Gloria's black bean soup simmers dried beans low and slow, then gets stirred thick with a blended sofrito of peppers, onion, garlic, cumin, and oregano. A rich, Cuban-style puréed bean soup.
Party rye pizza: cocktail rye rounds topped with sausage, melted Velveeta, mozzarella, and tomato paste. Make-ahead freezer appetizers ready in 8 minutes.
Caldo Verde: Portuguese green soup with kale, chorizo, white beans, potatoes, turnips, and smoked ham in chicken broth. One pot, one hour, and even better the next day.
Slow cooker osso buco with veal shanks braised in white wine, beef stock, tomato paste, lemon zest, and Italian herbs. Set it and forget it: 10 hours to fall-off-the-bone tender.
Slow cooker round steak Italiano with just four ingredients: round steak, oregano, salt, and jarred spaghetti sauce. Set it in the morning and come home to fork-tender beef.
Chunky beef chili: cubed beef chuck simmered low with tomatoes, green pepper, onion, garlic, and chili powder until tender. Texas-style no-bean chili built for piling toppings on top.
This delicious Texas chili is a delicious one-pot meal. Chunks of succulent beef and beans are simmered in a well seasoned tomato sauce. Serve it with a few slices of crusty bread or steamed rice. It warms you up within a minute.
Vegetarian tamale pie layered with spiced kidney beans, corn, tomatoes, and cornmeal polenta topped with Monterey Jack cheese. Baked until bubbly and golden.
Italian hunter's-style chicken browned and baked in tomato sauce with red wine, garlic, bell peppers, and mushrooms. Finished with Parmesan for a rustic, hearty dinner.
Louisiana-style red beans and rice with a bold spice mix and an unexpected addition of grape juice for sweetness. No meat, all flavor, cooked from dried beans.
Quick Chicago-style deep dish pizza using refrigerator biscuits for the crust, loaded with seasoned ground beef, mushrooms, fresh tomato, and stretchy mozzarella.
Pollo con frutta secca: Italian chicken marinated overnight with prunes, dried apricots, green olives, and capers, then baked with brown sugar and Chardonnay.
Black bean chili with ground chuck, cocoa powder, molasses, cinnamon, and liquid smoke for complex depth. Pressure-cooked dried beans and a low-and-slow simmer build serious flavor.
This creamy, low-fat dressing lends itself to salad greens, cooked or raw vegetable combinations, pasta and grain salads, or as a dipping sauce for crudites or steamed artichoke leaves.
Italian loaf stuffs pizza dough with spicy sausage, pepperoni, mozzarella, spinach, pimientos, and olives. A sliceable stromboli-style bake for game day or crowd lunches.
Pizza Swiss steak with pounded round steak braised in pizza sauce, tomato sauce, and oregano in a slow cooker for 8 to 10 hours. Served over spaghetti for a retro Italian-American dinner.