Recipe Sifter

Six pounds of beef and venison cubed and simmered in cast iron with beer, whiskey, cola, ancho chiles, jalapeños, cayenne, and hot sauce. This is not a chili for the faint of heart. Bring a cold drink.

Old-fashioned baked beans made from dried navy beans with salt pork, molasses, brown sugar, and pure maple syrup. Slow-baked for 5-7 hours until the sauce turns thick and the pork rind crisps up.

A spicy and delicious sauce made of potatoes, carrots and cabbage that is excellent over rice.

A stacked veggie club sandwich with broth-sauteed mushrooms, crisp cucumbers, sprouts, tomato, and low-fat cheese on triple-decker toast. Ready in 20 minutes.

Homemade whole wheat tortillas made with a blend of whole wheat and all-purpose flour, cooked on a dry griddle. Soft, pliable flatbreads with a nutty flavor ready in 20 minutes.

Hearty Greek meat stew simmered with broad beans, tomatoes, red wine, and warm cloves. Tender beef in a rich, rustic broth that fills the house with the smell of a Mediterranean kitchen.

No-cook minty apple tomato chutney with Granny Smith apples, ripe tomatoes, bell pepper, raisins, and fresh mint. Cures for ten days into a tangy condiment.

Cheddar tomato soup blends fresh tomatoes, onions, and celery into a rustic broth, then enriches it with cream and a full half-pound of melted sharp cheddar. The grown-up answer to canned tomato soup, with cheese already in the bowl.

Banana nut bread bakes a moist, walnut-studded loaf using ripe bananas and tangy buttermilk for a tender crumb. A classic Southern family quick bread recipe.

Slow cooker Texas-style chili with ground beef, kidney and pinto beans, plum tomatoes, and a touch of warming whole allspice. A 4-hour low-and-slow chili built from pantry staples.

Vegetarian chili with mixed beans, crumbled tofu, tomatoes and a smoky cumin-cayenne spice base. Hearty meatless one-pot meal high in protein and fiber.

Spiced pumpkin butter: shelf-stable canned spread with cooked pumpkin, pectin, sugar, and warm pumpkin pie spice. Six half-pint jars perfect for fall gifting or toast.

Baklava with shatter-crisp phyllo, ground walnuts and almonds, and honey syrup steeped with lemon and orange slices. The classic Greek pastry done properly, in shimmering diamond-cut squares.

Peanut butter cookies use crunchy peanut butter, both white and brown sugars, and the classic fork-pressed crisscross top for soft centers and crisp golden edges. A big-batch family-favorite cookie.

Mom's breakfast berry muffins with blackberries (or blueberries) tossed in flour to keep them suspended. A bakery-style butter-and-egg base produces tender, golden muffins. Makes 16 for the freezer.

Beef chili with kidney beans, tomato puree, green chiles and a finishing stir of bittersweet chocolate. Mole-inspired depth from cocoa balances the heat. A 1-hour one-pot weeknight dinner.