Sometimes it helps to keep the main cooking in one pot or skillet. This little selection moves from chicken and rice to bean chili, lentil soup and sausage with kale. The shared idea is fewer main cooking vessels; the liquids, additions and finishing steps still belong to each individual dinner.
4 recipes · Quick & easy
Illustrative serving idea.
A few ideas for the week.
Choose a main dish with one cooking vessel while seeing whether it needs a covered simmer, a soup pot or a broiler finish.
Choose portions and review ingredients before confirming anything in your pantry.
Rice cooks with the chicken and broth in a deep skillet, which then goes under the broiler to melt the cheddar.
The little job to plan for: Have the lid or covering ready before you need it. Follow the covered and uncovered parts of the method in their own order, especially when the finish changes partway through.
How it begins: Use a deep, oven-safe skillet with a 3-quart capacity.
At the finish: Serve hot.
Check the list for: Onion, Chicken breast, Rice, Dried thyme.
Onion and pepper soften in the pot before beans and tomatoes are added for an uncovered simmer.
The little job to plan for: The bean-mashing step changes how the mixture holds together or thickens. Do it where the method calls for it, then look at the texture before deciding what to do next.
How it begins: Dice onion and pepper.
At the finish: Divide into bowls and top with cheddar.
Check the list for: Black beans, Canned tomatoes, Onion, Bell pepper.
Sausage is browned first, then lentils, vegetables, tomatoes and broth simmer in the same pot.
The little job to plan for: Look through the first cooking step and have its ingredients ready before you begin. It is easier to give the pan your attention when you are not still looking for the next item.
How it begins: Brown crumbled sausage and chopped onion in a pot until sausage reaches 160°F.
At the finish: Simmer 30–40 minutes until lentils are tender, stirring and adding water as needed.
Check the list for: Italian sausage, Lentils, Carrots, Onion.
The skillet progresses from browned sausage to wilted kale, chickpeas, marinara and a covered cheese-melting stage.
The little job to plan for: Look through the first cooking step and have its ingredients ready before you begin. It is easier to give the pan your attention when you are not still looking for the next item.
How it begins: Squeeze the sausage from the casings into a large skillet (freeze the remaining links for later use).
At the finish: Place a lid on the skillet and let it simmer until the cheese is melted (about 5-10 minutes).
Check the list for: Italian sausage, Kale, Chickpeas, Marinara sauce.
The creamy chicken-and-rice skillet cooks its rice with broth. Keep those liquid amounts and that sequence together.
Have the lid ready
Some of these dinners use a covered stage. Set out the right lid or covering before cooking reaches that point.
Check the final heat source
The creamy skillet finishes under the broiler. Read through to the end, so that last step fits your equipment as well as the pan.
Before the shop
Check what is already in the kitchen
One cooking vessel does not mean no preparation bowls or utensils. The creamy chicken-and-rice recipe uses an oven-safe skillet and a broiler finish; check that equipment before choosing it.
A couple of useful questions
How do I choose one for tonight?
Start with the ingredients and cooking job you want. The notes beside each recipe show the preparation to plan for; open that recipe for the complete method before getting started.
What should I check before shopping?
Choose the dinners you want to make, then compare their full ingredient lists with what is already in the kitchen. Keep different prepared products, sauces and ingredient forms separate when checking the amounts.
Make it your kind of week.
Review dates, portions and what is already in the pantry before saving your meals or grocery additions.
