Characteristic: one-dish meal
Cheesy Baked White Beans & Summer Squash
This is a satisfying main dish that’s reminiscent of mac n’ cheese, although slightly lighter thanks to all the veggies. This would also be delicious with broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, cabbage or greens in place of the summer squash. If you have an oven-proof skillet, it can all be made in one dish.
Serves 4
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Black Bean Soup
Black bean soup is a simple but so satisfying dish. You can make it with canned beans but it's particularly good with home-cooked beans as the cooking liquid is a flavorful and rich broth for the dish.
Traditionally you might serve this with slices of avocado, crema or sour cream, cilantro and a little lime juice. In the above version I served it with pico de gallo which is a delicious alternative. You can simply top with a few quick-pickled onions--nothing more than thinly sliced onions in vinegar--but you want something bright to complement the richness of the soup.... Read more »
Cook-With-What-You-Have Jambalaya
Jambalaya is the beloved Cajun rice, meat and vegetable dish from New Orleans. It has West African, Spanish and French roots and is a savory pot of goodness. My in-authentic version uses more vegetables and only andouille sausage or kielbasa. It's a stunning one-pot meal that is delicious on days two and three so all the chopping is time well spent. You can also skip the meat for a vegetarian version that still packs in lots of flavor.
I make my own Cajun seasoning spice mix, see below, with spices I keep on hand but feel free to use a pre-made mix if you that's what you have.
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Creamy Orzo with Winter Squash and Greens
This dish is comforting and savory. It’s reminiscent of a risotto but uses orzo in place of the rice. I used butternut squash and a green called bietola in the photo above, but this recipe is great template for all sorts of substitutions and adaptations so use what you have!
Serves 4
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No-Recipe Pot of Beans
If you want to use cooked (or canned) beans to make a savory dish, more or less fleshed out with vegetables, meat, herbs, spices, here's a template. Since the beans are already cooked this kind of dish comes together quite quickly. Quantities are flexible and totally up to you.
*Alternatively, if you want to just cook a pot of beans from scratch in the oven (recipe towards the bottom of the page) with some aromatics you'll get a delicious pot of beans in one step that takes a couple of (hands-off) hours.
Use a full pound of cooked dry beans and their cooking liquid (yields about 2 quarts for me) or make a small pot with a couple of cups of cooked beans or any combination of beans.... Read more »
Rice Bowl with Chicken, Green Beans and Peanut Sauce
This bowl is a template – use different grains like quinoa or farro or use different veggies. You'll have extra of the rich yet bright sauce to put on any leftover grains or vegetables, meat, etc.... Read more »
Vermicelli Noodle Bowl with Kimchi and Tofu
This bowl uses bean thread noodles aka mung bean, cellophane, glass or vermicelli noodles made with mung bean starch, as its foundation. The sauce is a light one that you'll also use to marinate the tofu.... Read more »
Rice and Tofu Bowl with Cilantro Sauce
This is just a template to assemble a delicious bowl of food. The sauce makes everything taste good. You can use either yogurt or tahini in this sauce or a combination of both. I love all versions! Cook a pot of grains and then let people customize their bowls to suit their taste.
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White Beans, Chicken and Leeks
This is so delicious and comes together quickly if you have cooked (or canned beans). It's very good with home-cooked beans because you use some of the bean cooking liquid which makes for a flavorful, light stew.
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Chicken (or Bean) Enchiladas
These are flavorful, simple and quite light in fact. You can use fire-roasted canned tomatoes or fresh ones you broil. I rarely have queso fresco on hand so top them with a little sharp cheddar--totally inauthentic and very tasty.
[caption id="attachment_18350" align="aligncenter" width="660"] In this version I thinned sour cream with a little plain yogurt for a pourable consistency.[/caption]... Read more »
Quick Vegetable Skillet with Eggs
Often my dinner-cooking plans take a detour because I run out of time. I imagine I'm going to develop something new and creative. . . and sometimes those running-out-of-time meals are the best. This one was enjoyed by all and is definitely a winning template. Use whatever vegetables you have and cut them small or grate them for quicker cooking time. Serve with cheesy toast or any good bread, toasted if a little stale.
Variations
You can use vegetables like carrots, zucchini, winter squash, turnips, potatoes, etc.
Change or omit the spices, use sausages instead of eggs, or add a couple of cups of beans.
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One-pot Tomato and Sausage (or Bean) Pasta with Greens
15 minutes, start to finish, adaptable and delicious and a good reason for having canned tomatoes and small pasta shapes in the pantry. You can use larger shapes and more of it (more like 3 cups of penne).
[caption id="attachment_13629" align="aligncenter" width="438"] This version uses tender spring raab for the greens.[/caption]
Variations
You can substitute cooked beans/chickpeas for the sausage, to make a meat-free version.
You can use parsley instead of basil
Delicious choices for tender greens are spring raab, spinach, chard, turnip, beet greens and/or tender kale greens. Enjoy in any combination.
Use fresh tomatoes instead of canned
Other great small noodle choices are Pipette rigate, Conchiglie (shell), or Orecchiette.
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Red Lentil and Rice Curry/Porridge with Coconut Milk and Spinach
I like experimenting with cooking grains and pulses in the same pot and then steaming greens on top at the very end. This is very quick, warming, and simply spiced one-pot meal. I'm sure you could use brown rice instead of white and cook the rice for 30 minutes before you add the lentils and then just finish cooking them together, maybe adding a bit more liquid as well.
[caption id="attachment_13615" align="aligncenter" width="660"] The spinach steamed on top of the rice and lentils for the last few minutes of cooking.[/caption]
This is similar to this red lentil curry but much quicker and with more of a porridge-like texture from cooking the rice and lentils together.
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Spring Asparagus, Potato & Lentil Stew with Mint
I was aiming for a bright, springy and less soupy version of lentil soup and it worked. I try to use just enough water to have a luscious, silky but not soupy consistency. The amount of liquid absorbed will vary based on your potatoes and lentils and it will certainly be delicious if it's a bit soupier too. If you don't have mint use parsley, chives, or tarragon.... Read more »
Bean, Grain, Veg and Herb Bowl with Chili Tahini Sauce
Make this your own with whatever cooked beans and/or grains you have on hand. You can keep it simple with just some cilantro and beans and the sauce or add an egg, or lots of vegetables or bacon or other meat, etc. The sauce is good on noodles, cooked or raw vegetables, plain rice and pretty much anything, and it is inspired by the wonderful folks at Umi Organic (Noodles).
Variations
Any cooked grain, such as rice, quinoa, barley, etc., complements this template very well.
You can use red, green, napa, and/or savoy cabbage to give this meal a wonderful crunch and flavor.
Lovely herbs that give this recipe a great depth of flavor are cilantro, mint, basil, or whatever tender herb you have.
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Savory Bread Pudding with Lots of Herbs
You can assemble this in minutes as there's no cooking ingredients separately. It takes about 30 minutes to bake, can be assembled in the morning, then popped in the oven when you walk in the door in the evening. It depends on fresh herbs for its fragrance and flavor. This is a great way to use up old bread.... Read more »
Mustard Greens Quiche with Parsnip Crust
This is a winter vegetable bonanza. Parsnips and a little potato make up the crust and hearty, leafy greens flavor the filling. You can adapt as you need with all parsnips or all potatoes for the crust or even try adding things like grated turnips or celeriac. I imagine that as long as you have some potato or parsnip in the mix it should work. Also use whatever leafy greens you have and use more or less than noted below. For a lighter dish omit the cream and cheese. It's a flexible dish; a good template.
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Cauliflower, Potato and Sausage Skillet
This was on regular rotation when I was growing up. I always liked it but never made it myself until my early 40s. I make it a bit dryer than my mother did and my family loves it. It takes about 20 minutes, start to finish and can serve as a one-dish dinner. Scale up or down and change the ratio of ingredients as needed. It's very flexible.... Read more »
Cauliflower, Rice and Coconut Milk "Casserole"
This is a warming, flavorful one-dish dinner. You could substitute green cabbage for the cauliflower or add some diced potatoes or sweet potatoes for heft. Use a vegan alternative to the yogurt topping, if you'd like.
If you have already cooked rice this comes together quite quickly.... Read more »
Chickpea and Winter Squash Curry
This is similar to one of my favorite standby curries, one with red lentils and usually a butternut or sweat meat kind of squash. This one, with delicata, comes together quickly if you have already cooked (or canned) chickpeas. The lemongrass in the dish was inspired by the inimitable Nigel Slater. This makes a lot and keeps/reheats well. By all means halve the recipe if you’d like. And use a different kind of winter squash if you don't have delicata.
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