Recipes with water

Basil and garlic focaccia with fresh herbs in the dough and sauteed onions on top. A food-processor Italian flatbread with dimpled olive oil pockets and a crisp golden bottom.

Homemade Scotch broth simmers meaty beef bones with pearl barley, carrots, celery, and turnip into a clear, restorative Highland soup. A frugal, cold-weather classic from start to finish.

Molasses sandwich cookies with a hidden strawberry preserves filling, spiced with cinnamon and ginger, and topped with a vanilla powdered sugar glaze. The secret is inside.

Just in time for spring, you will love this scrumptious quiche made with chicken, cheddar cheese and asparagus.

Diabetic-friendly frozen orange bars with a fluffy whipped filling sandwiched between graham crackers. No-bake, low-sugar, and made with orange juice concentrate and skim milk powder.

If you love pork chops then you will adore this hearty variation that will have you licking your chops and maybe even your bowl!

Chicken and rice with chipotle peppers, turmeric, bell peppers, cumin, and garlic. A smoky, colorful one-pot dinner with adjustable heat levels for chile lovers and mild palates alike.

Peanuts N Candy Halloween cake, a semi-homemade yellow cake mix studded with roasted peanuts, frosted with peanut butter buttercream, and topped with chopped Butterfinger and candy corn. A festive fall party dessert.

Beef scallops with fresh tomato sauce: top round steak pounded paper-thin, pan-seared, then napped with a quick sauce of fresh tomatoes, green onions, and basil. The Italian veal-scaloppini technique applied to budget beef.

Bread machine focaccia topped with melted mozzarella for a pizza-bread hybrid. Five-ingredient hands-off Italian flatbread you can scale up with herbs, olives, or roasted vegetables.

Peaches and cream rice salad with chicken-flavored rice pilaf, diced peaches, whipped topping, and shredded coconut. A sweet, creamy side dish or potluck dessert salad that feeds a crowd.

Fat-free chocolate cake made with cocoa powder, egg whites, and corn syrup instead of butter, oil, or whole eggs. Topped with a cocoa-powdered sugar glaze. Rich chocolate flavor, zero fat.

Authentic Cincinnati chili with finely textured ground beef simmered in water (not browned), seasoned with chocolate, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, and chili powder. Served over spaghetti, Skyline-style.

Homemade pork sausage ground from fresh pork shoulder and seasoned generously with sage, savory, marjoram, parsley, and a hint of allspice. An egg and a splash of water keep the patties juicy and tender.

Three-layer coconut cake made effortless with cake mix and instant pudding, loaded with shredded coconut and toasted pecans for tropical flavor and tender crumb.

Lowfat saffron bread for the bread machine swaps butter and oil for applesauce, then tints the loaf gold with saffron threads. A fragrant, fat-free yeast bread that tastes far richer than its nutrition stats suggest.