Recipe Sifter

This dish is very, very hot. It may not seem so at first, but the spices have a cumulative effect that builds up over the course of the meal.

Smoky, beer-braised chili loaded with cubed flank steak, jalapenos, and masa harina. This thick, hearty Texas-style chili simmers low and slow until every spoonful hits with deep, layered heat.

Yum. I will be making this recipe again and again.

Hamburger spinach casserole layered with seasoned ground beef, egg noodles, creamy spinach, and melted cheddar. Hearty potluck-style comfort food with hidden greens for picky eaters.

Red bell peppers stuffed with spiced ground beef, rice, toasted walnuts, raisins, and olives, then baked until tender. A one-dish dinner with sweet and savory filling.

Quick Southwestern casserole layered with zucchini, corn, fried tortilla quarters, and green chilies in a spiced tomato sauce, smothered in melted cheddar. Ready in 20 minutes.

Portuguese chili beans with ground chuck, dried kidney beans, tomato sauce, cloves, and a whole red chili pepper. A hearty, mildly spiced bean stew served with crusty Portuguese bread.

Baked Swiss steak braises floured round steak in tomato sauce with onion, bell pepper, celery and carrots. Slow-baked until fork-tender for a hearty, family-style oven dinner with built-in gravy.

Slow cooker venison chili loaded with kidney beans, mushrooms, jalapenos, barbecue sauce, and six cloves of garlic. Thick, spicy, and built for long cooking.

San Francisco-style cioppino with halibut, shrimp, scallops and clams simmered in a slow-cooked tomato and white wine broth. The Italian-American fisherman's stew, served with crusty sourdough.

Crowd-sized sloppy joes for 100 people, with ground beef simmered low in a sweet-tangy tomato sauce with peppers, onions, and Worcestershire. The go-to potluck, wedding, or church supper recipe.

A very quick and easy homemade dish for when you're craving some Italian flavors on a weeknight.

Italian meatball sandwich: pork-and-beef meatballs simmered for an hour in a long-cooked red wine tomato sauce built on salt pork, garlic, basil, and marjoram. Piled in a crusty roll with Parmesan and roasted peppers for a proper Sunday sub.

Hamburger barley soup loaded with carrots, celery, onions, and tomatoes in a beefy broth. A one-pot meal that simmers for an hour until the barley turns tender and chewy.

Slow-cooker chili with ground beef, red kidney beans, diced tomatoes, bell pepper, and a generous shake of chili powder. Set it in the morning, eat by dinner. Hands-off weeknight comfort.

Fresh summer vegetables that are easy to find in the store or easily grow in your garden make this delicious and succulent spaghetti sauce.