1,100 meal recipes

Lighter crab stroganoff with mushrooms, sherry, and nonfat sour cream over spinach noodles. All the creamy, savory comfort of classic stroganoff with less guilt.

Speedy Swiss steak with round steak tenderized, floured, browned, and simmered in tomato sauce with celery and garlic in just one hour. A quicker version of the classic comfort food braise.

Albondigas soup with small browned meatballs simmered in stock with garlic, parsley, and white wine. Serve as a Mexican-style meatball soup or a saucy main dish.

Crab and spinach quiche loaded with Swiss and Parmesan in a flaky crust, kissed with nutmeg. Makes two full pies, so there's plenty for brunch guests and leftovers.

Family-sized calzone made with store-bought pizza dough filled with Italian deli meats, mozzarella, Parmesan, and Italian dressing. One big fold-over that feeds four in 30 minutes.

Three-meat meatloaf topped with mashed potatoes and browned in the oven. Beef, veal, and pork with crushed cornflakes and sage, frosted like a cake with golden mashed potatoes.

Seafood Gumbo From the New Basic's Cookbook recipe

Swiss crabmeat quiche layered with sweet crab, minced onion and a four-egg half-and-half custard. Brunch-table classic with a kick of red pepper flakes.

Olive Garden copycat seafood Torcello with cod, clams, shrimp, and crab in a garlic-sherry bechamel sauce tossed with radiatore pasta. A rich, restaurant-style seafood pasta you can make at home.

A hearty beef, vegetable, and rice soup made fast in the pressure cooker, with a meaty soup bone, tomatoes, corn, okra, and a pinch of cayenne. Old-fashioned comfort in a fraction of the usual simmering time.

Bacon-wrapped crabmeat balls with sherry, lemon juice, dry mustard, and fresh bread crumbs broiled until crispy. An elegant appetizer that makes about 2 dozen bite-sized hors d'oeuvres.

Pastichio (Greek lasagna) with ziti, seasoned ground meat, crumbled feta, cream cheese, Parmesan, and eggs baked into a rich, set casserole. A simplified take on the classic Greek baked pasta.

Mexican Meatloaf swaps breadcrumbs for cornmeal and adds pickled jalapeños, black olives, and chili powder to a ground beef and veal blend. Feeds 8 in about 1 hour 15 minutes.

Grilled veal chops marinated 6-8 hours in balsamic vinegar, rosemary, shallots, and garlic, then finished with a balsamic reduction drizzle and basil oil. A restaurant-quality main course.

French-style scrambled eggs cooked low and slow with butter and cream, then folded with tender lobster chunks, sweet bell pepper, and fresh chives. Brunch just got fancy.

City chicken made with cubed pork and beef, breaded with saltines and poultry seasoning, then braised in chicken broth. A Depression-era Midwestern classic with no actual chicken.