A perfect combination of refreshing and filling, this salad is ideal for days when you don’t want to heat up the kitchen. Serve it stuffed in pita bread for a yummy lunch.—Trisha Kruse, Eagle, ID

I’ve served this highly requested sandwich at get-togethers since my college days. What makes it so good is the hummus and the pickle - everyone notices if the pickle is missing. — Jackie Termont, Richmond, Virginia

You can use either white sugar or brown sugar. Brown sugar lends a richer, more molasses taste.

One bite will make this labor-intensive seafood stew, rich with ginger and lemongrass and studded with semolina dumplings, worth the effort.

On balmy fall days, this sweet and smoky sandwich is a big treat. When it gets colder, we pull out our countertop grill to make melts. Just switch to pita bread. —Rachel Bindulski, Corolla, NC

After you’ve let your dough chill and rolled it out with a rolling pin, dust your cookie cutter with flour before pressing it into the dough for nice, even Christmas cutouts.

Since we have avid hunters in our family. I will quite often prepare game. Once it's stuffed with apples and topped with a unique combination of sauces, this wild bird requires no basting and cooks up nice and moist.

Our red velvet cake recipe is traditionally southern with light, tender, ruby-red cakes held together with a rich vanilla frosting.

Bring the flavors of the French countryside home with this vegetable-filled lentil soup.

The Good News The fiber-rich beans in this soup make it satisfying enough to be a main course. This version gets an extra healthy boost from cabbage, a completely underrated vegetable that's loaded with fiber as well as vitamins A and C.

The Good News This satisfying soup from David Bull is an excellent source of fiber.

Charles Phan's quintessential Chicken Pho owes its depth to a long-simmered bone broth; an array of fresh toppings brings color, flavor, and texture to the finished soup.

Chef Qui Tran of Nudo House in St. Louis shares his mother’s master recipe for pho broth, simmered slowly with beef knuckle bones, whole toasted spices, and aromatics.

Make your usual butternut squash soup better than ever with two over-the-top ingredients.

League of Kitchens cooking instructor Damira Inatullaeva learned to make this delectable mung bean soup recipe from her Tajik mother-in-law, who makes it without meat (traditional mashhurda includes beef or lamb) and also uses dried apricots for a flavorful twist. Don't let the list of simple ingredients fool you—this is one of the most complex and delicious vegetarian soups we've ever tasted. The fresh herbs, pepper, and labneh at the finish take it over the top.

Trina Hahnemann calls the root vegetables in this simple vegetarian soup the "gold of Nordic soil" because they're high in nutrients and grow well in cold climates.