrone Parmesan: Italian vegetable and pasta soup loaded with smoked ham, chickpeas, spinach, and garden vegetables in a rich beef broth. Finished with grated Parmesan.

Plain Italian minestrone with potatoes, celery, green beans, peas, and ditalini pasta in a simple broth, finished with Parmesan and parsley. No tomatoes needed.

Mock parmigiana shapes seasoned beef patties, bakes them in a mushroom-tomato sauce, then tops with melted mozzarella. The veal parmigiana shortcut for any weeknight.

Easy lasagna layered with uncooked noodles, a beefy jarred sauce, and a cottage cheese filling. The noodles cook right in the dish, so there's no boiling and no fuss.

Pesto mushroom caps stuff fresh button mushrooms with homemade basil pesto and crown each one with a walnut half, then bake until hot and fragrant. A 10-minute vegetarian appetizer that punches way above its weight at a cocktail party.

Mushroom cups stuffed with sauteed mushrooms, mozzarella, and Parmesan in buttery bread shells baked golden. A bite-sized appetizer with rich, savory flavor in every crispy cup.

Mushroom pate with a pound of sauteed mushrooms, dry vermouth, Parmesan, sour cream, and toasted pecans. A rich, earthy spread for crackers and crostini.

Pasta rabe with steamed broccoli rabe tossed with fresh linguine, sauteed garlic, mushrooms, onion, olive oil, and grated Parmesan. A simple Italian weeknight pasta in 30 minutes.

Neapolitan mushroom soup with dried porcini and fresh mushrooms, plum tomatoes, marjoram, thyme, and an egg-yolk-Parmesan liaison thickener served over toasted Italian bread.

No-boil lasagna with ground beef meat sauce, ricotta-mozzarella cheese filling, and uncooked noodles that soften right in the pan. Skip the boiling step and still get a classic family-style lasagna with tender layers.

This was a quick dinner option that was very tasty. Loved the broccolli in it for some cheesy greens

Copycat Olive Garden Shrimp Cristoforo: shrimp sauteed in a homemade basil, garlic, and parmesan compound butter, then tossed with linguine. A restaurant-style shrimp pasta that comes together fast once the butter is made.

Onion casserole with butter-cooked sliced onions in cream of chicken soup with mushrooms and paprika, topped with buttered croutons and melted cheddar and Parmesan. A fast, savory side dish.

Caramelized onion and rosemary pizza on a homemade food processor dough with Parmesan and a splash of red wine vinegar. A focaccia-style flatbread in 35 minutes.

Crustless onion pie with sauteed onions, eggs, Parmesan, and bread crumbs baked into a savory vegetarian custard. A low-fat, 5-ingredient onion tart with no pastry shell.

Orzo with spinach and toasted pine nuts, cooked risotto-style in garlic-infused water with Parmesan. A 15-minute Mediterranean side dish or light vegetarian dinner.