Recipe Sifter

Pickled red beets in a sweet brown sugar and vinegar brine. Old-school canning recipe that yields jewel-toned jars perfect for sandwiches, salads, and holiday relish trays.

Creamy broccoli cheddar soup made with skim milk and reduced-fat cheese for a lighter take on a steakhouse classic. Hot soup melts the cheese in the bowl. Ready in 25 minutes.

Cornmeal pie shell made with flour, cornmeal, and shortening. A sturdy, subtly sweet crust ideal for savory Southwest pies, quiches, or fruit tarts.

Vanilla pecan slice-and-bake cookies from a make-ahead dough that chills into logs and freezes for up to 3 months. Crisp, buttery icebox cookies baked from frozen in 12 minutes.

Chili-rubbed sirloin steak: a quick four-ingredient weeknight dinner ready in 15 minutes. Garlic and chili powder pressed into the meat form a bold dry crust under high heat, sliced and served with cool salsa.

Grilled bananas cooked in their peels until caramelized and soft, split open and topped with powdered sugar, sour cream, and toasted coconut. A two-ingredient grill dessert.

Grilled prawns with fresh coriander: quickly marinated in soy, rice wine, and sesame oil, then broiled or barbecued and served with a bright cilantro-ginger-rice vinegar dipping sauce. Clean, punchy Chinese-style shrimp in 30 minutes.

How to dry fruit puree into fruit leather: a low-tech guide using sun, oven, or car-window heat to turn fresh fruit puree into chewy rolled-up snacks.

Massive fire camp chili recipe scaled to feed 1,200 people. Pinto beans, ground beef, bacon, jalapenos, and chili powder simmered for 6 hours over an open fire. A true crowd feeder.

Sweet potato mini bundt cakes with currants and fresh orange peel, rolled in cinnamon sugar while warm. Low-fat and made without butter or oil.

Boiled ham with potatoes and green beans cooked together in the same pot. A three-ingredient Southern one-pot dinner where the ham bone flavors everything as it simmers to falling-off-the-bone tender.

Cranberry ketchup is a sweet-spiced condiment with whole cranberries, brown sugar, vinegar, clove, mace, and cinnamon. The forgotten Thanksgiving table sauce for turkey, ham, and beyond.

Homemade cappuccino mix with instant coffee, powdered creamer, sugar, and crushed orange hard candy for citrus warmth. Shelf-stable jar blend ready to scoop into hot water.

Pineapple ecstasy, a creamy low-calorie fruit-and-yogurt dessert with fresh pineapple, banana, and vanilla yogurt. Sweetened with sugar substitute, light enough for everyday indulgence.

Using fresh strawberries, eat with the light whipping cream, very good.

Three-ingredient lemon cookies made with cake mix, whipped topping, and an egg, rolled in powdered sugar for a crinkle-top finish. Soft, puffy, and ready in 20 minutes.