Recipe Sifter

No-bake peach pie with cream cheese, whipped cream, almond extract, and sliced peaches in a graham cracker crust. A cool, creamy summer dessert with just 6 ingredients and no oven.

Idaho-style saucey baked beans with pinto beans, salt pork, molasses, brown sugar, ketchup, and dry mustard, slow-baked for 3 to 4 hours until thick and saucy.

Yeast crumb cake is the old-world German streuselkuchen style, with a soft yeasted cake base and thick cinnamon-sugar streusel topping. Brunch coffee cake worth the slow rise.

Herbed tomato spaghetti sauce with fresh tomatoes, mushrooms, red wine, aniseed, and four fresh herbs added at the end to preserve their bright flavor. A vegetarian sauce simmered from scratch.

Frozen fruit salad with strawberry Jello, pink lemonade, whipped topping, peaches, grapes, bananas, and cherries. Molded in a loaf pan and sliced to serve. A retro potluck classic.

The first chili recipe appeared in West Texas at the turn of the century.

Slow-simmered cowpoke chili loaded with pinto beans, slab bacon, ancho chilies, and serrano peppers. A hearty, smoky bowl of ranch-style comfort that warms you right down to your boots.

Coca-Cola basted ham slow-roasted and glazed with dark brown sugar, two mustards, and bread crumbs for a sticky, caramelized crust. A holiday showstopper.

Slow cooker pineapple chicken with Dijon mustard, soy sauce, and garlic. A dump-and-go Crockpot dinner with sweet, tangy, savory sauce that practically makes itself.

Streusel and cream pear kuchen with a yeasted hot-roll base, sweet cream cheese filling, cinnamon-pecan streusel, and fanned poached pears on top. A German-style coffee cake worthy of a holiday brunch table.

Kiwi fruit gelato made without an ice cream machine, using a simple syrup, fresh kiwi puree, and lemon. Bright green, tangy, and dairy-free.

Homemade jalapeno pasta: fresh semolina pasta with jalapeno pepper flakes worked right into the dough for a gentle, all-over heat. Make it from scratch for a spicy twist on noodles.

Hunter's chili with cubed venison chuck simmered three hours with tomatoes, green pepper, and oregano. A no-beans, no-fuss wild game chili for the freezer hunter.

Dried prunes, apricots, and pears slow-cooked with vanilla bean, lemon zest, and a touch of sugar until thick and jammy. Make it on the stovetop or set-and-forget in a crockpot.

Crispy golden crab and avocado fritters with salsa and green onions, fried to a crunch outside while staying creamy inside. Makes 4 dozen party-ready bites you can prep ahead.

Pistachio ambrosia salad mixes canned fruit cocktail, pineapple and mandarin oranges with pistachio pudding, sour cream and whipped topping. A retro potluck dessert in every shade of green.