Recipe Sifter

Hearty baked round steak and dried lima beans slow-cooked in tomato juice with bacon, brown sugar, and dry mustard. A rustic one-pot meal that feeds 8 and tastes even better the next day.

Vereshchaka is a traditional Ukrainian pork casserole braised in beetroot rassol with bacon, allspice, and pearl barley. Topped with sour cream and fresh herbs, it's hearty comfort food.

Classic Cobb salad with homemade French dressing: finely chopped greens arranged in tidy rows of chicken, bacon, avocado, egg, tomato, and Roquefort. The original composed salad, tossed tableside.

Fish mulligan stew with haddock, potatoes, carrots, tomatoes, and bacon in a one-pot broth seasoned with celery seed. A hearty New England-style fish chowder that doubles easily for a crowd.

Traditional Irish pot-roasted chicken stuffed with oatmeal, bacon, and onion, braised with carrots and potatoes in giblet stock. Country Sunday supper from the Emerald Isle that turns a whole bird into a one-pot feast.

Turn leftover pot roast into a bubbling beef pot pie loaded with bacon, mushrooms, peas, and a surprising hit of dill pickle in a rich gravy under flaky pastry crust.

A rich creamy chowder with corn and sausages -- This chowder is a variation on a family recipe from an old roommate of mine. (She makes it without the sausage, and with more water). It goes very well with most seafood.

Canned asparagus topped with a hot bacon and onion dressing made with vinegar and sugar substitute. A low-calorie Southern-style side dish at just 31 calories per serving.

Juicy turkey burgers seasoned with Worcestershire and garlic salt, wrapped in crisscrossed bacon and broiled until crisp. Leaner than beef but packed with smoky flavor.

German beef rouladen: thin slices brushed with mustard, rolled around bacon and onion, then slow-braised in a paprika-tomato sauce finished with sour cream. Classic comfort food over potatoes or noodles.

New England-style clam chowder with crisp bacon, tender potatoes, canned clams, and a creamy base built on cream of celery soup and milk. A classic shortcut chowder that tastes like Cape Cod.

Mini bacon cheese quiches in a tender cream cheese pastry shell, filled with crisp bacon, cheddar, Swiss, onion, and a custard of eggs and half and half. Make-ahead, freezer-friendly party bites.

Old-fashioned baked beans with navy beans, smoky bacon, molasses, and brown sugar in a tomato sauce base. The classic New England Sunday-supper bean pot baked low and slow until thick and rich.

This is my best soup for a cold winter day, hearty and delicious. Actually it's great anytime of year.

Old-school stuffed green peppers packed with seasoned ground pork, rice, crumbled bacon, and onion, then slow-simmered in a smoky paprika tomato sauce. Hearty, hands-off comfort food for six hungry folks.

All-American clam chowder built on bacon fat, sweet onions, cubed potatoes, and canned clams thickened with cream of celery soup. A weeknight chowder that comes together in about 35 minutes.