Weeknight Meals

When you think about peppers, comfort food usually isn't the first thing that comes to minds. But to us, it means home, and for different reasons. Crystal's mawmaw always made great stuffed peppers, and we put that recipe in our first cookbook. And when Sandy tastes a poblano pepper, she's instantly reminded of this recipe, since Sandy's oldest sister, Yvonne, makes these for her every time she comes home for a visit! Poblano peppers are smaller and spicier than their bell pepper cousins, but they're not too hot. Fairly mild overall, they pack a ton of flavor. Best of all, they've perfect for stuffing with a variety of ingredients.

This dish comes together fast for a simple weeknight meal, and it's also elegant enough to serve to any important guest.

Avocado shells make handy vessels for a bright salad made with the scooped-out flesh. Lime juice, garlic, and a pinch of cayenne flavor the dressing. The salad can also be served as a topping for quesadillas or as a fresh filling for tacos.

This is an American-style Italian frittata or Spanish tortilla, an open-faced omelet that's a great last-minute brunch dish. The potato chips are layered throughout yet still retain their firm texture. (You don't even need to add salt to the eggs, because the potato chips provide the seasoning.) You can enjoy this warm or at room temperature, with sour cream on the side. Or if you're a ketchup-on-your-eggs person, use the San Marzano ketchup. (After I came up with this dish, I saw similar versions done by José Andrés and Ferran Adrià. A good idea is a good idea no matter how many people come up with it.)

My wife, Jazmin, is of Honduran descent. When you walk into her mother's house, everything is Latin-inspired, especially the cooking. This dish is a Latin staple, and because Jazmin likes it so much, arroz con pollo has become a staple for us. You can throw in half a bag of frozen peas toward the end to up the nutritional content. We serve it with a bottle of hot sauce on the table and a bowl of yogurt.

Toasting the curry powder with other aromatic ingredients before adding the liquid intensifies the flavor of this quick take on chana masala. You can roast the cauliflower and tomatoes a couple days ahead; cool, cover, and refrigerate until ready to use.

Finely chopped toasted walnuts bulk up the yogurt dressing for this gorgeous salad. It's pretty enough to serve to company, either as the main course of a vegetarian meal or as a meatless offering at a summer potluck.

"To save time, make the potato sauce a day ahead and refrigerate," Bemis says.

Prefer the big taste of beef in your Joes? Substitute lean ground beef. Or bison. Or a blend. Sloppy Joes are a total what-have-you recipe. Somebody in the family off carbs or gluten? These are awesome in lettuce wraps, too. Don't be intimidated by the number of ingredients. This recipe comes together effortlessly in minutes. Editor's note: This recipe makes 4 servings, plus more for leftovers. Please see "Next-Day Sloppy Joes" and "Sloppy Joes Chili" below for tips on how to enjoy the leftovers.

Warm and nourishing, this panfried rice is a brown-bag favorite. The dish starts with a couple of scrambled eggs to which rice, edamame, and seasonings are added. If you happen to be making eggs for breakfast, it’s just a few extra steps to make this savory lunch dish. Naturally, brown rice is more nutritious than white. Leftover farro or barley make tasty substitutions.

At farmers' markets, look for Golden Bantam or Silver Queen varieties of corn, which are less sugary than some of the supersweet hybrids.

Smoked Salmon, Hard-Boiled Egg, Tomatoes, Greens and Caper-Onion Mayo This is another one of those fabulous "adult sandwiches." It's hearty enough to pack for work, yet it's perfectly appropriate for a luncheon or brunch. The hardest part of this recipe is assembling the ingredients: that's how easy it is, yet it tastes like a gourmet sandwich you'd find on a restaurant menu or at a specialty deli. Thanks to the salmon, the sandwich is loaded with omega-3 fatty acids that our body can't make on its own; it's high in protein and delivers a whopping amount of nutrients per calorie. In other words, it's the heavyweight nutrition champ of sandwiches!

Oil-Packed Tuna, Hard-Boiled Egg, Roasted Fennel, Tomatoes, Tapenade and Greens Lots of cookbooks offer creative ideas for kids' lunches, but what about the rest of us? Lunch can get tiresome for adults, too, so I decided to create a few sandwich recipes for an older crowd—ideas that will get you out of your same-old-sandwich rut, amp up your midday nutrition, and energize you for the demands of the afternoon. If you want a change of pace, this recipe is for you! It's basically egg salad dressed up for an evening out, and it's absolutely delicious! It's loaded with omega-3 fatty acids that keep the brain sharp and help performance, plus protein from the tuna and egg and antioxidants from the fennel; the flavor is over the top! Cook the fennel over the weekend, so you have it on hand to enjoy during the week.

"Set sun-dried tomatoes on paper towels to soak up some of their oil so the dish doesn't get greasy," Bemis suggests.

This bright, vegetarian sauce features lemon three ways: juice, zest, and preserved lemon peel.

We think our wedge salad recipe is the ultimate iteration, but we're not opposed to innovation—like these embellishments and swaps.

This silky, aromatic soup is a complete meal in a bowl.

To give steaks a boost, Myers makes an herb rub (he likes to dry the herbs himself; if you don't have a microwave, sub in 1 teaspoon of each dried herb) and pairs the meat with a tart ponzu sauce (ponzu is available at Asian markets and some supermarkets).