…and none of them need real recipes:

Meatballs – I make these 4-5 pounds at a time and freeze: family pack of ground beef, sometimes mix in some turkey, season with whatever tickles my fancy (use a heavy hand), mix in 1 egg per pound or so of meat, scoop and freeze on baking sheets to store in a zip-top bag.  To cook from frozen, take out as many as you want and cook at 380-400 for 10 minutes, then check the temperature at the center with a meat thermometer to see how much longer you should go.  USDA guidelines say cook to 160F.  If the outsides are already very browned and threatening to get dry or burned, you can put a silicone baking mat or cake pan over them for protection.  If I’m cooking these to pack in lunches I might deliberately undercook by 20-30 degrees, knowing what the microwave will do to them.

Not Dogs – section some smoked sausage into tortilla-length pieces and butterfly (not quite all the way through), cook at 350 for 5-7 minutes. Meanwhile, spread an appropriate number of tortillas with mayo and any additional dressings plus cheese. Roll warmed sausage up tightly in the tortillas and cook at 350 seam-side-down for 4-7 minutes until tortilla gets a little bit dry on the outside.  (I have done this fairly successfully with Field Roast vegan sausages, though you’ll want to brush them with oil or butter and don’t butterfly them.)

Broccoli – in a big bowl, toss florets with oil and salt. Air fry at 380 for 8-12 minutes, until edges are brown and crispy. Return to the big bowl and toss with additional seasonings, parmesan or other hard shredded cheese, drizzle of lemon juice, or dressing.  I make a fryer full of this for meal prep, but often just make two servings as a quick side for dinner.

Fritatta – scramble 3-6 eggs with seasoning and a splash of water, milk, or cream and place in a buttered/sprayed cake pan, pie dish, or similar vessel that fits your air fryer (I use these silicone cake pans in my bullet-style and oven-style fryers). Add literally anything that you like with eggs (for the most part, protein and vegetable add-ins should be pre-cooked; tomatoes are about the only thing I don’t pre-cook); this week I just used goat cheese crumbles but I usually have little parcels of cooked seasoned ground beef or sausage in the freezer for these occasions. Cook at 340 for 15-25 minutes (depending on how many eggs you used and the general quirks of your air fryer).

Eggplant – I had just enough leftover tomato meat sauce for one lunch serving, so I halved and scored a wee eggplant, drizzled with oil, sprinkled with salt and pepper, and roasted it at 370 for about 18 minutes until it was pretty soft when poked with a fork (bigger eggplants will take 20-30 minutes). I added the microwave-warmed tomato sauce and some mozarella cheese and cooked at 335 for another 5 minutes, until the cheese was melty-bubbly.

Veggie burger patties – frozen patties spritzed with oil and cooked at 350 for about 15 minutes, flipping once. Ate with salad, tomatoes, and leftover deviled eggs from the weekend.  (Note: not everyone is blessed with Aldi but their soy burger and soy burger with cheese patties have extremely reasonable carb counts and I consider them dirty keto.  They’re really good, too!)