Recipe Sifter

Crunchy raw cauliflower and torn romaine tossed with crumbled bacon, grated Parmesan, and a sweet creamy dressing. A 10-minute no-cook salad that feeds a crowd and disappears fast at every potluck.

Polar Bear cocktail: Amaretto, white creme de cacao, chocolate syrup, and vanilla ice cream blended smooth. A creamy dessert drink ready in 10 minutes that makes 2 glasses.

Instead of deep-frying, these baked spring rolls have much less fat but still come out golden, brown and crispy. You will be amazed how delicious they are!

Chunky black bean dip with carrot, celery, garlic, and warm spices folded into sour cream. Half-mashed beans give body while whole beans add bite. No-cook party dip ready in 15 minutes.

Gluten free pumpkin cookies blend rice flour and potato starch with cinnamon, pumpkin puree, vanilla, and chopped nuts. Soft, cakey, dairy-free, eggless, allergy-friendly.

Spicy oatmeal cookies loaded with raisins, nuts, and a bold mix of cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and allspice. Chewy, warmly spiced, and packed with brown sugar flavor.

Traditional New Mexican biscochitos with anise seed and cinnamon-sugar topping. These shortening-based cookies are crisp, fragrant, and cut into festive shapes.

Three-ingredient flourless peanut butter cookies. Just peanut butter, sugar, and one egg. Naturally gluten-free, ready in 22 minutes. The classic dorm-room dessert.

Tomato-free ketchup made from cooked carrots and beets blended with lemon juice and spices. A clever low-sugar, nightshade-free condiment that looks and tastes surprisingly like the real thing.

No-bake fudge oatmeal cookies with peanut butter, cocoa, and quick oats. Boil the chocolate base, stir in oats and peanut butter, drop onto wax paper, and they set in minutes.

Microwave meatloaf shapes seasoned ground beef into a ring around an inverted custard cup and cooks in 15 minutes flat. A weeknight shortcut for tender meatloaf without firing up the oven.

For the best taste, use good-quality caramels in this rich, gooey bar that keeps best refrigerated. It's from Jan Christofferson of Eagle River.

An exotic and delicious peanut sauce made with dried red chilies and dark soy sauce that tastes amazing with rice or noodles.

Homemade Almond Roca: buttery toffee cooked to deep mahogany, whole almonds stirred in, topped with semi-sweet chocolate and ground walnuts. A classic holiday candy that breaks into gorgeous bark-style pieces.

It's wonderful served with grilled meats, a pork chop, for example. It's also very nice mixed with some yogurt to toss with hot pasta for a low-fat quick dinner. And stir some into some soup; it will perk up almost anything without being overwhelming.

No-bake chocolate peanut butter cups with crushed potato chips and peanuts. A sweet-salty Canadian prairie candy that makes 75 bite-sized treats for holiday platters.