Sunnyvale, California

These are a wonderful chewy spice cookie. They are drop cookies that keep very well. I make them at the beginning of the holiday season and they keep all the way to New Year's! 

No need to slave over the stove to prepare a delicious jambalaya! Toss the chicken, sausage, shrimp, vegetables, and seasonings in the slow cooker, and forget about it until dinner time. All you need to do is prepare the rice and serve it up. 

This pretty blend of garden-fresh vegetables and zesty herb dressing tastes as good as it looks! By microwaving the asparagus a bit before adding the other veggies, Patricia Alderete of Lowell, Indiana keeps cool in the kitchen. 

Using some fresh and some canned ingredients, this chili is a snap to throw together and will keep you craving it for days. Chunky zucchini, fresh green onion, sour cream, and - what the heck - shredded Cheddar cheese, are sure to make this your favorite chili recipe. If you like beans in your chili, garbanzos right out of the can are great in this. 

Shrimp is cooked in garlic and white wine, then tossed with pasta and feta in a fresh tomato sauce. 

Everyone in the family has something that they're the best at making. I make the best cookies, my sister, Carol, makes the best pies in the whole world! . . . no competition in our family! This recipe includes an ingredient called free flowing brown sugar. This is a non-clumping or caking version of ordinary brown sugar. It has a lower moisture content then the traditional one, which makes it free flowing much like granulated sugar. It is available at most specialty supermarket. If it is not available in your part of the world, use regular brown sugar and make sure it is broken up, free of clumps. Macintosh or Granny Smith apples are the best choices for apple pie because they are the least mushy apples.  

This spicy pumpkin bread dotted with mini chocolate chips makes a fun holiday treat. 

Add canned clams to a snappy simmer of tomatoes, capers, garlic, sugar, parsley, oregano, basil and crushed red pepper to make a flavorful sauce for hot spaghetti. 

A fabulous sweet and salty glaze is basted on salmon as it grills on cedar planks. 

You 'll be able to tell that this is a prize-winning recipe. The crust is flaky and buttery, the cherry filling is thick and perfectly sweetened, and there 's a lovely hint of almond extract. 

Instant wild rice is cooked in chicken broth with shredded chicken, then combined with thickened cream for a quick soup. 

In this seafood chowder, scallops and mushrooms are sauteed in white wine and butter before adding them to a creamy chicken broth and vegetable soup base seasoned with parsley and thyme. 

This easy-to make recipe is very inexpensive. I made it for my boyfriend's family and his mother is Filipino! They loved it! You can really mix in a lot of different ingredients to spice it up or make it your own. Try different Ramen noodle flavors. 

This is a version of the bread that is made for the November 2 celebration known as the Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) in Mexico.  

Firm tofu, bell pepper, and red onion, all quickly stir fried in sweet and sour sauce. A word of caution - this is VERY spicy! If you like milder dishes, decrease the amount of pepper flakes or omit them altogether. 

A delicious, traditional cream-based chowder, this recipe calls for the standard chowder ingredients: onion, celery, potatoes, diced carrots, clams, and cream. A little red wine vinegar is added before serving for extra flavor. 

Deep-fried chicken wings are simmered in butter and hot sauce to pack quite a kick. 

This large 9x13-inch crisp is made hearty with cooking oats mixed into its sweet crumbly topping. Underneath are all the lovely things that compliment apples -cinnamon, brown sugar and butter. Serve warm with rum raisin ice cream or a big dollop of freshly whipped cream. 

Use the magic power of a microwave to make your own oil-free potato chips. 

At the Victorian-theme bridal shower I hosted, I spread this dressed-up chicken salad on bread triangles. It's also appealing served on a lettuce leaf. Apples and dried cranberries add color and tang. -Robin Fuhrman, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin