Recipe Sifter

Texas-style basting sauce with butter, bacon drippings, lemon juice, Worcestershire, and chili powder. Makes 3.5 cups, enough to mop a whole 5-pound brisket through a long, slow smoke.

Reduced fat chocolate snack cake made with chocolate syrup, cocoa powder, and semi-sweet chips, topped with chopped nuts and a vanilla powdered sugar drizzle. A lighter take on rich chocolate cake.

Banana split squares with Oreo crust, layered vanilla and strawberry ice cream, bananas, and homemade fudge sauce. No-bake make-ahead frozen dessert for a crowd.

White chicken chili with tomatillos, Rotel tomatoes, cannellini beans, green chiles, and lime juice. Stovetop or crockpot, topped with sharp cheddar.

A sweet and scrumptious side dish made with sweet potatoes, coconut and pecans.

Homemade fried elephant ears: sour-cream and buttermilk dough rolled thin, slit, fried golden, then tumbled in cinnamon sugar. State fair pastry made in your own kitchen.

Macadamia nut brittle with dried banana chips and coconut, made in the microwave. A tropical twist on classic peanut brittle that's ready in under 15 minutes.

This is a quick chicken recipe, and goes very well!

Graham cracker pie shell made with just crushed graham crackers and melted margarine. A no-bake, two-ingredient crust that chills firm and holds any cream, custard, or cheesecake filling.

Apple pie with apricot glaze layers tart Granny Smith apples over a custard pastry cream and finishes with a layer of apricot preserves under the top crust. A French-style twist on classic American apple pie.

Light spiced muffins with grated apple, raisins, and orange zest. Low-fat recipe that uses beaten egg white for lift and only a tablespoon of brown sugar for sweetness.

Rhubarb-strawberry cobbler with cinnamon and orange zest in the filling and fluffy buttermilk biscuit topping. A classic spring dessert where tart rhubarb and sweet strawberries bubble under golden drop biscuits.

Sour sourdough bread builds extra tang through 12+ hours cold-retarded fermentation. Bread machine kneads, then artisan-style cylindrical loaves bake on cornmeal-dusted sheets.

Bluefish baked en papillote over wild rice, barley, and snow peas with sauteed mushrooms and red peppers. A light, herb-seasoned parchment packet dinner ready in 40 minutes.

Treat your kids to these decadent and scrumptious muffins that are rich down to the last bite.

Italian almond-hazelnut biscotti twice-bake to crisp dipping cookies with lemon zest, almond extract, and toasted nuts. Lower-fat traditional Italian style, keeps a month in a tin.