5 Easy Dinners You’re Guaranteed to Love

The whole family will love them.

September is always a busy time in our household, as the summer heat cools and we get back into the rhythm of work, family, friends, and toddlerhood. Another week of holidays and no daycare, and this time the holidays are ones that require fasting, so our meals look a little different than usual.

Any week that I host, I always “triage” my fridge, determining what needs to be eaten first before I buy new ingredients for a dinner party. This week, I am faced with a lot of random late summer vegetables, which can only mean one thing: roasting!

When in doubt, I always roast my leftover vegetables. It makes even the saddest, most wrinkly zucchini come back to life as the high heat caramelizes them and entices me to put them on salads and sandwiches. Go ahead, save those sad veggies in the back of the fridge and pop them onto your sheet pan!

01 of 05

Sheet Pan Gnocchi with Summer Vegetables

Get Recipe: The Easy Dinner I Make On Repeat All Summer Long

If there’s one shelf in my pantry that is overflowing, it’s the pasta shelf (okay, and the beans). I always have a few packs of gnocchi at the ready. If you’ve never roasted your gnocchi before, let this be your sign. Putting the little pillows of potato goodness in the oven makes them chewy, springy, and hearty, pairing perfectly with roasted and caramelized vegetables. As always, I’ll add a spoonful of store-bought pesto and a mountain of parmesan cheese to round it out, serving it on top of a bed of arugula. 

02 of 05

Pickle Dip

Get Recipe: The Easy Pickle Dip I’m Making All Summer Long

We’re hosting a “break fast,” and typical menu items include bagels, lox, dips, and fruit. We’re having about 10 people over to celebrate after 25 hours of fasting, and they’ll be hungry. Because cooking while fasting is challenging, I take a few shortcuts and delegate. I have someone on blintz duty. I'll pick up my bagels, lay out my smoked salmon and a variety of cream cheese spreads, and take a variety of cookies out of the freezer. While I usually whip up a big batch of hummus, I’m going all pickle this time, serving the dip with vegetables and Trader Joe’s dill pickle potato chips.

03 of 05

Marry Me Chicken Salad

Get Recipe: Fall In Love With This Easy Marry Me Chicken Salad

Recipe developer Marianne Williams says, "It makes total sense to apply the “marry me” treatment to chicken salad—it already has a creamy element in the form of mayonnaise, so why not spike it with some salty Parm and fruity sun-dried tomatoes?" Why not, indeed! This recipe is perfect for meal prep, ready to pull out at a moment's notice.

04 of 05

Potato Chip Salad

Get Recipe: Potato Chip Salad Is the Summer Recipe I Can’t Stop Making

Remember those potato chips I served with my dip? I bought too many, and I have a little dill pickle dip leftover, so I’m making it into an unexpected salad. Instead of salt and vinegar chips, I’m using dill pickle, and instead of the sour cream dressing, I'm thinning out the dip with a little lemon juice and water. The grapes and apple from the fruit plate are going in, too. Just like that, some random leftovers turn into something extremely delicious.

05 of 05

Sloppy Joe Skillet

Get Recipe: The Nostalgic One-Pan Supper My Whole Family Loves

Recipe developer Coco Morante says, "My family enjoys this skillet dinner topped with the same things we like on our sloppy Joe sandwiches: sliced pickles for the kiddos, plus sliced onions and pickled jalapeños for the grownups." Double pickles and onions for me, please!

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