Recipes with water

Vegan hearty stew with dried chickpeas and kidney beans simmered in a curry-soy broth, thickened with pureed parsnips, and loaded with carrots, zucchini, bulgur, pasta, and spinach.

Loaded vegetable stew with dolma simmers fish-and-rice dumplings in a paprika, cumin, and turmeric-spiced broth with carrot, daikon, tomato, and zucchini. A Persian-leaning seafood stew you eat with a spoon.

Rotolo di Spinaci: hand-rolled pasta dough filled with spinach, walnuts, ricotta, and mozzarella, simmered in cheesecloth then baked in tomato sauce. A classic Italian stuffed pasta roll for 6.

Hearty American-style chop suey casserole layered with ground beef, bacon, cabbage, rice, and Rotel tomatoes. Bake it in the oven or use a pressure cooker for a faster weeknight meal.

Thin, crispy slice-and-bake cookies with shredded coconut and walnuts. A refrigerator cookie dough you roll, chill, and slice into wafer-thin rounds that bake up snappy in 10 minutes. Makes 48.

Crispy spiced fritters dripped through a slotted spoon into hot oil, made with chickpea flour, buttermilk, sambal, and a hand-ground spice blend of coriander, mustard, and cinnamon.

Light gelatin dessert made with sugar-free Jello and chilled applesauce instead of water. Cinnamon adds warmth. Garnish with mint, apple slices, and cinnamon sticks for pretty presentation.

Old-fashioned creamed ground beef with gravy served over toast or biscuits. Budget-friendly, filling, and on the table in 40 minutes with pantry staples.

Old-fashioned chicken soup simmers a whole chicken with chicken feet, garlic, carrots, celery, and herbs for three hours to extract maximum flavor and collagen. Grandma-style cure-all served over pastina or rice.

Hearty Russian beet soup (borscht) loaded with beef, bacon, kielbasa, cabbage, potatoes, and navy beans in a sweet-sour broth. A slow-simmered weekend project topped with sour cream.

Homemade siopao steamed dumplings stuffed with a savory shrimp, ground pork, and water chestnut filling. Makes 30 pillowy buns from scratch, street-food style.

Chocolate cupcakes with a caramelized brown sugar and walnut bottom, flipped to reveal a sticky-sweet topping. Finished with a warm chocolate ganache on the sides.

Gelatin pizza is a playful, no-bake dessert that sets Jell-O in a pizza pan, then dresses it up with whipped topping and fruit cut into 'toppings.' A fun, kid-friendly treat sliced into wedges.

Mom's small-batch pecan pralines with brown sugar, Karo corn syrup, evaporated milk, and pecan halves. Cooked to soft-ball stage and dropped on wax paper for classic Southern candy.

Uncle Buck's currant jelly sauce is a fiery, tangy glaze for venison and wild game. Currant jelly, cayenne, Worcestershire, hot sauce, and butter simmer into a bold, velvety finish.

Traditional Irish stew layered with lamb chops on the bone, sliced potatoes, onions, and parsley-thyme seasoning, then oven-braised low and slow until everything melts together.