Recipe Sifter

Light vegetarian lasagna with a from-scratch tomato herb sauce simmered two hours, layered with part-skim ricotta, mozzarella, and Parmesan. No meat, no oil in the sauce, still deeply satisfying.

Light pumpernickel bread machine loaf blends rye and bread flour with cocoa, molasses, and caraway seeds. A softer, lighter take on traditional dark German pumpernickel.

Light summer vegetable soup with green beans, yellow squash, and spinach. Garden-fresh vegetables in a Worcestershire-seasoned broth ready in 50 minutes.

Linguine with mushrooms and garlic in butter and olive oil is a stripped-down Italian pasta with just six ingredients. A pound of sliced mushrooms sauteed until concentrated and golden, tossed with linguine in garlic butter.

New Jersey-style crumb cake with a thick, buttery cinnamon crumb topping over a soft yellow cake base. A bakery-worthy coffee cake with more crumbs than cake, dusted with powdered sugar.

Little fruit cake squares packed with chopped dates, candied cherries, and pecans, baked in a 9-inch pan and rolled in powdered sugar. Bite-sized holiday treats.

Sauteed calves liver with avocado slices in a brown butter, lemon, and white wine sauce with thyme and parsley. An elegant, retro main course ready in 30 minutes.

Moist chocolate zucchini bundt cake with cream cheese frosting hides two cups of shredded zucchini in every tender, cocoa-rich slice.

Lean 7-ingredient chili con carne with cooked ground beef, beans, tomato sauce, and chili powder simmered for 30 minutes. A fast, freezer-friendly weeknight dinner.

Loaded chicken soup with two whole chickens simmered for rich stock, then bulked out with potatoes, cabbage, carrots, tomatoes, herbs, and broken spaghetti. A nearly stew-thick bowl that freezes well.

Loaded vegetable chicken soup with three tomato styles, carrots, celery, zucchini, onion, and shredded chicken. Hearty Dutch-oven soup that feeds a crowd and freezes beautifully.

Pumpkin-shaped Halloween cake made from two chocolate bundt cakes stacked together, frosted orange with a banana stem and fruit roll-up jack-o-lantern face.

Texas-style beer chili with three meats (beef, pork, ground), masa harina thickening, and bold spices. Simmers for 3+ hours to develop deep, complex flavors.

Lumpies are thick, soft chocolate drop cookies loaded with melted unsweetened chocolate and nuts, topped with a rich mocha frosting made with cocoa and hot coffee.

Chicken salad with red cabbage, Granny Smith apples, walnuts, and julienned carrots in a honey balsamic Dijon dressing. Garnished with fresh orange and kiwi slices.

Makaronia is a simple Greek pasta tossed in browned unsalted butter with grated feta or mizithra cheese and shaved kalamata olives. Four ingredients, 30 minutes, bold Mediterranean flavor.