one pot meals | onedadskitchen

You Can Never Have Enough Chicken Recipes – Braised Chicken Thighs with Carrots, Potatoes and Thyme

Okay, I know I just posted a braised chicken thighs recipe the other day, but I decided to make another one for dinner on Monday anyway because we had a lot of chicken thighs on hand and because the recipe sounded too good to let go by. I found this one from Williams-Sonoma and saw that it was simple to make and looked like it would taste great so I gave it a try. What was even better about this one is that it is basically a one pot meal so you have everything together in one dish for easy preparation and clean up.

Braised Chicken Thighs with Carrots, Potatoes and Thyme

1 1/2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken thighs, fat trimmed

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

Sweet paprika

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 red onion, finely chopped

1 pound red-skinned potatoes, quartered

8 carrots, halved lengthwise and then cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon flour

1 1/3 cups chicken broth

1/3 cup dry vermouth or dry white wine

1 1/2 tablespoons minced fresh thyme

Season the chicken lightly with salt and pepper and then generously with paprika. In a heavy large frying pan or skillet over medium-high heat, warm the olive oil. Add the chicken and cook until brown, about 2 minutes on each side. Transfer the chicken to a plate. Add the onion to the frying pan and stir. Add the potato quarters and the carrots. Sprinkle the vegetables with salt and pepper and saute them until the vegetables are beginning to brown, about 5 minutes. Add the flour mix and stir the vegetables to coat them well. Gradually mix in the broth and vermouth or wine, stirring as you add the liquid. Bring the mixture to a boil and continue to stir frequently. Return the chicken to the pan and bring everything to a boil.

Cover the pan, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer until the chicken and vegetables are cooked through, stirring and turning the chicken occasionally, about 25 minutes. Mix in the thyme. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Divide the chicken and vegetables among 4 warmed plates and serve.

I did make a couple of substitutions in this recipe. i did not have any red potatoes on hand, so I used some Yukon Gold potatoes instead and I think they turned out just as well. Also, I rarely use wine or vermouth when cooking unless I think it will really make a difference, so I just used chicken broth where the recipe called for the wine and I think it turned out quite well. You can also use gluten-free flour where the flour is called for in this recipe if you want to make it a gluten-free meal. One thing to consider when trying to make gluten-free is that if you are using store-bought broth, check the ingredients to make sure there is no flour or other gluten products in the broth; many broths do use them so you want to be sure. I loved the sauce that went with the chicken in this meal and the paprika gave the chicken great flavor with a little bit of a kick to it. The whole meal was done in under 40 minutes, which made it even better.

That’s all I have for today. Check back again to see some more recipes. I promise, I am making other things this week besides braised chicken thighs. I have a couple of new recipes I am trying out tonight, so check for those in the coming days. Until next time, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!

Quick and Easy One Pot Chicken and Rice

12 Jun

As the weather starts to warm up and we move closer and closer to summertime, not only will more people be grilling and cooking out, but you also want to make meals that are quick and easy to cook and can all be done in one pot or pan. I’ve made chicken and rice before in different ways but I came across this recipe in the Cook’s Illustrated Cookbook and saw how easy it was and thought it would make a great weeknight meal. Dinner for anyone during the week can get a little hectic, so if you have a recipe like this in your arsenal that you can pull out any time you have some chicken, it can make things a lot easier. While this particular recipe uses a whole chicken, I actually substituted since I only had chicken thighs on hand and used them exclusively.

Chicken and Rice With Tomatoes, White Wine, and Parsley

1 (3 1/2 to 4-pound) whole chicken, cut into 8 pieces (4 breast pieces, 2 drumsticks, 2 thighs)
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped fine
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 cups long-grain white rice
2 cups water
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained with 1/2 cup of juice reserved
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley

Pat the chicken dry with paper towels and season well with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat until just smoking. Place the chicken skin side down in the pot and cook until it is well browned, about 6 to 8 minutes, reducing the heat if the pan begins to scorch. Flip the chicken skin side up and continue to cook until lightly browned on the second side, about 3 minutes; transfer to a plate.

Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of fat from the pot, add the onion, and cook over medium heat, stirring often, until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook until it is fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the rice and cook, stirring frequently, until it is well coated and glistening, about 1 minute. Stir in the water, tomatoes with the reserved juice, white wine, and 1 teaspoon of salt, scraping up any browned bits. Nestle the chicken thighs and legs into the pot and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer gently for 15 minutes. Nestle the chicken breast pieces into the pot and stir the ingredients gently until the rice is thoroughly mixed; cover and simmer until both the rice and the chicken are tender, about 10 to 15 minutes longer. Stir in the parsley, cover, and allow the dish to sit for 5 minutes.

One of the things you want to be sure of is that you stir the rice as the dish goes along. When you cook a meal of this nature, some of the rice tends to get undercooked if you just leave it alone without mixing it up as you go along.The recipe actually puts the breasts in after the other chicken has started cooking so they do not dry out and get overcooked while the dark meat pieces cook.There are many different variations you can try on this – if you want to change it around every time you make it. You could certainly add different spices such as paprika, cilantro, saffron, cumin or even things such as bell peppers, peas, chili peppers, olives, anchovies or some lemon or lime juice. The combinations seem nearly endless depending on what exactly you want to go for. As I said before, you can use whatever pieces of chicken you happen to have on hand if you do not have a whole chicken. The meal only took about a half an hour to cook and clean up was a breeze since everything was done all in one pot.

That’s all I have for today. Check back again later on in the week as I’ll have some of the recipes of things I have cooked recently or things I am planning for later on in the week. I already made some chicken sandwiches, Alton Brown’s potato salad recipe and some braised pork chops with cherries, among other things. Until next time, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!

A Simple Dinner: Braised Chicken, Tomatoes and Bacon

27 Aug

I’ve been pretty busy with work lately so I’ve barely had time to do any blogging. As a matter of fact I’ve been completing neglecting my other blog the past few weeks so I could get work flowing. Hopefully I will get back to it next week. in the meantime, I am trying to stay with simple, easy dinners. This one even comes from a cookbook called “Simple Suppers” from Williams-Sonoma. It was a quick meal of chicken and tomatoes and makes a great one pot meal, although I did make some boiled potatoes along with it.

Braised Chicken, Tomatoes and Bacon

4 thick-cut bacon slices, chopped

6 bone-in,skin on chicken thighs, about 2 pounds total

Salt and Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1 yellow onion, chopped

2 large garlic cloves, minced

1/4 cup dry white wine

1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 can (14 1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes with juice

In a large skillet over medium heat, cook the bacon, turning often, until crisp, 4 to 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to a small plate. Drain off all but 2 tablespoons of the drippings from the pan.

Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Return the pan to medium-high heat, add the chicken and cook, turning once or twice, until golden brown on both sides, about 8 minutes total. Transfer the chicken to a plate. Add the onion and garlic to the pan and saute until softened, about 4 minutes.

Pour in the wine and stir to scrape up the browned bits from the pan bottom. Stir in the oregano, red pepper flakes and tomatoes and their juice. Return the chicken and any juices from the plate to the pan, cover, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook until the chicken is cooked through, 25 to 30 minutes. Uncover the pan, increase the heat to medium-high, bring to a simmer and stir in the bacon. Transfer the chicken to individual plates, top with the sauce and serve immediately.

The sauce that is made is delicious. The chicken thighs are ideal for this dish as well. The meat just falls right off the bone and is moist. Best of all, you can have this be a one dish meal and you are all done.

Simple recipe, simple meal, simple clean up, simple blog post. I am planning to make some shrimp tomorrow, so we’ll have to see what I can come up with to make. Check back and see what I decide to do. Until then, enjoy your evening and enjoy your meal!

A Couple of Meat-Free Meals

01 Mar

Yesterday was our meat-free meal day, and we actually had two ideas for the meal, one I had planned, and then one my sister-in-law had suggested that sounded really good as well. My idea was Lentils and Rice with Caramelized Onions. it’s a great one pot meal, completely vegetarian if that’s what you are looking for, and very filling and satisfying.

Lentils and Rice with Caramelized Onions

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped, plus 1 large or 2 medium onions, halved and sliced

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 teaspoon ground cumin

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 cups lentils, washed and picked over

6 cups water, vegetable, chicken or beef stock (your preference), warmed

1 cup long-grain rice

Chopped fresh parsley for garnish

Put 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large, deep saucepan over medium heat. When hot, add the chopped onion and cook until it begins to become tender, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, cumin, and some salt and pepper and cook for 3 minutes more. Add the lentils, stir, and add 4 cups of liquid. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the lentils begin to soften, about 20 minutes. Add enough of the stock or water so that the lentils are covered by about an inch of liquid. Stir in the rice. Cover and turn the heat to low.

Meanwhile, put the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. When hot, cook the onion slices, stirring frequently, until they are dark brown but not burned, about 15 minutes. Scoop out the onions and let them drain on paper towels while you finish cooking the lentils and rice.

Check the rice and lentils after 20 minutes. When both are tender and the liquid is absorbed, the dish is ready. If the lentils and rice are not tender, add more liquid, cover, and cook for a few more minutes. If the rice and lentils are soft and there is much liquid remaining, raise the heat a bit and cook, uncovered, stirring, until it evaporates. Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary and serve, garnished with the caramelized onions and parsley.

The lentils and rice make for a very hearty meal. The second meal for meat-free night is Browned Cabbage and Noodles. Michelle loved the sound of this one so we thought we would give it a try.

Browned Cabbage and Noodles

3 pounds cabbage

1 tablespoon salt

1 1/2 sticks butter

3 tablespoons grated onion

2 teaspoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 pound broad noodles, cooked and drained

Wash the cabbage and grate very fine. Mix in the salt and let stand for 2 hours. Rinse, drain and dry the cabbage (you could skip this step if you wanted and just go straight to cooking).

Melt half the butter in a deep large skillet or Dutch oven. Mix in the cabbage, onions, sugar and pepper. Cook over low heat for 1 1/4 hours, stirring frequently. Add the remaining butter after 1 hour. Toss in the cooked noodles until thoroughly mixed with the cabbage. Cook over low heat for 5 minutes.

This recipe serves 6 to 8, so you can adjust the recipe down a bot if you are cooking for a smaller crowd, like I do. There’s not many ingredients in this one, but it does take some time to make it. It’s also a great one pot dish, and I really like those as it cuts down on the clean up afterwards.

So that was Wednesday’s meal, nice and easy. Check back later today for tonight’s meal of Sesame Chicken Stir Fry with Fried Rice and Steamed Vegetables. It promises to be quite tasty. See you later!