Roasted Red Pepper & Cauliflower Dip
I’ve been looking for healthier, plant-based snacks to have around the house while working from home, as well as to share with friends now that we can socialize again. Cauliflower in particular seems like a good option, since it’s chock full of vitamins and nutrients, has tons of fiber, and is low in calories. This delicious dip is as easy as chopping and roasting veggies, and then blitzing them in the food processor, and lets you snack and still feel good about yourself.
Roasted Garlic, Broccoli, & Bell Peppers
Roasted veggies are so versatile. Once the chopping is done, roasting them on sheet pans is hands-off, and these veggies pair perfectly with white or brown rice, farro, noodles, or beans for a full meal, with or without a protein.
Crispy Sheet Pan Gnocchi & Veggies
Gnocchi is a pillowy potato pasta typically boiled in water like other pastas, but a recent trend in roasting all of the ingredients for a meal on a single sheet pan has inspired a new way to cook them. Shelf-stable or refrigerated gnocchi can be roasted straight out of the package, resulting in a crispy, chewy texture. Bell peppers, cherry tomatoes, red onion, basil, and garlic round out the meal.
Leesa’s Chicken Fajitas
I keep an eye on my smoke detectors when I cook these fajitas, but they’re worth a little unexpected excitement if you’re having friends over for dinner. Chicken marinated in lime and seared on the stovetop until juicy and delicious perfectly rounds out tortillas filled with shredded cheese and grilled peppers and onions.
To speed things up you can sauté the peppers first, while the chicken is marinating. They’ll have a little less chicken-y goodness, but if you’re hungry, you won’t miss it.
We make these fajitas all the time at home, but the pinnacle was grilling the chicken over a wood fire on our last vacation with friends to Big Bend National Park. I’ve never been so proud of a meal.
Serve with charro beans.
Cashew Chicken
This homemade version of the Americanized Chinese food classic is fool-proof enough for a harried weeknight and delicious enough to make you happy you’re making the effort of cooking. Kids and adults wolf down the tender chicken, bite-sized chunks of bell pepper, cashews, and delicious sauce.
Pineapple Salsa
This is the perfect summer salsa thanks to diced fresh pineapple, which is much easier to slice into than I used to think. Red bell pepper and red onion add color, and cilantro, jalapeño, garlic, and lime juice add mouth-watering flavor.
Pressure Cooker Pepper Steak
Strips of flat-iron steak and chunks of bell pepper and onions are seasoned with garlic, ginger, Hoisin sauce, soy sauce, and sesame oil, and cooked in the pressure cooker for homemade Chinese food on a weeknight.
Volcano Noodles
Black rice noodles (which are really a lovely shade of dark purple), red bell peppers, bright green edamame, orange carrots, and purple cabbage, in a sesame-soy dressing, make a vibrant, rainbow-colored main dish.
Roasted Red Cabbage & Rainbow Pepper Slaw
Roasting the red cabbage and using cilantro and Italian parsley as more than just seasoning (here they’re salad greens!) fills this side dish with satisfying flavor.
Laure’s Crab & Corn Chowder
Vacationing with my cousin Laure usually means you’re in for some amazing food. Last week we stayed with her and her husband, Tim, in a cabin in Grand Teton National Park. Our first dinner at the cabin was this delicious and easy chowder, which smelled so good that a red fox peeked in the sliding glass door to see what was cooking.