Recipe Sifter

Blair's banana bread is a no-fuss family quickbread with three mashed bananas, butter, and a handful of nuts or raisins. The kind of one-bowl loaf that built America's banana bread habit.

Reduced fat banana nut bread with non-fat sour cream and egg substitute, swirled with chocolate chips and chopped nuts. Half the fat of standard banana bread, all the moist banana flavor.

Hearty whole grain biscuits use silken tofu and apple juice instead of butter, blended into whole wheat, rye, and wheat germ for a dairy-free, high-fiber breakfast biscuit. Vegan friendly.

Traditional hand-kneaded white bread made with scalded milk and molasses for three golden loaves with a tender, slightly sweet crumb. This old-fashioned method takes time but rewards you with bakery-quality bread that fills your kitchen with irresistible aroma.

Chock full of pecans and well spiced, perfect snack for a cooler Autumn day.

Oatmeal pecan pie deepens the classic with toasted oats and pecans in a honey custard, all baked in a rum-spiked oat crust. A nuttier, less cloying twist on pecan pie with a hint of black pepper.

Flour-free mandarin cake made with whole boiled tangerines, ground almonds, and eggs. Naturally gluten-free with an intense, moist citrus crumb that melts on the tongue.

Pumpkin bread loaded with semisweet chocolate chips, warm cinnamon, and nutmeg. A brown-sugar dusting in the pans bakes into a sweet, slightly crisp crust around a moist, tender crumb. The holiday quick bread that vanishes fast.

This is plain cornbread, not a corn flavored cake, so don't expect it to be fluffy or sweet. It's great with black-eyed peas, new potatoes, green onions, sliced tomatoes, and buttermilk, i.e., your basic Southern farm fare. It's also very nice cold, broken into bite-sized pieces in a glass of cold milk and eaten with a spoon.

Old-fashioned pecan pie with browned butter filling and a glossy, deeply caramelized top. The nutty brown butter elevates this Thanksgiving classic above standard corn syrup versions for rich, toasty flavor.

Savory spaghetti and meatballs with ground beef meatballs seasoned by dry onion soup mix, browned and simmered in jarred spaghetti sauce. The 30-minute weeknight version that tastes like a slow-cooked Sunday sauce.

Cheesy chili mac for a crowd with ground beef, kidney beans, tomatoes, and melted cheddar cheese sauce over pasta. Family-friendly one-pot chili that feeds 12.

Beef and Italian sausage chili with a tablespoon of instant coffee for depth, two kinds of beans (kidney and refried), and a Monterey Jack topping. Captain's recipe.

Pumpkin and chickpea soup with caramelized onions, fresh pumpkin, soaked chickpeas, and a hint of honey. Hearty vegan, high-fibre soup ready in an hour.

Vegan oat and cashew waffles blitzed in a blender with just five ingredients. No flour, no eggs, no dairy: ground oats and cashews build a high-fiber batter that crisps up nutty and golden.

Chocolate whoopie pies sandwiched with a fluffy peanut butter filling made the classic cooked-flour-and-milk way, for that bakery-style, marshmallow-soft texture.