When I’m lazy, I fill my rice cooker with two and a half cups of water and 1 cup of brown rice, and maybe even a sprinkle of olive oil. But most days, I hate eating plain old rice, even if it’s healthy brown rice. I like my food to look and taste colorful, even if it’s just the side dish. Luckily, I found some recipes that aren’t too complicated; so even on lazy days, I can still serve up a far from boring dinner.

GrandmaFred shares a recipe for Greek Caponata that’s easier to make than pronounce. I love recipes like this that allow me to throw a bunch of different ingredients together in a bowl so that what results, after a short time baking, is a feast for the easily-bored palate.

Teesmith’s Orzo Salad with Shrimp is a fresh and summery concoction that sounds like it could be a meal on it’s own.

If you’re a fan of meat and potatoes, you’ll probably enjoy Verfaillie’s Potato Patties that take on the form of pancakes after they’re browned in butter over a hot skillet.

Though I love having potatoes with my steak, I’d definitely be willing to trade out a simple baked potato for wpolumbo’s rich and dessert-like, but still healthy Praline Whipped Sweet Potatoes. This recipe would definitely fly with the kids, I bet you could even fool them into thinking they were eating candy!