Recipe Sifter

Crispy fried tortillas wrapped around a chicken filling.

Fruit cocktail cake is a one-bowl dump cake mixed straight in the pan with canned fruit cocktail, flour, sugar, and eggs. Old-fashioned potluck dessert with zero fuss.

Halvah shortbread made with tahini and butter creamed together with brown sugar and cake flour, studded with toasted pecans and cut into wedges.

Lite 'n easy crustless pumpkin pie sets pumpkin puree with skim evaporated milk, gelatin, and brown sugar substitute. No crust, no oven, no eggs. A 7-ingredient dessert friendly to weight watchers and diabetics.

Mandarin orange sunshine cake made with yellow cake mix and canned oranges replacing the water. Frosted with a pineapple, sour cream, and vanilla pudding whipped topping.

Microwave grains blend brown rice, pearl barley, and millet cooked together in 10 minutes on high. A simple, nutty whole grain base for chili, beans, or sauce.

Homemade mint jelly with fresh mint leaves, vinegar, sugar, and pectin. A classic condiment for roast lamb that sets up crystal clear and bright green in about 20 minutes.

Pina colada squares with a buttery shortbread base, thick pineapple-rum filling, and a golden coconut meringue top. A tropical three-layer bar cookie.

Risotto-style orzo with fresh tomatoes, Asiago cheese, garlic, and parsley simmered in chicken stock. Creamy pasta with risotto texture in half the time and no constant stirring.

Rocky Road refrigerator cake layers fudgy coffee-spiked brownies with whipped cocoa cream, mini marshmallows, and chopped walnuts. A make-ahead chocolate dessert that turns richer and sliceable after a night in the fridge.

Indonesian rujak fruit salad tosses cucumber, jicama, mango, papaya, pineapple, and Granny Smith apple in a chunky peanut, chile, palm sugar, and tamarind sauce. Sweet, sour, salty, fiery in one bite.

Try something new for lunch with this scrumptious dish that will start a fiesta in your tummy!

No-bake chocolate truffles shaped like tiny mice with almond ears, dragee eyes, and licorice tails. A fun holiday treat kids love to make and eat. Makes 2 dozen.

This Eastern European compote simmers dried apples, pears, prunes, and raisins in apple cider with honey and warm spices. A make-ahead fruit dessert that improves over two weeks in the fridge.

Savory and succulent, these braised leeks and shitake mushrooms are a delightful vegan dish that will leave you wanting more. This recipe combines the delicate flavors of leeks and shitake mushrooms with the rich taste of sherry and a hint of citrus from the orange. It's perfect for a cozy night in or to impress your guests at a dinner party.

Enjoy your banana with melted chocolate and low-fat vanilla yogurt.