Recipe Sifter

Red, white, and blue ice cream pie with a blueberry muffin mix crust, French vanilla ice cream filling, and sugared strawberries on top. A Fourth of July dessert.

Microwave chicken tetrazzini with peas, mushrooms, and a creamy sherry sauce over spaghetti. Lighter than traditional versions using skim milk, this one-dish pasta dinner comes together in 35 minutes.

Pumpkin delight is a no-bake layered dessert: a graham cracker base under a fluffy spiced pumpkin filling of cream cheese, vanilla pudding, and whipped topping. A lighter, make-ahead alternative to pumpkin pie.

Pumpkin cheese tart with a gingersnap-oat crust and a marbled cream cheese-pumpkin filling, finished with warm caramel sauce. A lighter take on pumpkin pie that actually holds its own on the holiday table.

Quick microwave trout stuffed with tender peppers and onions in lemon-butter sauce, ready in 15 minutes for weeknight fish dinners that taste like campfire cooking.

Oven barbecued spareribs braised low and slow for 3 hours in a homemade ketchup, brown sugar, and Worcestershire sauce. Fall-off-the-bone tender, no grill needed.

Mussel and bacon soup in a tomato-basil broth with celery and onion. A classic British shellfish soup inspired by Marguerite Patten, ready in under 40 minutes.

Scaloppine al limone: classic Italian pan-seared veal cutlets with a bright lemon pan sauce. Ready in under 40 minutes from six pantry ingredients. Restaurant-style results at home.

Wild rice amandine with toasted slivered almonds, green pepper, onion, and chives cooked in beef bouillon. A quick, savory rice side dish ready in 25 minutes.

Easy spicy barbecued shrimp needs just three things: shrimp, cayenne and butter. Baked in a fiery, buttery coating and peeled at the table, this fast, hands-on dish brings New Orleans heat with almost no effort.

Strawberry brownie torte with fudgy brownie layers, strawberry-studded vanilla ice cream filling, and a homemade chocolate sauce. A frozen layered dessert that's easier to make than it looks.

Upside-down apple gingerbread with sliced apples in brown sugar on the bottom, topped with a spiced molasses cake made with hot tea. A warm fall dessert inverted onto a plate.

Lighter fettuccine Alfredo made with skim milk, reduced-fat cream cheese, and a roux instead of heavy cream and butter. All the creamy Parmesan flavor with less fat.

Pecan sticky buns use frozen dinner rolls topped with vanilla pudding mix, brown sugar, butter, cinnamon, and pecans. Assemble at night, rise overnight, bake in the morning for fresh sticky buns.

Cinnamon orange crumb crust made with cinnamon graham cracker crumbs, fresh orange zest, and butter. A fragrant, no-bake pie crust ready in 10 minutes flat.

Giant cookie studded with dates, almonds, and orange zest, baked on a pizza pan and sliced into wedges. Fun 30-minute dessert.