Cooking can be a stress buster for some and a way to show their love for the family for a few others. But, then, some do it for the sake of doing it. Although the scenarios are different, the reality stands that you need to cook. But sometimes, it becomes a task even for those who like to indulge in their culinary skills. The reason for this can be smaller kitchen size, lack of proper appliances, and so on. In addition, some avoid this for the fear that they will have plenty of pots and pans to clean in the end. While these are legitimate concerns, you don’t have to give up on your favorite activity just yet.
You can explore the type of sinks for cooking by Kraus. Big bowls with ergonomic designs can ease your cleaning pressure. These would give you enough room to attend to your dishes without feeling agitated. Besides, you can opt for single-pan meal preparation to dodge the piles of pans and pots. Do you wonder if it can be as fulfilling and delicious as an elaborate fare? Of course, you can count on it to turn out the way you desire. Also, one-pot meals can feed everyone in the family and still be extra for the week. So, here are some recipes you can whip in a single skillet. These don’t demand much cleanup efforts also.
1. Chicken enchiladas
If you have to cook for a family of 8 to 12 members, it can be the perfect dish to serve everyone and earn their praise too. It usually takes 15 minutes to prepare and 30 minutes to cook. Since it is a wholesome meal in itself, you would want to collect a variety of ingredients. These include rotisserie chicken, chicken stock, sour cream, green chili, cilantro, green onion with whites and greens stored separately, Roma tomatoes, Chihuahua cheese, cream of chicken soup, garlic, corn tortillas, Romaine lettuce, and vegetable oil spray.
To begin with, you would want to keep cheese, garlic, green onion, Roma tomatoes, and cilantro ready. The oven needs preheating up to 350 degrees. You can reach out for a medium mixing bowl to add sour cream, cream of chicken soup, and green chili to items mentioned right up here and whisk them well. Put the bowl aside and pick your cast-iron skillet. You need to spray a little oil on the base and spread it evenly. Next, put tortillas on the bottom layer. It would be like how you layer lasagna. Scoop out the mixture from the bowl to cover the bottom layer with it. Top it with shredded cheese and chicken.
Like this, you can go on to build three layers of each in the same order. The last layer should end with chicken and cheese. Once done, you would have to heat a skillet at medium-high temperature for 10 minutes. Then, the hot skillet has to stay in the preheated oven for 20 minutes. Later, you can take out the pan to add a mix of spare tomatoes, green onions, shredded lettuce, and cilantro. Finally, you can divide the whole stuff into equal portions for serving.
2. Chicken and rice
If you want to cook a protein-packed meal with a choice of grain, you have to try this once. You would need olive oil, farro, broccoli florets, diced onion, white wine, chicken stock, bone-in chicken thighs, chopped garlic, lemon, turmeric, kosher salt, and ground black pepper. Usually, this recipe involves 5 minutes of prep and one hour of cooking. To start, you can marinate chicken thighs with salt, pepper, and turmeric. Next, sear the thighs in a cast-iron skillet in olive oil on medium heat. Each side should cook for four minutes. After searing, take the pan away from the heat.
You can caramelize diced onion in the pan for 3 to 4 minutes before toasting farro. When the toasting job completes, you can add garlic and wait for one minute to allow the smell to waft in the air. Afterward, you can use white wine to deglaze the pan. The white wine should cook for 3 minutes, reducing by almost half. Later, you can add chicken stock and seared chicken to the skillet and boil it over high flame. After it boils, you can reduce the heat to allow the mixture to simmer.
Wait for a few minutes and cover the pan with aluminum foil. The ingredients would need 45 minutes to cook properly. Finally, you can eliminate the foil and add broccoli. Cook for five more minutes in the open pan. Tada! Your healthy and tasty dish is ready to serve.
So, if you feel bad about not serving your family a complete meal, you can turn to these one-pot food preparation ideas. Most of them don’t consume much time in preparation. The cooking hours can be lengthy, but you don’t have to run from one corner to another to prepare other things and frown at the pile of dishes gathering in the sink. Instead, you can focus on one preparation and relax. As said, the single skillet recipes don’t have to compromise on protein and other nutrients; they can give you a healthy and delectable bite.
The other benefit is you can switch from elaborate spread to one-pot recipe whenever you wish. When you don’t have enough time or energy to rustle up different flavors, you can depend on these easy ones to nourish you all.
However, don’t feel compelled to add multiple ingredients in one recipe. It can be vital for your satisfaction. The sense of guilt of not making different dishes may make you believe you are not doing enough. But get rid of this self-created pressure. Almost everyone enjoys new recipes. They look forward to it as they know there will be something different to savor. Therefore, you should look at the positive aspects. If you still disagree, try to change your cooking habit a bit and notice the difference. The results can be surprising!