Recipes with onions

Turkey and rice in a warm-spiced tomato sauce with sweet dried apricots and a little green chile heat. A sweet-and-savory, Moroccan-leaning skillet served over fluffy rice, lean and quick to fix.

Gourmet chili: a deeply spiced, meaty beef chili with a secret spoonful of unsweetened cocoa for mole-like richness, plus cumin, paprika, cayenne and green chilies. Beans simmer separately so you can keep them in or on the side.

Tostado quiche with taco-seasoned ground beef, cheddar cheese, and green chiles baked in a custard-filled pie shell. Topped with fresh guacamole, lettuce, and tomatoes.

Cajun skillet beans with black-eyed peas, the holy trinity of onion, celery, and bell pepper, plus tomatoes, thyme, and a pinch of cayenne. A quick, hearty vegetarian Cajun side.

Onion and mushroom bhajis are Indian-style fritters dipped in spiced yogurt batter and deep-fried golden. Crisp, vegetarian appetizer with turmeric, cumin, coriander, and chili. Makes 10 fritters.

A one-pot cioppino with fish, shrimp, and clams in a slow-simmered tomato, white wine, and herb broth. Weeknight-friendly with just 10 minutes of prep and pantry-staple seasonings.

Stir-fry chicken with yellow squash, yam, and red potato tosses over angel hair pasta in a zippy orange-juice-and-hot-sauce glaze. Quick one-wok dinner with peanut crunch.

Vegan Greek spanakopita rolls from the Peloponnese, with spinach, leeks, scallions, parsley, and nutmeg wrapped in crisp phyllo. No cheese, no eggs, no butter.

Ginger beef stir-fry with fresh ginger, garlic, green pepper, celery, and tomatoes in a savory soy-cornstarch sauce. A fast wok dinner served over hot rice.

Seasoned beef meatloaf with oatmeal, thyme, nutmeg, and cayenne, bound with eggs and beef stock. Starts at high heat for a crust, then bakes low to stay juicy.

Chili bean tacos stuff hard shells with cumin-spiced sausage, kidney beans, tomato and bell pepper, topped with sour cream. A 30-minute Tex-Mex weeknight dinner.

Create-a-casserole: a customizable baked pasta with your choice of meat, tomato sauce, and cheese. A flexible pantry dinner that uses up leftover cooked beef or chicken in 30 minutes of oven time.

Vegan Irish stew with seitan, potatoes, parsnips, and carrots in a rosemary-herb broth thickened with cornstarch. A plant-based take on the classic Irish stew.

Variation: Peas, hard-cooked eggs, artichoke hearts, olives, pimientos or many other foods may be used in place of the mushrooms. Swiss, Muenster, Monterey Jack, Tilsit. Mozzarella or any other cheese may be substituted for the Cheddar cheese.

Reuben burgers made with ground beef and corned beef, broiled and topped with sauerkraut and melted Swiss cheese. All the classic Reuben sandwich flavors in a burger.

Chiles en nogada: poblano peppers stuffed with sweet-savory picadillo, lightly fried, then draped in creamy walnut sauce and crowned with pomegranate seeds. A celebrated Mexican classic.