Recipe Sifter

Tender baked chicken breasts smothered in sauteed red, green, and yellow peppers with zesty picante sauce and bubbly melted cheddar. A colorful, low-carb weeknight dinner that's ready in under an hour.

Southern-style crowder peas simmered low and slow with ham hocks and Cajun seasoning until tender and smoky. Serve over rice or cornbread for a soul food staple.

Tender beef cubes simmered low and slow in a tangy tomato sauce spiked with dry mustard and Worcestershire. This hearty, hands-off comfort food serves 4 over rice or egg noodles for a satisfying weeknight meal.

Lemon buttered cod fillets cooked in the microwave with butter, lemon juice, lemon pepper, and paprika. A fast weeknight fish dinner ready in under 15 minutes.

Crispy oven-baked chicken breasts coated in crushed onion soup mix and bread crumbs, drizzled with butter. A crunchy, savory weeknight dinner in 40 minutes.

Easy chicken souffle uses canned cream of mushroom soup as a shortcut béchamel, folded with whipped egg whites and shredded cooked chicken for a light, fluffy weeknight main.

Kraut burgers (bierocks) stuffed with seasoned ground beef, shredded cabbage, and onion wrapped in soft bread dough and baked golden. A Midwest German-American classic you can make with frozen dough.

Lightened green bean casserole with low-fat cream of mushroom soup, nonfat sour cream, and a Parmesan-breadcrumb topping instead of fried onions. Six-ingredient holiday side.

Homemade Polish kielbasa recipe: spiced beef and pork sausage with sweet paprika, marjoram, and fresh garlic, ground and stuffed into casings. Authentic old-world sausage-making.

Based on Dean Ornish's Eat More Weigh less. I give this as Christmas presents each year and get rave reviews.

Guasacaca is the Venezuelan avocado salsa: chunky avocado, tomato, onion, cilantro, and hot pepper sauce blitzed rough. Served alongside arepas, grilled meats, or tortilla chips.

Pickled sweet green tomatoes turn end-of-season fruit into spiced jewel-toned slices. Brown sugar, vinegar, and a spice bag of mustard seed, allspice, celery seed, and cloves give them a sweet-tart bite for canning.

Butter-browned veal loin chops simmered with quartered mushrooms, white wine, and chicken broth, then finished in a silky tarragon cream sauce. An elegant dinner for two in one hour.

Overnight breakfast strata layered with prosciutto, basil torta cheese, arugula, ripe tomatoes, and pesto-soaked French bread. Assemble the night before, bake until puffy and golden, and serve a crowd-worthy brunch.

Impossible chicken parmigiana pie with Bisquick, three cheeses, and Italian herbs. A crustless pie that forms its own base as it bakes in a pie plate.

Cold green vegetable soup with poached fish. Source: Olga Gorechev, St. Petersburg, Russia