Recipe Sifter

In a latest experiment with homemade soups, I combined the ideas from my own Hot and Sour Soup and my mother-in-law's Shanghai Meatball Soup. The result was unquestionably great and both my sons (who are excellent cooks themselves) declared it my finest effort. I hope you enjoy it, too!!

I prefer to use panko crumbs for this. I serve the cutlets with both lemon wedges and my homemade pesto.

Easy and oh so delicious. Any kind of onions work well but for extra sweetness keep an eye out for baby vidalias, top with a quick balsamic glaze to kick it up a notch.

Super moist, delicious, and packed with banana and coconut flavor. If you are a big fan of both, this banana bread will be heavenly tasty for you. Definitely should be on your to-bake list.

Billion dollar chocolate bars, a homemade candy bar in four layers: a chocolate-peanut butter base, fluffy peanut nougat, gooey caramel, and a chocolate top. Like a candy-shop Snickers, made at home.

Apple crumb muffins with shredded Golden Delicious apple, warm apple pie spice, skim milk, and a cinnamon-sugar crumb topping. Lighter Weight Watchers-style breakfast muffins ready in 45 minutes.

A delicious and light soup that we make all the time. It can be served warm, at room temperature or chilled. So it's perfect all year round. If you like chunkier soup, just simply reserve 1 cup or two soup before putting into the blender.

Apricot ginger scones with chewy dried apricots, sweet-hot crystallized ginger, and bright lemon zest. A buttermilk-based scone with rustic break-apart triangles and layered flavor.

Tender, never-dense Italian meatballs from grandma's kitchen: ground beef, egg, and breadcrumbs mixed by hand, browned, then simmered low in tomato sauce. The trick is a little warm water for moisture.

Hearty ground beef chili built on tomato juice, two cans of kidney beans, and a generous five tablespoons of chili powder. A weeknight one-pot dinner with serious depth from a long simmer.

A famous Scottish style pie or tart. Plums baked in a rich and creamy custard.

Nothing says lovin like some spicy Louisiana cooking. I absolutely LOVE making this when I have the time. I'm toning down the amount of creole seasoning that I use, because I tend to be a little heavy handed with it. The amount is an approximate - season to your taste. Fell free to substitute cajun seasoning for the creole. It's all about personal preference. Enjoy!!

Moist banana coffee muffins, ripe bananas and brown sugar deepened with a shot of strong coffee and studded with chocolate chips. A one-bowl, mocha-banana muffin that bakes up tender and rich.

The oat scones were buttery, fluffy and delicious, when we spread the apple-pear butter on top, the flavor was just amazing. Sweet, a bit sour and smooth apple-pear butter went deliciously well with these yummy scones.

Buttery oat scones studded with plump currants and dusted with cinnamon sugar. These Scottish-style treats bake up with crisp edges and tender, flaky centers in just 15 minutes.

Easy chicken pot pie that skips the roux: cream of potato soup, mixed vegetables, and cooked chicken baked between two flaky crusts with thyme. A fast way to use up leftover meat.