Bell Pepper

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

This superb starter has no cream and just one tablespoon of oil.

This low-fat rendition of the classic dish comes from Gil Martínez Soto of Restaurante Virrey de Palafox in El Burgo de Osma, Spain.

In New Mexico, chili verde is prepared with lots of meat — and no beans. This recipe uses chicken, and you can make it spicier by adding jalapeño chilies. Serve it with the Layered Rice Salad and the Toasted Jalapeño Corn Bread .

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

This eggplant and lamb casserole, a taverna staple, is known the world over as the Greek national dish. In this lightened version, it's topped with yogurt rather than the customary béchamel sauce. (Moussaka is often made with beef instead of lamb.)

Adding fresh seasonings to a prepared salad dressing gives great flavor to the marinade for this easy and attractive dish.

"The day before Thanksgiving, my grandmother would make trays of corn bread for this stuffing," says food writer Janet Fletcher. "We grandkids would crack the pecans for the stuffing; the nuts came from the trees in her back yard."