Recipe Sifter

Mock ravioli casserole: layers of butterfly pasta, a meaty tomato sauce, and a herby spinach-egg-parmesan filling. All the flavor of ravioli without rolling a single sheet of dough.

Slow cooker Texas chili soup with ground turkey, kidney beans, stewed tomatoes, green chilies, and a bold cumin-chili spice blend. Dump-and-go comfort in a bowl.

Spicy pinto bean dip made from scratch with dried beans, cumin, jalapeno, chili powder, and fresh cilantro. A bold, smoky Mexican-style dip loaded with garlic and heat.

Freezer-friendly eggplant and tuna casserole layered with breaded eggplant, zucchini, mozzarella, and a seasoned tomato-wine sauce. Make two, bake one now, freeze one for later.

Yeasted coffee cake with a sour cream dough, sweet cream cheese filling rolled jelly-roll style, and vanilla glaze with sliced almonds. An overnight rise makes it brunch-ready.

Traditional New Mexican biscochitos with anise seed and cinnamon-sugar topping. These shortening-based cookies are crisp, fragrant, and cut into festive shapes.

Mexican pita pockets stuffed with seasoned ground beef, beans, salsa, cheddar, lettuce, and tomato. A taco-meets-pita mashup that holds together better than a tortilla. Ready in 30 minutes.

Bean fajitas: black beans, zucchini, bell pepper, and onion tossed with chili and cumin, rolled in warm tortillas with salsa, yogurt, and Monterey Jack. A vegetarian weeknight win.

Chocolate red beet cake: deep cocoa cake with mashed beets baked into a moist, tender crumb you'd never guess was hiding a vegetable. An old-school secret-ingredient cake.

Toll House chocolate oat bars made in the microwave in under 10 minutes. Oats, brown sugar, walnuts, and chocolate chips with a melted chocolate top layer.

Polish bigos (hunter's stew) with beef, smoked pork, spareribs, kielbasa, bacon, and sauerkraut. The national dish of Poland, slow simmered, feeds sixteen.

Soft rolled molasses cookies with gentle ginger and cinnamon, topped with a simple egg white icing. Kid-friendly spice level and great for cookie cutters.

Homemade Chex-style snack mix with shredded wheat, Cheerios, pretzels, and peanuts baked with Worcestershire, dill, and garlic salt. Keeps for 6 weeks.

Maque choux Thibodaux: Paul Prudhomme's Cajun stewed corn built with a dark pan-caramelized puree, apple and prune juice, peppers, and a silky evaporated milk finish.

Kookie Cookies: no-bake peanut butter corn chip bars with corn syrup and sugar. A salty-sweet, crunchy 4-ingredient treat that kids can help make in 15 minutes.

Layered strawberry Jell-O salad with bananas, pineapple, pecans, and a hidden sour cream layer in the middle. A retro Southern potluck classic that sets up beautifully.