5 Ingredients or Fewer

This recipe is commonly referred to as Pico de Gallo (rooster’s beak). I suppose it is because the ingredients are all chopped up as if they were broken up by a bird’s beak. It is one of my favorites since it is not only delicious but also low fuss. Don’t worry about chopping the vegetables into uniform sizes or shapes and certainly don’t feel compelled to measure any of the ingredients. This chunky sauce goes well with almost every Mexican dish and is the classic accompaniment to serve with tortilla chips.

This has become my favorite sauce—for now. Its fresh flavor, vibrant color, and slight heat (which you can control with the amount of jalapeños you add) are the reasons why. And once you discover how easy it is to prepare and how long it keeps in the refrigerator, I don’t doubt it will become a favorite of yours, too.

This is a great accompaniment to almost every recipe in this book because it offers a sweet counterpart to most of the spicy and tangy flavors found in other recipes. And because the ingredients needed are found in most pantries, the batter can be whipped up at a moment’s time and left to bake unattended.

Watercress is such a hearty and flavorful green that it is best when it stands alone, which is why this is basically a green salad. It is also a great accompaniment to any dish in this book—or any Mexican dish—because it is assertive enough to stand up to bold flavors. And don’t think the dressing is to be used just for salads—it makes a great sandwich spread or vegetable dip.

This salad is as crunchy as it is tangy, which makes it the perfect refreshing complement to any Mexican dish. While the salad is very flavorful, it is not overpowering and can offer freshness and texture to a menu. Feel free to omit the cucumber or substitute radish, carrot, or any other hearty vegetable that won’t wilt after being left to marinate in lime juice.

My mom thinks these might be more ’60s than ’80s, but they sound ’80s to me, so here they are. These open-faced grilled cheese sandwiches are easy to make and sure to get a comment or two from your friends.

Nothing says German more than sausage, which makes bratwurst a must for any Oktoberfest celebration. This version is made with caramelized onions that get nice and sweet to make the perfect topping for the bratwurst.

Even people who swear they don’t like goat cheese love these. This delicious tapa is best eaten piping hot, so the mushrooms should be baked right before serving, but they can be made several hours ahead of time and refrigerated until you are ready to bake them.

This easy and show-stopping dish has a little zip to it and will add life to the party. If you don’t like spicy food, you can cut down on the red pepper. This tapa should be cooked at the last minute and served hot. The shrimp cook so fast that you can finish it in less than 5 minutes and it will fill your apartment with mouthwatering aromas.

This is the world’s easiest dip to make and it’s delicious. Even if you aren’t having a Cinco de Mayo party, this is a great dip to make when you are just hanging out with friends.

The combination of shrimp and green chiles is fantastic on these quesadillas. It doesn’t matter what size shrimp you buy because you’ll have to cut them up anyway, so save some money and buy the smallest frozen shrimp they have.

This is the epitome of college budget dishes. It’s yummy, cheap, easy, and it even has complete protein. (Your mom will be so proud.) Recaito is a cilantro-flavored Mexican sauce that can be found in the Mexican food aisle in most grocery stores. You could also make your own by chopping up fresh cilantro, green pepper, onion, and garlic, but at $1.25 for enough to make this six times, I go for the jar.

If your budget looks anything like mine, you’ll be eating this a lot. This is an ideal way to use up the leftovers in your fridge. Since most items need to be cooked before going in a frittata anyway, leftovers are perfect candidates. Onion, zucchini, tomato, broccoli, cheese, ham, potatoes, chicken, rice, and pasta—anything goes. Be bold and expand your horizons. Don’t be afraid to venture beyond typical omelet ingredients. And if you don’t have enough leftovers, open a can of corn and chop up some corn tortillas and toss those in.

Here is another super simple dish that can be made in the time it takes to cook the pasta. You can use any type of pasta in this dish so feel free to swing out. I’ve used all different shapes, but my favorite was the pasta shaped like the state of Texas. It was so weird I had to buy it.

Oh, Barbecue Chicken Pita Pizza, how I love thee! Okay, that might sound kind of weird, but try it and you’ll know what I mean. These silly little pizzas are the easiest things in the world to make and most excellent to eat. In my opinion, that’s the perfect combination. I like making them this way, but you could use almost any toppings you want.

This is how I like tuna casserole, but feel free to make it how you like it. With peas, without peas, with cracker crumbs or crushed potato chips on top, it doesn’t matter, it’s still good. You can also save a few calories by making it with low-fat cream of mushroom soup and you won’t even notice the difference.

Toffee Bars were the first things I learned to bake. These are my standard fare for those, “Oh man, I forgot I was supposed to bring cookies” times. They’re super easy and quick to make. Ten minutes to prep, twenty minutes to cook, done.

A tuna melt is one of the easiest things to make when you are eating alone. It really doesn’t take much more work than a tuna sandwich, but because you eat it with a knife and fork, it always seem more like a meal than just a sandwich.

Deviled eggs were the very first thing I learned to make myself when I was five years old. My mom would boil the eggs for me, and I would peel them and cut them in half using my pumpkin-carving knife. She talks about how many pockmarked, lumpy eggs we ate, but I just remember being really proud of myself.

This dip is so easy it’s embarrassing, but we included it anyway because we love it. We usually make it in two smaller pans, one using chili with meat for me and one with vegetarian chili for Megan. This is the perfect after-school snack, taking less than ten minutes from walking in the door to munching away in front of the television.