22 smothered recipes

Slow cooker beef chuck strips smothered in a tangy barbecue-molasses sauce with bell peppers, onions, and mushrooms. Dump it in, walk away, and come back to dinner.

Onion smothered brisket rubbed with garlic powder and paprika, seared and braised under two pounds of sliced onions. Fork-tender beef with a rich onion gravy.

Pork chops braised under smothered red cabbage with apples, red onion, cranberry juice, and red wine vinegar. A hearty one-pot fall dinner full of tangy sweetness.

Cajun smothered round steak braised low and slow with the holy trinity of onions, bell peppers, and celery until fork-tender. Serve sliced over rice with all that pot gravy.

Southern-style smothered okra and eggplant slow-cooked with tomatoes, bell pepper, and apple juice until meltingly tender. No oil needed in this hearty, no-fat vegetable dish.

Pork cutlets with smothered parmesan green beans pairs fast-seared pork with frenched green beans braised slow in shallots, white wine, cream, and sage. A one-skillet dinner.

Beefsteak smothered in onions (filet braise aux ognons): pounded round steak braised for two hours over six sliced onions with vinegar, thyme, bay, and garlic. Classic French-Creole comfort.

Classic homemade pumpkin pie with a from-scratch shortening crust and a custard filling spiced with cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and clove. Real evaporated milk and whole eggs, no shortcuts.

Old-fashioned cocoa brownies with melted margarine, four eggs, chopped nuts, and a generous pour of vanilla. Dense, fudgy, and from a recipe meant to be passed down.

Italian-style sauteed spinach with olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, and a pinch of sugar. A simple side dish cooked in the water clinging to the leaves, with optional Parmesan.

Mother's Holiday Cherry Squares (Christmas) recipe

Butter cookie press poinsettias for Christmas with red flower shapes and hand-formed green leaves topped with silver dragees. A beautiful, festive holiday cookie with almond and vanilla flavor.

Mother's fruit cake is a brandy-soaked holiday classic with cherries, apricots, pineapple, peel, raisins, and currants bound in a spiced chocolate-scented batter. Baked slow and aged for two months.

Old-school Italian tomato sauce simmered with onion, carrot, celery, garlic, and basil, then strained smooth through a food mill. The Sunday-gravy base every cook should know.

No-bake rum balls made with crushed vanilla wafers, pecans, cocoa, powdered sugar, and real rum. A classic Christmas cookie tin staple rolled in powdered sugar.

Chocolate diamond cookies with unsweetened chocolate, pecans, and vanilla. A fudgy, brownie-like holiday cookie baked in one pan and cut into festive diamond shapes.