Throw These Items in the Oven While You Cook Something Else.

I use the air fryer more often than the oven, mainly because I rarely feed more than two people at a time, and heating up a large oven to cook a couple of batches of roasted vegetables seems like overkill. But casseroles and stews won’t fit in the air fryer, which means I’ll have to turn on the oven quite often over the next few months. Instead of wasting even a little real estate, I prefer to put smaller meals on a larger plate to get the most bang for my buck.

Throw some Yukon Gold potatoes in there.

Mention “baked potatoes” and most people think of russet, but Yukon Golds bake beautifully. As I explained earlier , “they come out polished and shiny, with a crispy, tender skin that cracks under the slightest pressure. It’s a textural delight… fluffy, sure, but still very creamy. Any dairy added to it emulsifies right into the pulp, giving it a slightly sweet flavor that holds up well to heavy salting.”

Yukons bake best at 325-350℉, so snuggle up with larger items that cook in this temperature range for 60-90 minutes. There is no need to put them in a dish; They cook great right on the grill.

Fry a few heads of garlic

Roasted garlic may be my favorite type of garlic. What was sharp and sharp becomes soft and sweet, and the clove becomes soft and spreadable. They require a little more prep work than potatoes, but not as much. All you have to do is cut off the top 1/4 inch of the onion, drizzle a little olive oil over the exposed cloves and season with a pinch of salt. Wrap the onion in a sheet of aluminum foil and bake in a larger pan at 350 to 400℉ until tender and golden, 45 minutes to an hour.

Roast some beets

In terms of labor intensity, roasting beets along with larger dishes is somewhere between potatoes and garlic; they need to be wrapped in foil, but there is no need to peel or season them. Trim off the greens, peel the outside and wrap the still wet beets in foil. Place them directly on the rack with the foil seam facing up to prevent any juices from dripping. Roast them along with larger items cooking at 325 to 400 degrees, checking for doneness every 20 to 30 minutes. The beets are ready when they can be easily pierced with a fork.

Once the beets are cool enough, they can be cleaned by wiping them with a paper towel. Chop, salt and add to salads, rice dishes or anything else that brings a little earthy sweetness.