Within a single paragraph, hang a wrapped line, but do not hang new lines
It makes no sense to me not to use paragraphs:
\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{units}
\begin{document}
\begin{minipage}{4.5cm}
\everypar{\setlength\hangindent{1em}}
\nicefrac{1}{2} lb.\ (about 1\nicefrac{1}{2} cups) thinly sliced yellow onions
2 (about 1 cup) sliced green bell peppers
2 to 3 Tb olive oil, if necessary
2 cloves mashed garlic
Salt and pepper to taste
\end{minipage}
\end{document}
Since using \hangindent
is the obvious solution it is probably also the best one. Nonetheless, if you want your text to look as though it is a single paragraph, you always have the option of messing with the syntax:
\documentclass{article}
\begin{document}
\newenvironment{hanginglines}[1][1em]
{%
\renewcommand\\{\par\hangindent#1}%
\parindent0pt %
\hangindent#1 %
}
{\par}
\begin{hanginglines}
This is a very long line that I hope will wrap many times. This is a very long line that I hope will wrap many times.
\\
This is a very long line that I hope will wrap many times. This is a very long line that I hope will wrap many times.
\\
This is a very long line that I hope will wrap many times. This is a very long line that I hope will wrap many times.
\end{hanginglines}
\end{document}