Vegetable dishes - quick and easy recipes - page 77

Sweet pickle relish on a hot dog? Not for me: I want heat! Essentially a salsa, this relish works on a whole range of casual foods besides franks—nachos, burgers, tacos, you name it. Since this recipe makes a lot, you’ll be able to extend your condiment adventure into next season, slightly perspiring all through the cold months.

You hear pizza, you think cheese that flows like roof tar; pepperoni slices cupping in the oven, filling with grease; and a crust so overladen with toppings it droops like sorrow when you try to lift a slice. It is both elegant and summery, full of flavor from good-quality cheeses and produce—so flavorful, in fact, that you won’t even notice it’s vegetarian.

Everybody likes lasagna, so it’s great to serve at a party or bring to a potluck. These individual lasagna roll-ups solve the problem of messing around with a spatula to hoist servings out of a baking dish. Instead of layering the ingredients en masse, you simply layer pasta strips with spinach and cheese, roll them up cinnamon bun–style, and cover with sauce. They’re easy to make, and it’s a great activity to do with the kids.

Crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside, the waffles for this bacon, cheese, and fried egg breakfast sandwich are a cool transformation of ramen noodles. Just boil the noodles, drain, and incorporate them into a straight-up waffle batter (chicken flavoring packet added for a savory boost).

Ah, the fried egg taco, favorite of the early-morning protein seeker and the late-night fridge raider. In this healthy twist, you start by sautéing shallots and quickly wilting some arugula. Then fry your eggs, transfer to warm corn tortillas, add your favorite red salsa, and you’re done.

This fun, slightly wacky twist on the chile relleno calls on everybody’s favorite savory snack food—ramen noodles—to stuff poblano chiles. Simply boil the noodles, then mix with Jack cheese, bacon, and mushrooms, and stuff away. Since the starchy element (the ramen) is already inside the peppers, you can bypass dipping the stuffed chiles in batter and frying. Just bake and enjoy.

In this adaptation of a classic coffee-table snack, the usual mix of almonds, cheese crackers, cereal squares, and oyster crackers turns extra-crisp and savory as it slowly cooks in a smoky soy-sauce-and-paprika seasoning blend. It takes a bit of minding, but once it’s done, you’re good for hours of party snacking.

We got the idea for these impromptu gnocchi from our Home Cooking community discussion board. All you need is half a pound of pizza dough, a pot of boiling salted water, and a sauce (marinara is perfect). Enlist your kids to help with the shaping, then let them watch you poaching the dough and tossing it in the sauce. What to buy: Premade pizza dough is available bagged in 14- or 16-ounce portions at well-stocked groceries.

Rolls hot from the oven can take a dinner party from nice to amazing, but with all the other things clamoring for a cook’s attention, home-baked bread tends to fall through the cracks. These knot-shaped, garlic- and parsley-flavored rolls are different: You start with store-bought pizza dough, which slashes prep time; then just roll, brush with butter and flavorings, and bake. The dough knots also work as a stand-alone nibble, served with marinara sauce for dipping.

The Spanish brought ensaïmadas—rich, tender rolls originally from Mallorca—to the Philippines. The spelling morphed into ensaymada, and what had been bread dough heavily enriched with pork lard became buttery rolls crowned with grated cheese and sprinkled with sugar. We slashed the prep time by starting with store-bought pizza dough. They end up chewier and a bit more rugged than classic brioche-based ensaymadas, but what you lose in tenderness you make up for in prep time.

We couldn’t resist trying this simple yet sophisticated baked asparagus “fries” recipe developed by one of our community members, AngelaID. This supereasy, and healthy, take on deep-fried potatoes is a great side or appetizer at any meal. If you can’t find fresh asparagus because it’s not in season, most stores sell frozen asparagus that’s often cut in stems and pieces, which could be good for bite-sized “fries.”

A soft taco topped with a fried egg is perfect as the first thing you eat in the morning or the last thing you eat at night, even when those lines blur a bit. These have refried beans, melted cheddar, and creamy Greek yogurt to boot.

A simple, fast, and healthy treatment for sweet potatoes, adapted from a recipe on the website Health. Experiment with different sweet potato varieties—just make sure to choose small, evenly sized ones so you end up with manageable wedges.

Stuffed peppers were one of the first things I cooked for my wife when we started dating. They were completely undercooked, burnt yet crunchy. The couscous I packed inside turned into a semolina puck, anchored to the pepper bottom by cheese cement. This recipe is none of those things. The peppers end up perfectly cooked, and the outer skin peels right off. The quinoa keeps it healthy, the feta makes it taste rich, and the beans make it substantial. In short, the perfect healthy Sunday dinner.

A recipe for the best easy eclair cake with chocolate, inspired by the original!