Recipes with margarine

Stuffed shells florentine with jumbo pasta shells filled with spinach, mushrooms, cottage cheese, and garlic, baked in marinara. Lighter Italian comfort food.

No-bake rocky road cheesecake with chocolate cream cheese filling, marshmallows, and chopped nuts on a chocolate wafer crust. Set with gelatin, no oven needed.

Indian pakoras made with chickpea flour batter spiced with garam masala, coriander, and turmeric. Dip eggplant, potato, pepper, mushroom, or onion and fry until crisp. The chaiwala classic at home.

Baked apple pancake with cinnamon-sugar sliced apples beneath a simple egg batter, baked until the edges are golden and crisp. A one-pan breakfast for the whole family.

Orange-glazed sweet potatoes baked with fresh orange juice, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and a touch of wheat germ. A naturally sweet holiday side dish with citrus brightness.

Whole red snapper stuffed with saffron rice paella filling made with smoked sausage, shrimp, serrano chiles, and almonds. A Tex-Mex showpiece baked with lime butter.

Apple pancake puff: a Dutch baby-style oven pancake baked in a skillet with cinnamon-spiced apples and raisins in the center. An impressive breakfast for four in under an hour.

Mock apple pie made with soda crackers instead of real apples, using cream of tartar, cinnamon, and nutmeg to mimic apple flavor. A Depression-era classic that fools almost everyone.

Chilled Molokai sweet potato soup with fish: a silky Hawaiian chilled soup of purple Molokai sweet potato, leeks, and limu seaweed, topped with chilled poached snapper. An island-inspired starter.

Chocolate-filled ravioli cookies are sweet pasta-shaped pillows with a crushed chocolate-walnut filling, sealed with fork tines and brushed warm with honey. The Italian-American holiday cookie that doubles as edible art.

Mexican chocolate chiffon pie with Kahlua coffee liqueur, whipped cream, and toasted almonds in a baked pie shell. A silky, no-bake gelatin-set filling chilled overnight.

Yeast-risen banana pecan bread with mashed bananas, evaporated milk, chopped pecans, and a cinnamon-sugar topping. A soft sandwich-style banana loaf, not a quickbread.

Soft drop cookies made with mashed cooked carrots and finished with a warm orange glaze. The vintage Depression-era cookie that still makes sense today.

Topsy-turvy apple pie: a double-crust cinnamon apple pie baked over a brown sugar and pecan layer, then flipped so a glossy praline-pecan top crowns every slice. A clever twist on apple pie.

Layered pecan crust dessert with cream cheese, vanilla and chocolate pudding, and Cool Whip. No-bake except for the crust. Refrigerate overnight for best results.

Chocolate peanut butter cheesecake on a peanut butter cookie and chocolate wafer crust, topped with white chocolate peanut butter glaze and a chocolate drizzle.

Homemade butter toffee with walnuts and chocolate topping. Cooked to hard crack stage with baking soda for a light, snappy texture, then topped with melted chocolate and pecans.

Strawberry-corn pancakes fold fresh sliced strawberries into a yellow cornmeal-and-flour batter for breakfast pancakes with crisp, slightly gritty edges and bursts of berry. Ready in 20 minutes.

Double-crust pear and cranberry pie with a cranberry juice glaze drizzled on top. Tart cranberries balance sweet pears in a cornstarch-thickened filling.

Quick cinnamon sugar muffins made with refrigerator biscuit dough, cinnamon sugar, and melted butter. Pull-apart monkey bread style in a muffin tin, ready in under 30 minutes.

Low calorie chocolate layer pie with a press-in flour crust, sweetened cream cheese middle, sugar-free chocolate pudding, and light whipped topping. Three layers, lighter guilt.

Apple pie with sharp cheddar cheese baked into a cornmeal crust and finished with a woven lattice top. Eight cups of fresh apple, cinnamon, and a savory-sweet crust that sets this apart.

Homemade frozen bread dough: a soft egg-and-milk yeast dough divided into two freezer loaves and 16 dinner rolls. Make once, freeze for fresh bread on demand for weeks.

Southern-style bundt cake with buttermilk tang and coconut-rum flavor. The dense, buttery crumb stays moist for days. Perfect for family reunions and Sunday suppers.

Grilled haole-style yams with pineapple butter made from crushed pineapple, margarine, and teriyaki sauce. A Hawaiian-inspired grilled sweet potato side with a sweet-savory tropical topping.

A lighter cheesecake made with blended cottage cheese instead of cream cheese, finished with a tangy yogurt topping. Higher in protein, lower in fat, and easy to make sugar-free.

German Sweet Chocolate Cake with Coconut Pecan Filling and Frosting recipe

Runzas: Nebraska's German-Russian beef and cabbage hand pies wrapped in sweet yeast dough. The Plains state classic, baked golden and stuffed full of seasoned beef.

Creamy chocolate cheesecake with a salty pretzel crust, dense cocoa filling, and a tang of sour cream. The sweet-salty dessert that disappears at every potluck.

Hashbrown casserole with frozen hash browns, sour cream, cheddar cheese, and cream of chicken soup topped with buttery corn flake crumbs. A classic potluck side dish baked for an hour.

Triple-layer cheesecake with a chocolate cookie crust, chocolate cream cheese base, brown sugar pecan middle, and almond-vanilla sour cream top. Showstopper dessert, worth the effort.

Baked chicken glazed with an orange juice, butter, cinnamon, and ginger sauce. Brushed repeatedly while baking for a golden, citrus-spiced finish.

Double chocolate oatmeal cookies with cocoa in the dough and semi-sweet chocolate chips throughout. Chewy, fudgy drop cookies with 3 cups of oats.

Classic lemon cheesecake with graham cracker crust, cream cheese, lemon juice and zest, and whipped egg whites folded in for a lighter, airy texture.

Pork tacos with tropical papaya salsa bring sweet heat to Taco Tuesday. Baked with melty Monterey Jack, crowned with lime-bright papaya, pineapple, mint, and red chili for a fresh twist on the classic.

Best homemade tourtiere, the French-Canadian meat pie: spiced ground pork bound with mashed potato, onion and garlic under a flaky double crust. Sage and nutmeg give this Quebec holiday classic its warm, cozy flavor.

Hot turkey sandwiches on Italian bread with a Monterey Jack cheese sauce, sliced tomatoes, and sauteed onions. Made entirely in the microwave in about 30 minutes.

Chocolate sour cream muffins with chopped walnuts and marshmallow pieces. Rocky-road inspired chocolate muffins with melty marshmallow pockets.

Carrot raisin cheesecake mashes carrot cake into a cream cheese filling on a graham crust, with shredded carrots, plump raisins, warm nutmeg and ginger, finished with an orange-spiked frosting.

Indulgent cheesecake stuffed with chunks of chocolate chip cookie dough and extra chocolate chips. Chocolate cookie crust and whipped cream topping make this a cookie lover's dream dessert.

Pecan sticky buns use frozen dinner rolls topped with vanilla pudding mix, brown sugar, butter, cinnamon, and pecans. Assemble at night, rise overnight, bake in the morning for fresh sticky buns.

Red, white, and blue striped slice-and-bake cookies for the Fourth of July. Simple sugar cookie dough tinted with food coloring, stacked, chilled, and sliced into patriotic treats.

Mom's secret sweet potato pie with boiled sweet potatoes, nutmeg spice, corn syrup, and a custard filling that sets perfectly for clean slices every time.

Grilled pork chops stuffed with apple, pecans, and nutmeg-scented bread crumbs, basted with orange juice. A fall-flavored BBQ dinner with sweet-savory balance.

Indian chicken pies with flaky lard-and-margarine pastry wrapped around garam masala-spiced chicken, mushrooms, and corn. Handheld curry-pot pies worth the weekend effort.

Cool Whip graveyard dessert layers a chocolate wafer crust, creamy cheesecake filling, orange gelatin, and whipped topping dusted with cookie dirt. Easy Halloween party dessert.

Creamy blender chocolate frosting made with unsweetened chocolate and evaporated milk. No cooking, no mixer needed. Just blend until thick, rich, and silky smooth.

Creamy chicken on biscuits made with cream of chicken soup, sauteed celery, green pepper, and pimento. A quick comfort food dinner using leftover cooked chicken.