What is your favorite one pot meal?

A few that come to mind...

Minestrone - I usually just make this over a stove top (as opposed to a slow cooker or my pressure cooker). It comes together so quickly, I think the most time consuming part is cooking the pasta to go into it, which to make even faster, I simply microwave it (Ditalini) in a bowl of water for about 12 minutes, then drain. No need to wait even longer for a pot of water to come to a boil first. But if you're adamant about making this a 100% one pot meal, you can certainly cook the pasta directly in the soup - just add a little extra water/broth to make up for what the pasta will absorb. It's also a one pot meal if you are simply using some extra/leftover cooked pasta from a previous recipe. As for the rest of the ingredients, I just brown some ground beef or turkey, then throw in a jar of marinara, some chicken stock, a can of beans (dark red kidney, cannelini, or great northern beans), and some frozen mixed vegetables (peas, carrots, green beans, etc...). I'll then season to taste and add some extra herbs if needed, along with some olive oil, then let it all simmer.

Rigatoni & Meatballs - this one is when I'm feeling really lazy, I just dump a jar of marinara, some frozen meatballs, and some rigatoni or penne pasta in my pressure cooker - perhaps along with some water/stock/wine to thin out the sauce if it's too thick, then pressure cook it all for about 10-12 minutes on high. The important thing is to not use a sauce that is too thick and or sugary, as it will scorch and ruin the whole meal. Also, put the sauce and meatballs in first, then add the pasta and try to submerge as much of it in the sauce, carefully. Dry pasta at the bottom of the bot will sometimes become burnt too.

Beef or Pork pot roast - it doesn't get much simpler than this, some aromatic veggies, and a roast, seasoned and add a little broth with some corn starch stirred into it, then slow roast the whole thing in a covered baking pan at a low temp (275-300 degrees) for several hours. Cooking at the lower temperature makes the meat super soft without seizing up and getting tough.
 
We have a few one pot meals here on the island but my favorite is soup. I usually make red beans or pumpkin soup. This is a meal that takes a lot of timing in order for it to come out tasty. If it's Red beans, the beans have to be cooked properly first and then the vegies of carrots and cho chos are added. Afterward yams, breadfruit and dumplins can be added. Finally, chicken noodle and seasonings of scallion, thyme, scotch bonnet pepper and celery is added. For meat it is usually chickens feet, chicken or beef which has to be cooked well before adding the vegies and other things.
 
Spending a year living in student accomodation with only one hot plate I had to learn how to do one pot meals. Otherwise I would eat half of my meal cold. Rice with everything and anything was one of my favourites. I would cook rice and brocoli in boiling water. Drain it and leave it in a colinder. Chop up an oinion and fry it in the pot and/or whisk an egg and add it to the pot aswell. When the oinion has softened, put the rice and brocoli into the pot. Then add in the rest of the veg (peppers, corn, peas etc) into the pot and add in a sauce that is handy (I love black-bean sauce or sweet and sour) and add it in.

I pop a lid on the pot and let it all heat up for a few minutes and Voila! The best part of this meal for me is that it I use only one pot (partly because I only had one pot!) and that the WHOLE thing is hot when I eat it and super tasty. It is such a versitile dish that if you want you add add some chicken/beef/pork (anything really) into the pot, it just adds to it and makes it such a simple tasty dish !
 
My mother in law used to make a one pot meat she called New England Boiled Dinner. I make it to this day and my kids all love it. It is simply cabbage cut in wedges, carrots, onions, potatoes and polish sausage. You can add corn on the cob, small yellow squash or zuchhini, whole green beans, ect. You simply add water to just barely cover, put a lid on the pot and bring to a boil, lower to a simmer and cook until everything is done. You can leave out whatever ingredients you do not care for. It is quick, easy and requires very little watching.
 
My favorite one pot meal is any type of goulash. We usually do the rice, canned tomatoes, green peppers, mushrooms and another other vegetable that we have on hand. For meat we use whatever we have hamburger, pork, beef, chicken, sausage or a combination of different meats. Just mix it all together and you have a tasty meal. It is one of my favorites and it seems to be different each time you make it depending on the vegetable and meat combinations.
 
White chicken chili, currently.

I fluctuate with one-pot wonders and tend to get in ruts. Right now my white chicken chili is easy to double or triple, my kids love it, and we can doctor it up in so many ways that it doesn't tend to get boring. It is a bit more prep work than I prefer, but because I triple the recipe it is worth it to have 3 (or more) meals done in one morning. I love that it is light in flavor, but filling. We eat it in winter AND summer.
 
My favorite one pot meal is definitely chili. My partner makes the best chili and he just loads in up with spices and so many different ingredients. I love it. It takes all day to prepare but it is well worth it when you sit down to a nice, steaming bowl of spicy chili.
 
:cook::hungry:One of my favourite one pot dish is Hungarian beef goulash. You need onions, garlic, diced carrots, celery, sweet corn kernels, green beans and capsicums red, green or yellow and potatoes. Also beef diced, or if you prefer pork. You also need tomato paste, crushed tomatoes, sweet hot paprika, salt, pepper and a touch of white flour.
1) dice onions, squash garlic and fry off in a Dutch oven pot or similar with olive oil. Fry off the beef separate in a fry pan. Add tomato paste to the fried off onions and garlic. Keep sauté the lot. Add a touch of white flour and sauté off. Now you add the crushed tomatoes, some water or stock, your seasonings and your fried off beef. Stir well and simmer for about 30 minutes, keep stirring. After you add all your vegetables and your pealed and large diced potatoes. Simmer until the meat is tender and the vegetables and potatoes are soft.
Tip: for adding extra liquid you can use red wine.
You can use also any extra vegetables of your choice. Just remember that the cooking time of the meat may take longer than the vegetables.
Enjoy
 
It's difficult to say which is my favorite because most of our dishes are one-pot meals. We seldom have combinations of dishes like grilled meat and vegetables or fried fish and soup. Like today, our dinner is boiled pork leg. We boil it in water with spices, of course, and when tender, we add shredded cabbage and potato. One pork leg is good for the 6 people living in our house. But we need rice for that. At other times, pork leg is sauteed and sauced with vinegar and soy sauce. That's another one-pot meal.
 
I like to do ground beef with onions and garlic, mix in two cans of tomato soup, add cheddar cheese then add cook pasta. My kids love this meal and it can be basically made in one pot and it takes less than a half an hour to make.
 
Roast chicken is easy to make in a slow cooker/crockpot/pressure cooker. Just get a whole chicken spice it up with whatever you want, slice up some carrots and potatoes and there you have it. Sometimes for variety I stuff the chicken with my fried rice mix with chorizo, it's really good.
 
I actually made my favorite one pot meal for dinner tonight!!
Brats and sauerkraut in beer
It is so simple and delicious.
Just toss your kraut in a large pot with a bottle of beer ( I use a pale ale or a Belgian wheat)
Chop some new red potatoes and a medium sized red apple and stir them in together with a tablespoon of dijon mustard. Add your Brats ( or Polish sausage) and simmer away. Once the sausage is bursting apart and the potatoes are fork tender you are good to go!
 
I have this recipe for one pot spaghetti puttanesca that my boyfriend and I really enjoy. Raw spaghetti noodles go in the pot and then chicken stock, crushed tomatoes, olives and chickpeas get dumped on top, and it all cooks down together over twenty minutes or so. Using whole wheat pasta helps thicken the liquid into a nice sauce, and it's a great recipe to use up leftover chopped veggies, especially spinach.

Another one that I like for cold evenings is brown rice and peppers cooked down in crushed tomatoes and stock with chicken thighs thrown in for the last little while until they're cooked through. We don't have a dishwasher so any recipe that cuts down on the amount of pots and pans I have to use is a winner :)
 
Back
Top Bottom