Recipe Sifter

Ham and apple pie layered with chopped ham, Granny Smith apples, onion, and sage, topped with buttered mashed potatoes baked until golden. A savory cottage pie with a sweet-tart twist.

Mexican-style hand-shredded beef brisket: rubbed with garlic, onion, oregano, and cumin, foil-roasted then broiled. The foundation for tacos, burritos, and enchiladas.

Handy pastry dough: make-ahead pie crust with egg and vinegar that keeps two weeks in the fridge. Makes five balls ready to roll for pies, quiches, or turnovers on short notice.

Haricot mutton, a traditional New Zealand stew with flour-dredged mutton, turnip, carrots, and celery simmered in stock. Old-school comfort food from the farm kitchen.

Roasted Cornish hens brushed with olive oil, parsley, and thyme, served with pan-gravy mushrooms, glazed carrots, and Brussels sprouts. A rustic Sunday dinner plate, scaled small.

Apple cranberry upside-down cake baked in a cast iron skillet with brown sugar and butter. A fall harvest dessert with caramelized fruit topping, best served warm.

Hawaiian banana nut bread is a one-bowl quick bread made with three ripe bananas, vegetable oil, and chopped nuts. Moist, tender, and uncomplicated. The kind of loaf that puts overripe bananas to good use.

Hawaiian macadamia bread folds crushed pineapple, shredded coconut, and chopped macadamia nuts into a tender quick bread. Tropical tea bread or breakfast loaf with island flavors in every slice.

Hearty beef and barley soup built on bone-in short ribs for deep flavor, with carrots, celery, cabbage, tomatoes, and quick-cooking pearl barley. Slow-simmered Sunday soup for cold weather.

Slow cooker buffalo stew with carrots, celery, tomatoes, and a hint of ground cloves. Low-fat, high-protein bison simmers for 12 hours into a rich, fork-tender one-pot meal.

Heath bar cookies loaded with frozen toffee bar chunks and nuts in a slice-and-bake butter cookie dough. Crispy edges, buttery crumb, and pockets of crunchy chocolate-covered toffee in every bite.

Helen's Cheesecake with a ground pecan and graham cracker crust, a lemon-kissed cream cheese filling, and a sour cream topping baked right on. Refrigerate 24 to 72 hours - patience is the secret ingredient.

Vollkornbrot is a dense German whole grain bread made with 7-grain cereal, whole wheat flour, and molasses. No yeast, no kneading, baked low and slow for 3 hours and keeps 2 weeks.

Herbed beef eye of round roast rubbed with basil, marjoram, paprika, and a flour crust. Slow-roasted to tender pink for an effortless Sunday centerpiece.

Make-ahead slice-and-bake hermit cookies with five warming spices, plump raisins, and buttery dough. Roll into logs, freeze, slice, and bake fresh cookies anytime.

Cherry-stuffed cookies dipped in white and dark chocolate with chopped pecans. Each cookie hides a whole maraschino cherry inside a tender dough shell.