Cheese recipes

Spaghetti with shrimp and browned eggplant in a fresh tomato-basil sauce. A Sicilian-style pasta with sea and garden in one bowl, finished with parmesan.

Whipped ricotta blended with Parmesan, lemon zest, nutmeg, and fresh herbs creates a velvety no-cook cream sauce for vermicelli. Light, fast, and on the table in 20 minutes.

SPAM Hawaiian pizza loaded with provolone, sweet pineapple chunks, red onion, and green pepper on a ready-made crust. Baked until golden and bubbly, this tropical twist on pizza night takes just 40 minutes.

Turkey saltimbocca with prosciutto, Muenster cheese, and fresh sage, pan-seared in butter. A quick Italian-inspired cutlet dish ready in under 5 minutes.

Gory Gorilla Tonsils are Brussels sprouts drizzled with melted cheese "pus" and paprika "blood specks" for Halloween. A fun, gross-out way to get kids eating their veggies.

No-bake tiramisu with coffee-soaked ladyfingers, cream cheese filling, Kahlua and Advocaat liqueurs, and a dusting of cocoa. A quicker, American spin on the Italian classic.

Individual cheesecake cupcakes baked in graham cracker crust cups with a simple cream cheese, sour cream and vanilla filling. Portion-controlled cheesecake bites ready in an hour with no springform pan needed.

Gravy soup is an old-fashioned roux-based broth with chicken fat, flour, and stock, topped with croutons and grated Gruyere. A frugal European-style starter that turns pantry staples into comfort.

Traditional Spanish almond soup from Castilla la Vieja: ground almonds blended into rich consomme, ladled over toast strips, broiled with Parmesan, and scattered with toasted almonds.

Fettuccine with prosciutto, peas, carrots, and fresh tomato tossed in a light chicken broth sauce with Parmesan. A quick, lighter pasta dinner ready in 15 minutes.

If you're late to make dinner, try this scrumptious dish made with cream of mushroom soup.

Apple pie with sharp cheddar cheese baked into a cornmeal crust and finished with a woven lattice top. Eight cups of fresh apple, cinnamon, and a savory-sweet crust that sets this apart.

Impossible beef and tomato pie makes its own crust from Bisquick, eggs, and milk poured over layered beef, Swiss cheese, tomatoes, and onions. A self-crusting one-dish dinner.

Low-calorie eggplant Parmesan: baked (not fried) eggplant slices coated in cracker-Parmesan crumbs, smothered in tomato sauce and topped with part-skim mozzarella. Guilt-free Italian comfort food.

Smothered burritos: warm homemade flour tortillas rolled around refried beans, drenched in pork-and-Anaheim chili verde, and blanketed with three melted cheeses. Southwest comfort food plate that eats like a diner favorite.

These savory snacks are made with phyllo pastry sheets are great appetizers and conversation starters.