Recipe Sifter

Healthy chicken meatloaf with oats and applesauce instead of heavy binders. Lean ground chicken stays moist while poultry seasoning adds savory depth in just 1 hour.

When you don't have 4 hours or more to make chicken broth use inexpensive chicken legs to make this rich broth along with cooked chicken for use in other recipes.

Oven Barbecued Eggplant salts the slices and rests for 30 minutes before baking with BBQ sauce brushed on both sides until tender but not mushy. A 3-ingredient vegan side dish ready in an hour.

Drunken leeks braised in red wine with garlic, finished with a splash of red wine vinegar and fresh parsley. A simple, elegant side dish ready in 30 minutes.

Marinated spiced olives with lemon, garlic, dried chilies, mustard seeds, peppercorns, and allspice in olive oil. A no-cook appetizer that improves over a week of marinating.

Eggs poached in a simmering skillet of tomatoes, jalapeno, and cilantro, then topped with toasted ground pumpkin seeds. A quick Yucatan-style breakfast in 20 minutes.

Two-ingredient New Mexico style barbecued salmon. Salmon fillets brushed with red chile barbecue sauce and grilled over wood embers. The Southwestern way to cook a piece of fish.

Paska: the traditional Russian Easter cheese dessert pyramid, loaded with raisins, candied fruit, almonds, and real vanilla bean. A centerpiece served with kulich bread.

Pumpernickel bread stuffing made with duck drippings, sauteed onions, and a mix of pumpernickel and white bread cubes. A hearty, earthy side dish baked alongside roast duckling.

Steamed king salmon strips folded over spinach leaves, served on basil sauce with Belgian endive spears and salmon caviar. An elegant, light seafood dish ready in minutes.

A three-layer Jello salad with strawberry-banana gelatin hugging a creamy center of cream cheese, sour cream, and chopped walnuts. Retro potluck royalty served on crisp lettuce leaves.

Use as a dip or topping for grilled chicken, seafood, etc., inspired by Diana Rattray

Cream cheese and Parmesan stuffed mushrooms with a hint of nutmeg and Worcestershire, baked until golden. A crowd-pleasing appetizer with just 7 ingredients.

Master method for cooking duck: first steam to render fat and tenderize, then roast at moderate heat for crisp skin. The two-stage technique pros use for perfectly rendered, crackling-skinned duck.

Crispy corn flake-crusted chicken breasts stuffed with garlic-herb butter that melts into the meat during quick microwave cooking for easy weeknight chicken kiev.

Goat cheese and spinach phyllo turnovers with pine nuts, parmesan, rosemary, and lemon zest. Crispy Greek-style spanakopita triangles perfect for appetizers.