An Reintroduction to One Pot Meals

At some point, we’ve all been sucked in to a busy schedule of working, or running errands, putting out fires, or just juggling every day life. And when we do, we sometimes overlook how simple it can be to make a delicious meal with minimal effort. Instead we find our way to the nearest drive thru, or our favorite fast food spot, or maybe we order out for a quick and not so speed delivery, only to get food that we could’ve made better on our own, if we just had the time. But what if there were a solution, simple enough to get a great meal, with great flavors, that saves time, without costing a lot of money? Said solution would be an absolute game changer right?

We’ll allow us to reintroduce the concept of the One Pot Meal. Though it goes by many names, the principle behind the preparation is still pretty strait forward. In fact you may be familiar with a similar concept, namely, the “meal planning” craze that has swept its way into kitchens and busy schedules, the world over. And though meal planning requires a bit more preparation, it actually works wonders for people who need a “grab and go” type meal when racing through daily activities or managing everyday diet habits etc.

The One Pot Meal though, is also a meal that can easily fit into the busy schedule/lifestyles of those who are busy chasing the kids, cheering at soccer practice, wrapping up weekly reports, filing paperwork, meeting deadlines, and the list could go on and on. Conceptually the One Pot Meal, fits into a pot, pan, skillet, or wrapping, essentially using one dish for a fairly complete meal, which, in the end saves time on cooking, cleaning, and serving during those busy rush hours at home.

Cooking with “love” to complete a “Square Meal” for the family has all but, become outdated with today’s life schedule. The superpower of the One Pot Meal lies in the fact that it’s often inexpensive, efficient, and easy to manage, right down to the clean up.

There are several types of one pot meals; some of which fit into the “set it and forget it” category, and others that require the occasional stir during a slow simmer. In keeping with tradition though, we’ll aim to keep things simple, by breaking the One Pot topic into subsequent posts, thats will keep things easy to digest for now. Sound fair??

Ok, so for starters the most obvious and popular choice of one pot meals are known as crockpot or slow cooker meals. This category encompasses meals such as stews, pastas, pot pies, pot roasts, Chili, and the like.

By default, slow cooker meals are meant to... cook slow, which allows time in the schedule for other chores and errands to get done. This also makes them perfect for tenderizing tough cuts of Beef or Pork, as well as whole Chicken, or small Turkeys. And while there is a “one pot” application for cooking fish, its not generally recommend that this be done, in a slow cooker, but we’ll talk more about this in a subsequent post.

When using a slow cooker, because of how long the cooking process takes, recipes typically include aromatics that are coarse and fibrous. Ingredients such as carrots, ginger, celery, potatoes and other root vegetables. In terms of the prep involved, you could actually go so far as to prep your food the head of time, put it into a ziplock bag (in the fridge or freezer) and, toss it into the slow cooker on your way to work. From there it could be as simple as adding a little broth into the pot, setting your heat, and walking away.... FOR SEVERAL HOURS... Hows that sound for “set it and forget it.” In theory, you could put your food on to cook in the morning, and have it ready to eat when you get home.

Fact is, nowadays, most slow cookers even come with a timer and a built in shut off feature that will transition to keeping your food warm once its done cooking. This feature can be really convenient on those days when you want a home cooked meal, but you really cant stop to cook, and fast food just wont cut it.

In terms of variety, as mentioned earlier, slow cooker meal types are good for more than stewing and making pot roasts. They also play well with chili, pot pies, one pot pastas, and many other recipes. But, over time even these meal types can become a bit monotonous, especially if you just eat the same old recipe with not variation, time after time, day after day. Fear not, though, the other “One Pot” categories can offer a bit of diversity to your menu, to change things up and help you “keep it moving” when you just don't have time to cook that “Square Meal”...

Well talk more about some of these other One Pot Meal types in the subsequent posts, where we feature brief discussion around Perloo style, Oven Roast style, and En Papillote style meals.

In the meantime though, here are a few ideas to get you to thinking on the One Pot Slow Cooker meal variety. These should help keep things interesting until we return with more info on how to get the best from these simple meal preparations.

• Chicken and Dumplings

• White Chicken Chili

• Slow Cooked Shredded Pork for Street Tacos

• Ox Tails

• Pasta Casseroles

Drop us a line and let us know what you came up with! Or join one of the Group Discussion on the Member‘s page and share your recipes and ideas with the other culinarians.