Pasta recipes

Easy prep and a slow simmer bring this thrifty chili recipe together.

Vegetarian Mexican stuffed peppers filled with brown rice, black beans, cumin, and chili powder, baked in a tomato sauce. A hearty plant-based main dish with warm Southwestern spices.

Carne guisada, a Tex-Mex beef stew braised with cumin, chili powder, serrano peppers, and tomato paste. Fork-tender stew meat in a thick, spiced gravy.

Granny's slow cooker chili browns four pounds of ground beef with kidney beans, tomatoes, and a spice blend of chili powder, paprika, cumin, and cayenne. Crowd-feeding crockpot classic.

Barbecued short ribs with a homemade gastrique-style sauce of caramelized vinegar, brown sugar, and warm spices. The day-ahead method delivers grill-ready ribs with sauce that clings.

Texas-style all-beef chili with cubed chuck, beer, toasted cumin seeds, and no beans. Simmered low for 90 minutes and thickened with masa harina the authentic way.

Hearty vegetarian chili with kidney beans, mushrooms, and carrots, deepened with cocoa powder, cinnamon, and mustard seeds. Thick, smoky, and satisfying without any meat.

Old Mexico slow cooker chili with cubed stewing beef, three forms of tomato, chili powder, and a kick of hot sauce. No beans, just deep-simmered Texas-style heat.

Vegetarian kidney bean and corn chili thickened with mashed beans and tomato paste. A hearty, no-meat chili with cumin, oregano, and chili powder ready in one hour.

Tequila-lime marinated chicken sizzles with peppers and onions for bold Southwestern fajitas that bring the heat without the restaurant price.

Chili lovers will enjoy this healthier version that tastes wonderful with a light crusty bread or those classy bread bowls!

Ground turkey and black bean chili: a leaner, tomato-paste-thickened weeknight chili with sweet bell peppers, carrots, chili powder, and cumin. Healthier than beef chili, just as satisfying.

Original Dallas jail house chili, a true Texas bowl of red: all beef, no beans, slow-simmered with chiles, cumin and garlic, then thickened the proper way with masa harina.

This is a typical restaurant style curry. The basic curry forms the base and the variations show how it can easily be adapted.

Note: 15 bean mixtures are available packaged in supermarkets and health food stores. If you prefer, make your own by combining equal amounts of dried blackeyed peas, red kidney beans, white kidney beans (cannellini), green lentils, split peas, black beans, yellow split peas, navy beans, cranberry (Roman, shell, or shell out) beans, great Northern beans, pinto beans, small white limas, red lentils, cow peas (field peas), and pink beans. Avoid using beans such as garbanzos and large lima beans, as these take longer to cook than other varities.

Start a fiesta in your kitchen with this scrumptious dish that's easy to make and enjoy!