Recipe Sifter

Old-fashioned oven baked beans with navy beans, salt pork, molasses, and brown sugar. Slow-baked in a covered casserole for hours until thick, sticky, and deeply sweet-savory.

Pot roast with dill gravy is a Scandinavian-inflected Sunday supper: chuck roast braised with dill seed and onions, then finished in a creamy sour cream and dill pan gravy. Deeply savory with a Nordic twist.

Marinated basil tomatoes with olive oil, vinegar, and a pinch of garlic chilled for 2 hours. The 5-minute summer salad that turns ripe tomatoes into something lunch-counter worthy.

Low-fat pineapple cheesecake pie made with cottage cheese instead of cream cheese, set with gelatin, and lightened with whipped egg whites. A no-bake, fluffy, tangy-sweet dessert with crushed pineapple.

No-bake chocolate dream pie with instant chocolate pudding and whipped topping in a pie shell. A light, mousse-like frozen chocolate pie that sets in the fridge.

Slow cooker macaroni and ground beef in condensed tomato soup with mushrooms and onion. A hands-off crock-pot dinner that simmers for hours, letting the pasta soak up rich, tomatoey flavor.

Pork tenderloin kabobs marinated in homemade chile barbecue sauce with molasses, jalapeños, and Dijon mustard. Broiled or grilled until juicy. Served with steamed cabbage.

Overton's seafood gumbo is the real Louisiana deal: homemade seafood stock, slow-cooked okra, the holy trinity, a dark roux, then pounds of shrimp, crab, and oysters. Served over rice with file at the table.

Garbanzo and rice salad tosses chickpeas, brown rice, tomato, green pepper and red onion in a dill-and-white-wine-vinegar dressing. A make-ahead vegan salad that improves overnight.

Slow-cooker sweet and sour cocktail franks simmered in chili sauce, currant jelly, mustard, and pineapple chunks. Retro mid-century party appetizer that holds warm in the crock for serving.

Caramelized slow-cooked spiced apples served with angel food cake and ice cream. Undoubtedly apple euphoria. Crockpot or slow cooker recipe.

Apple-almond stuffed turkey: a Thanksgiving bird packed with tart apples, ham, toasted almonds, currants, citrus zest, and fennel seed in a bread stuffing moistened with apple juice and chicken broth.

Bean, okra, and tomato soup simmered with a ham bone for deep smoky flavor. A Southern classic that turns leftover ham into a hearty, satisfying soup.

Light spinach dip made with reduced-calorie mayo, light sour cream, water chestnuts, and scallions. Creamy and crunchy with fewer calories. Serve in a bread bowl for parties.

Mexican fish in adobo sauce made with rehydrated ancho chiles, tomatoes, orange juice, cumin, and cinnamon. Pan-seared fillets baked in a smoky, citrus-laced chile sauce.

Chinese roast pork from lean tenderloin marinated in soy, bourbon, garlic, and ginger, then broiled and basted until glazed and caramelized. A quick, sweet-savory take on char siu, gluten-free with tamari.