quick

Best Buttermilk Pancakes

Buttermilk and sour cream pancake batter, stirred only until lumpy and rested ten minutes before it goes on the griddle.

“I like to add cherries on top before turning the pancakes over.”

Best Drop Biscuits

No rolling or cutting — melted butter is clumped into cold buttermilk, scooped with a measuring cup and baked hot at 475.

Blueberry Compote

Frozen blueberries simmered down with butter and sugar until most of the juice cooks off, finished with lemon juice.

Blueberry Grilled Cheese Breakfast

Sweetened cream cheese and blueberries pressed between buttered whole wheat bread and grilled about a minute; amounts are all to taste.

“I'm sure you could use a frying pan, but the sandwich maker sealed everything in, which was perfection.”

Blueberry Muffins

Nutmeg and vanilla flavor a plain butter batter, and the baked muffins get brushed with butter and sprinkled with sugar.

Blueberry Muffins with Crumb Topping

Eight large muffins made with oil instead of butter, filled to the top of the cups and covered in cinnamon crumb.

Blueberry Pancakes

Milk soured with lemon juice stands in for buttermilk, and the berries go on after the batter hits the skillet.

Bread with Poppy Seeds

White cake mix and coconut pudding do the work here, stretched into three poppy seed loaves.

Caramel Dip

Cream cheese beaten smooth with brown and powdered sugar, butter and maple flavoring, meant for dipping fresh fruit.

Caramel Sauce

Brown sugar, cream and butter whisked over low heat for about seven minutes, finished with vanilla and a pinch of sea salt.

“I use light brown or golden sugar.”

Cheesy Cauliflower Au Gratin

Cauliflower microwaved with butter and cream until soft enough to mash, then covered with pepper jack and melted.

Chili Queso Dip

Three ingredients — canned chili con carne and two kinds of Cheese Whiz — melted together in a crock-pot or fondue pot.

Chipotle Chili Cornbread Bake

Chili-seasoned beef and beans go into the baker first, with a sour cream corn muffin batter scooped over the top before baking.

Chocolate Ice Cream Shell

Bittersweet chocolate and coconut oil melted in the microwave, meant to be poured over ice cream where it sets into a shell.

Cinnamon Custard

Small stovetop custard of one egg and milk, stirred just to coating thickness and served warm with cinnamon.

Cinnamon Syrup

Pourable cinnamon syrup thickened with a little flour, boiled three minutes and finished with butter; served hot.

Coleslaw

Bagged slaw mix tossed with a mayonnaise and sour cream dressing sharpened with vinegar, grated onion and celery salt.

Coleslaw Sweet and Tangy

Shredded cabbage salted, briefly microwaved and spun dry, then tossed with carrot and a chilled cider vinegar and celery seed dressing.

Cooked Chocolate Frosting

Cocoa fudge frosting boiled briefly on the stove, beaten until thick, and spread while still warm; covers a jellyroll pan.

Cookie Brittle

Eggless shortbread dough with chocolate chips and nuts, pressed thin in a 15 by 10 pan and broken into irregular shards.

Corn Dogs

Wieners dipped in a cornmeal and flour batter and fried until golden, with an air fryer given as an option.

Cornstarch Pudding

Milk thickened on the stove with cornstarch and sugar, boiled one minute and finished with vanilla, no eggs involved.

Cream Cheese Frosting

Butter, cream cheese and a pound of confectioner's sugar beaten smooth, thinned with milk as needed, for cakes and bars.

Creamy Tomato Tortellini Soup

Diced tomatoes and canned tomato soup simmered with basil and paprika, enriched with melted cream cheese, tortellini cooked in at the end.

Crispy Oven Fries

Skin-on russet matchsticks tossed in canola oil and roasted at 450 in a single layer until golden.

Crockpot Chicken Sandwiches

Chicken slow-cooked six hours with cream cheese and ranch mix, shredded, then covered with cheddar and bacon for buns.

Cucumbers

Sliced cucumbers and onion held in a sweet-sour dressing of mayonnaise, vinegar and sugar.

Faux Potato Salad

Cauliflower stands in for potatoes here, tossed with chopped egg and pickle in a Greek yogurt and Dijon dressing.

Feta-Crusted Salmon

Whole salmon fillet spread with a feta, mayonnaise and Dijon mixture, blanketed in panko and roasted on a foil-lined sheet.

Fried Rice

Day-old rice stir-fried in sesame oil with peas and carrots, onion, garlic, scrambled egg and soy sauce.

Frozen Rolls

Frozen dinner rolls layered with dry butterscotch pudding, brown sugar and butter, left to rise overnight and baked in a bundt pan.

“This is like monkey bread.”

Garlicky Oven Fries

Potato wedges softened in the microwave, tossed with cornstarch and garlic oil, then roasted at 475 degrees until crisp.

Glazed Apple Daisy

Canned cinnamon rolls halved and arranged into a pinwheel, spread with apple and walnuts, and drizzled with orange-spiked icing.

“190 calories and 7 grams of fat.”

Gluten-Free General Tso's Chicken

Cornstarch-coated chicken chunks browned, then finished with stir-fry vegetables in a soy, honey, ginger and Sriracha sauce.

“Delicious.”

Grandma Topp's White Cake Recipe

Boxed white cake mix stretched with extra flour, oil and four eggs, baked low at 325 for a taller crumb.

Grandma Vandewege's Sugar Cookies

Lard-based sugar cookies with nutmeg and vanilla, rolled paper thin, sugared, and baked just six or seven minutes.

“Cindy Holden's note on this recipe: roll the dough out real thin -- "none of that fat stuff."”

Ham Sandwiches (Hawaiian Baked Ham Sandwiches)

A whole pack of Hawaiian rolls layered with shaved ham and provolone, drizzled with Dijon butter and baked as one slab.

Heath Bars

Soda crackers under a boiled butter-brown sugar toffee, topped with melted chocolate and crushed nuts, then cut.

Hopscotch or Haystack Cookies

No-bake mounds of chow mein noodles and nuts bound in melted butterscotch chips, peanut butter and marshmallows.

Hot Fudge Sauce

Unsweetened chocolate and sweetened condensed milk cooked thick in a double boiler, thinned with hot water; makes two cups.

Korean French Dressing

Sweet blender dressing of oil, cider vinegar, ketchup and raw onion, meant for spinach salad.

Krispies Cookies

Three ingredients only: cocoa Krispies and salted peanuts stirred into melted almond bark and dropped on wax paper to set.

Lemon Chip Cookies

Drop cookies built on a lemon cake mix with oil, eggs, grated lemon peel and pecans.

Lemon Sugar-Almond Topping

Sugar, lemon zest and sliced almonds stirred together to scatter over cake batter before it bakes.

Low Carb Zucchini Oven Chips

Zucchini rounds dipped in milk, dredged in ground almonds and parmesan, and baked on a rack until browned and crisp.

Mexican Hot Chocolate

Milk microwaved with chopped sweet chocolate, instant coffee and cinnamon, then topped with whipped cream.

Mountain Dew Dumplings

Apple wedges rolled up in crescent dough, doused with cinnamon butter and a can of Mountain Dew, then baked 45 minutes.

Mushroom Steak

Chopped steak browned on the stove, then baked low and slow under golden mushroom soup and onions for an hour and a half.

No Fat Muffins

Yogurt and skim milk stand in for the butter and eggs; blueberries or grated apple go in if you want them.

Non-sticky Goop for Rolls

Brown sugar, butter and corn syrup boiled into a caramel you pour in the pan before setting cinnamon rolls on top to rise.

Orange Julius

Frozen orange juice concentrate, dry milk and ice blended thirty seconds into a frothy drink that fills three glasses.

Parmesan Garlic Dip

Shredded parmesan and Swiss bound with mayonnaise and sharpened with garlic, Tabasco and sliced green olives.

Pecan Pie Muffins

Five ingredients — pecans, brown sugar, flour, eggs and melted butter — baked into nine muffins with the texture of pecan pie filling.

Popsicles

Jell-O and Kool-Aid dissolved together with sugar and water, frozen in paper cups with a stick.

Puppy Chow

Crispix tossed in melted chocolate and peanut butter, then shaken with powdered sugar in a paper sack.

Red Lobster Cheese Biscuits

Bisquick drop biscuits with cheddar in the dough, brushed with garlic butter as soon as they come out.

Rice Krispies Bars

Butter and miniature marshmallows melted in the microwave, stirred into cereal, pressed flat and cut into squares.

Scalloped Apples

Ten cups of sliced tart apples tossed with cinnamon-nutmeg sugar and microwaved fifteen minutes until tender.

“I use Delicious and Fuji apples.”

Shrimp Fajita Bowl

Peppers and green onions sauteed in a spray of olive oil with cooked shrimp, cumin and chili powder, topped with guacamole and salsa.

Southwest Stir-fry

Chicken marinated in fajita seasoning, stir-fried with zucchini, peppers and onion, then finished with salsa, corn and black beans.

Spinach Salad

Raw spinach tossed with bean sprouts, sliced water chestnuts and optional bacon, served under a dressing.

Steak – Amie Style

Steak browned four minutes in bubbling butter, finished four minutes in a 400-degree oven, then tented to rest.

“Eat.”

Swedish Pancakes

Thin, crepe-style pancakes from a loose egg, flour and milk batter finished with melted butter, cooked on a 375 to 400 degree griddle.

Sweet Potato Fries

Sweet potato sticks tossed with parmesan, olive oil and garlic powder, then roasted hot on a sheet pan and flipped once.

Syrup

Brown and white sugar boiled three minutes with water and butter for a pancake syrup.

Taco Beef Soup

Ground beef simmered with stewed tomatoes, kidney beans and taco seasoning, then topped at the table with avocado, cheddar, corn chips and sour cream.

Taco Soup

Eight cans, two seasoning packets and a cup of broth stirred together and cooked twenty minutes on the stove or all afternoon in a crock pot.

“I doubled the recipe with one rotisserie chicken, cubed.”

Teriyaki Salmon Bites

Cubed salmon marinated briefly in soy sauce, ginger and pepper flakes, then seared in a skillet until crisp on both sides.

“Enjoy!!!”

Toll House Pan Cookie

The standard chocolate chip dough spread into a 15 x 10 inch pan and baked as one big bar cookie.

Tomato Salsa

Chopped tomatoes, onion and pimento olives dressed with red wine vinegar and olive oil, left to stand half an hour.

Tomato Tortellini Soup

Canned tomato soup stretched with half-and-half, stock and sun-dried tomatoes, then simmered with cheese tortellini.

Tomato, Pasta Spinach Soup

Crushed tomatoes, ditalini, frozen spinach and white kidney beans in a garlic and broth-cube base, close to Olive Garden's minestrone.

Veggie Dip

Mayonnaise and sour cream whisked with lemon juice, paprika, garlic, parsley and dill for dunking raw vegetables.