Grains

Leftover risotto, loosened with a little water, is delicious reheated. But you can also make rice cakes. Stir beaten eggs into the chilled leftovers, then shape it into disks, coat with flour, and sear in a skillet. Like stir-fried rice, crisping the cakes adds a new dimension of flavor and texture.

Use the same skillet to cook four eggs, sunny side up or over-easy. The soft yolks make an instant sauce over the golden mushroom-filled rounds.

Risotto has a reputation for being a labor-intensive dish that requires your undivided attention. It does take 30 minutes of constant stirring, but if you can boil pasta, you can cook risotto. When you stir chicken broth a little at a time into short-grain rice, the starches inside the rice kernels release slowly and lend a remarkable creaminess to the dish.

Dark leafy greens are the most nutrient-dense foods. That means that they contain more beneficial micronutrients per calorie than any other food, providing incredible nutritional bang for your buck, and in this case they're ready, and very tasty, in less than 15 minutes. Serve with lemon wedges for even more flavor.

Recipes using condensed soup and frozen broccoli may move products off supermarket shelves, but they turn this dish into a gluey mess. We set out to revive what ought to be an irresistible casserole. Here’s what we discovered: Instead of canned soup, we used half-and-half cut with a bit of chicken broth to add flavor. We also added extra-sharp cheddar and nutty Parmesan. To maximize broccoli flavor, we used both the stalks and the florets. Since stalks take longer to cook than florets, we sautéed chopped stalks in butter with onion, then added rice and liquids.

Having written cookbooks with the chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten (along with being his friend) for more than 15 years, I’ve seen him develop a fair number of stunning recipes. My favorites have always been the simple ones, those that came from his Alsatian background or his years working and traveling in Asia. And I was never more impressed than when he created his version of fried rice, topped with crisp ginger and a fried egg.

The Seaman and Steel families are addicted to this homemade granola with dried blueberries and sweet dates. Serve it with a splash of milk or a spoonful of yogurt or ice cream, sprinkled on pancakes, or in a smoothie.

Top this nutritious, hearty breakfast with fresh berries, dried fruit and nuts or flax seeds and then pour a bit of hemp or almond milk over the top. Only have frozen fruit on hand? Stir it into the pot during the last few minutes of cooking.

Classic avgolemono, the Greek egg-lemon soup, typically contains a little rice and a few pieces of chicken. Add more chicken if you want to make the bowls substantial enough for a main course. This recipe begins with 3 chicken breast halves to give the broth lots of flavor, but you use only 1 1/2 of them for the soup. Make chicken salad from the rest or roll up shredded meat in warm pita with chopped cucumbers, lettuce, and salsa. Orzo is rice-shaped pasta.

There’s enough filling to make 8 rolls. If you don’t need that many for dinner, pop a few in the freezer or wrap them in parchment paper (instead of foil) and tote them to work. A quick pop in the microwave and lunch is hot. So, before you head for the couch, assemble, roll, and wrap the burritos.

This delicious quinoa salad recipe has a mexican flavor, with black beans, lime, cilantro and jalapeno. Quinoa black bean salad can be served warm or chilled, and keeps well. This recipe is similar to Tabouleh, but quinoa is both heartier and sturdier than couscous. Quinoa black bean salad is a great one dish meal, and also goes well with crusty artisan bread or tortillas chips with salsa, quacamole etc.