One Pot Meals

Since the dawn of time people have been cooking in one vessel, whether they only owned one pot or they were cooking over fire and needed it all in one place. One pot meals, especially in fall and winter are just a smart way to cook with flavors coming together and only one pot to clean, what's not to love. Meet us at the table as we discuss one pot meals.

I'm Lainie and I'm Laura Beth and we are Steel Magnolias, the strength of steel with the grace of a magnolia. We are here to have uplifting conversations about life in the South, and we've got plenty of room at our table, so pull up a chair.

Welcome back to your very seasonal fall episode of Steel Magnolias podcast we are talking, not really a southern topic per se but certainly some of some are really good southern stews and jambalaya.  Oh, we will make it Southern- Don’t you worry about that.  You know, we can find a way to make it southern.  

Who does not need some inspiration with meal planning? I mean, we all get stale. Yeah on that. I remember being so encouraged one time when I was talking to our friend Jackie Gregory, who's a very good cook she does catering and for some reason I had this idea in my head that she made like you know something glorious and brand new every night of every week and she makes the same stuff all the time too. It was just refreshing to know like okay even people who are really good at this still go have their go to meals.  We all have 24 hours in a day. All of us get 24 Yeah. 

Well, I wanted to mention I thought this was interesting because you know, I love to just go dig up even a little history on whatever we're talking about. So you know, again, as we mentioned in the intro, this is like from the dawn of time over campfires that a one pot meal came about.

Well it's funny how as I in my travels or girl I love to watch a cooking show. I'll watch a cooking show about Korea in places about may never get to go to everybody cooks over a fire with one pot. Yes. Every civilization Exactly.  But I did think it was interesting that I read in the 1950s is when one pot meals which they weren't even calling it one pot meals at the time, but they became popular here in the United States. Okay, Because that was a time when more women began to work outside the home. So now they had to get creative fast. You know, fast putting it together and easy clean up. I mean, that's that goes hand in hand. I'm like working or not working. Who doesn't want that? That is singing my love language. Those are great reasons.

Well, so you may hear one pot meal. Now you may hear one skillet meal. You may hear sheet pan. Oh, I'm seeing

that a lot these days. Yeah, magazines, where it just shows the sheet pan.  I actually heard somebody say those are so popular with food bloggers because they're so easy to photograph. Makes sense. You know, it's an aerial shot. And it has everything curvy, so pretty. It's kind of like a shooting a charcuterie board or something. Pretty for food bloggers.

I rarely do a sheet pan though. I have a few go tos that I like better than the sheet pan.  I forget to do it. Yeah, forget that wrong with it, that you can put it all in one pan. So yes, even all of us need reminders. 

But before we even jumped into some specific recipes, I wanted to talk about the vessel. So I prefer a Dutch oven. I love the Dutch oven. Yeah. Especially like an Enameled Cast Iron dutch oven. That's really heavy. You know, my mind's heavy but it's doable. It's a Lodge cast iron. Yeah. And it's, it's just shallow enough for me. It's not a deep pot. What's the other pot that you have? That's more shallow?

Oh, I think you say braiser pan. I love that too. For these kinds of recipe. Well, depends on the recipe.  Yeah, like that one. That one a lot for well, I like that one for some of the recipes that I want to mention is like if I'm cooking like chicken breast with other things like cut up potatoes or cut up carrots. Like it's deep enough to hold all of that. Yeah. but not so deep that it’s hard to manage. It's probably three inches what you say? Yeah, I really like that piece. It is Le Creuset,  But I got it at TJ Maxx. So it was a little cheaper.

Okay, that's good. I'm glad you mentioned that because some of these can vary very drastically in price. Yeah, they can.

And I believe that kind of stuff will outlive me. I may be able to will that to somebody. Yeah. But anyway, yeah, but you can't be the heat distribution with these Enameled Cast Iron dishes . So I did look up what's the top dutch oven picks. I looked up two different sources Food Network, had done some testing. And then there was a New York Times report. So those seem like good sources. So the best overall, was the Lodge six quart Enameled Cast Iron dutch oven, which the one you have yet, which retails for $80. Okay. And so that's an investment to it is but that I just want you to know that that is the low end of these, these vessels.Some of the French ones get even more. Yeah, I don't know if it's just because they're French. I don't know. Yes. So then the New York Times described it as their upgrade pick.

Okay. Would be the like, how do you say it? Le Creuset, The five and a half quart Round Dutch oven, which retails for 360. Wow, I know. I don't know if mine is that big. So in that so that was the Food Network and New York Times those were the top two picks. Both of them had those two as the top two.

Okay. Well, yours does great for 80 bucks. Yeah,

I know.  If you go to the Lodge outlet it might even be cheaper. Yeah, I don't know. Yes. They might run a special.

That's where I actually got mine. So yeah. If you're not used to cooking with one, it can be kind of daunting of like, am I going to be picking this up? They're heavy. They are, I thought about that, you know when I'm 80 am I still gonna be able to reach under the counter and pull this out.  

Yeah, well, you keep yours on the oven top anyway.  Dutch oven, so yeah. 

Well, I think I mean, correct me if I'm wrong, but I guess most soups would be considered one pot meals. Yeah. You know, sometimes I guess we could even start there. I’ve already been on that track because the weather got a little bit cool. So, I start with the soups. Would you consider crock pots or air fryers one pot meals?

I guess you could but I didn't go there. I didn't either, but yeah, I wanted to acknowledge those.

Okay. So this you know, this is our truly oven top sort of discussion today. But yes, oven or in the or in the oven. Yes. You have so many good soups you've made over the years. So yes, let's start with you. And I don't even know if favorite. 

Okay. So if you've listened to this podcast before, you know I love Asian ingredients. Asian foods. Yes, he does. So one soup that I love to make in the winter is called Orange teriyaki beef stew.  Oh, yeah. You've made this for me. Yeah.

So it has like beef chunks to me. Yes. But it also has Chinese Five Spice as the kind of or you know, the flavor gives the Chinese kind of flavor.  Is that hard to find? Now, okay,

any spice Okay, section. Okay. It has bok choy. The other thing that's really interesting is actually at the very, very end you add in some orange slices like without the peel. Yeah, obviously. So that is just a very fall feeling. The bok choy, the beef, the orange. Yes. Anyway, that's yeah, we can link to these in the show. Sure. But that's kind of unusual. So hardy. Yes. But has a unique yummy flavor and it's all in one pot. 

Do you have another Asian one, Miss Asian maker?

Oh, I have lots. Another one I make a lot is it's just called Thai Curry Vegetable. You can add chicken to it if you want or whatever meat you want. But again, bok choy, but this one is chicken broth versus the other ones beef. Okay. And so this one has also coconut milk in it. So it's not just brothy, it's got kind of a medium creamy flavor. Yeah. But it's also okay. for vegetarians case it's okay. Or vegan. But anyway that one's yummy and it has the red curry paste and ginger and garlic to make it have that Thai flavor and fish sauce.

Okay, that's very Thai everything you just described.

Yeah, so it's not complicated to me because those are ingredients I often have. Yeah. Because a lot of recipes I make have that. Yeah, but Thai curry vegetable soup that's another good one. I haven't mastered a good Pho I want to have good Vietnamese food. But I haven't mastered it so I won't share okay, what I've tried Well, I feel like I've got it but the key is you cook the broth for our Yes, yeah. And it's so flavorful. Okay, so I do feel like a lot of the other soups I make people probably already have a good chicken tortilla soup, a good French onion. Those are all pretty kind of easy to find. But those were a couple of the more unique ones I make.

Well and chili everybody's got a good chili recipe. I made a white chicken chili already that is so good to me. What is it navy beans then

what do you use? This one has a can of navy beans. Pinto beans. And how do you say that one cannelini beans? I think so. Yeah. Oh, northern beans. Not pinto beans and it has poblano and set up on it so it's not too spicy but it has that little bit of you know, a little kick Yeah. Anyway, that's it. I couldn't link to that one in the show notes too. Okay, good one

and then you know we would be remiss to not mention jambalaya and gumbo. Well, I didn't want to leave your soup category if you do have any other soups that you need to highlight. Well let's do talk about jambalaya real quick. So chicken and sausage would be a typical meat combo in jambalaya or seafood.  You usually see a land one with chicken and sausage or a seafood one.  That's true. The other

without the seafood based on where you are, might be a little a little more budget friendly to do chicken or chicken and sausage or just sausage, chicken thighs and smoked sausage. This would be like fire roasted tomatoes. Yes, rice,

canned kind of tomato, the fire roasted. I don't know why it's so yummy.

They aren't good. And then the Holy Trinity. We've mentioned that on here before but that is diced onion, bell pepper and celery. That's what the Creole sort of community calls the Holy Trinity. So it's got lots of lively flavor. You've made jambalaya. Do you have a good recipe? Yeah, I

have. I have made it before. The one I just opened up to because I told you I told you all I was ordering the week holiday in Southern Cooking Bible.

I think you got other people to order it too. We got a few messages. It’s so great. I got my USD copy and it looks like it's brand new. I love it. Anyway, her jambalaya recipe I just looked up has the smoked sausage and shrimp so much just ate my words. I said it usually goes land or sea and she put those together. Pick your preference.

But yeah, I think this one looks really good. The one I made I didn't pull that recipe out right here in front of me, but I can look it up. And then I've also made we took a class on gumbo. Yes, so again, gumbo would have the Holy Trinity, like I just mentioned, but it would also have okra in it, which we're gonna have something to thicken it up like you can make a roux. Yes, you can make a roux but you can also use file. You could do that in your pot to begin with. Yes, if you remember, we only had one pot in that cooking class, right? Yes. Yeah. I'm pretty sure we did it all in one pot. So we started with the roux, made that and then started adding all the other ingredients. Yes. Yeah. And then you can make this hot if you want like adding some cayenne pepper and just again, various meat and seafood however you want to make your gumbo. So, those are great ones for winter though and very, you know, very hearty. Yes, I think those are all everything we're mentioning too. But particularly to me, jambalaya, gumbo, things like that are so good to feed a crowd. You don't dirty up a ton of dishes, right but they're getting some good substance and yeah, you don't have to create a bunch of side dishes. to go with it, all in one pot.  You could have a few things to make it spicy or whatever, as additions but yeah, for the most part all in one pot.

Yeah. Now you'll notice I think there's a lot of great soups out there that include a pasta noodle in with them. Now you'll notice I'm not saying that because we haven't really been eating much pasta because my husband has a new gluten sensitivity. So I do think though just soups in general with a noodle in them whether even if it's an egg noodle or something. I've not made this myself but I remember having a wonderful soup that had tortellini and sausage. I've made sausage in it and that was really yummy together. It

was so good. Yes. And did it have some spinach?

Maybe, I can't remember but that was a good one. 

Well, I did find a great list from Southern Living that I'm going to also be linking to that they had some just a good collection of one pot meals. Was this episode that I mean the no came out no, this was old. Okay. Yeah, this was old. But I will say I wanted to highlight one that I saw on the list because it sounds so good. A buffalo ranch chicken broccoli casserole. Now this is one that you prepare everything in a skillet on the stovetop and then put it all in the oven. Okay, so the see again, would be wonderful for this exactly. But yeah, I'll link to that because it had a very good comprehensive list that I wanted to give them credit for.

Another thing similar to making in a Dutch oven, a jambalaya or something is in a skillet you can do a Cajun sausage and rice skillet. So it's similar. Yes. And it has a lot of those same ingredients. The tomatoes, the chicken broth, the rice the andouille sausage. Love andouille sausage. So good too. Low Country. I mean, it can be it makes me think of low country because we had that good red rice in Charleston. Yeah, it would be a one pot meal. Yeah, there's lots of yummy rice dishes. 

So I have some farro in my pantry. Uh huh. Is Philip eating that? Does he like that? It's not opened yet. So this next section is called a recipe I'm about to try. I found one that sounds like it's gonna be really good. It's Tuscan Farro soup. So before we left soups, I just wanted to quickly mention this one too. Because I think Farro is also another good grain that is filling. That you know really helps make you full. If especially if you're not having a lot of meat or you're wanting it to be vegetarian. This one has meat, this one has bacon and farro and carrots, celery and onion, and then any dark leafy greens. So I think they were suggesting a dark kale. Okay, but any dark leafy greens, and then the white beans that you were talking about the cannelini Just some spices,  I won't get into it. But yeah, and then top it with some parmesan cheese.

So let me know if that turns out good. Yeah, I'd like to make that. So that'll be kind of my substitute in my mind of having noodles in there. Yeah, yeah, he eats rice too. I was just wanting to try some Yeah, a little different.

Another thing I like to do, typically in a razor or a deep cast iron skillet, is I like bone in chicken. And that can be faiz breast, any kind, whatever your family likes, or you or your family likes. But I do think the bone in has more flavor. That's what they say. Yeah, we'll get them just the boneless. Yeah. Anyhow, so putting in whatever meat you want. And then bone in chicken or whatever. And then adding in, you could go kind of a themed direction. So like if you wanted to go kind of Mediterranean or Greek, you could just start looking through your pantry. Or, well, this is just sometimes what I do. Yeah, I'm like, Oh, I have olives and feta. And, you know, you could do a greek direction. I wouldn't put the feta on until the very end. But you know, yeah, baking all of that together. Yeah, could even put a little vinaigrette in there or whatever marinade you like, that's kind of Greek. Maybe you just have some roasted potatoes and rosemary and you want to go kind of French, some kind of a creamier sauce. You know, there's so many directions you could go you could go Asian and get like this kind of soy sauces and broccoli and put all that in there and cook it together. Anyway, you could go Mexican.  I like this what you're going bone in chicken plus whatever direction the majority of items in your pantry. Whatever veggies and flavor palette you want to go. I've even used, like, if I didn't have a lot of that kind of stuff I've done like a can of white beans and tomatoes and rosemary. And you know, that's even a nice little flavor. That's so good. I like that. 

That's reminded me of another one I want to try which is a chicken and apples. One pan dish and it's, it's sweet and savory. And it has some bacon in it. So that's where some of the savoriness comes. But it's got some veggies that are paired with sweet apples and cinnamon that sounds yummy. So Fallish to Yes. So it's a good it's a good lean protein meal with fruits and veggies and I think I'm going to try that. So I'll link that to that one too. That's from I heart naptime. That's a site that has a lot of good resource.Oh my gosh, I've seen that before. Yeah, yeah. You know another source that I really love her recipes. It's like budget by to have you ever seen that? Y t s budget bytes.  She has I'm saying she I think it's a she has a lot of wonderful recipes. And she does some that are in one pot I had printed out I haven't made this one yet, but it sounded so good to me. One pot creamy pesto, chicken pasta. Yum. Anyway, it's sun dried tomatoes and spinach and

all that glory. Well, that sounds wonderful. And I just thought of even where I heard of this chicken and Apple recipe was it was featured on the take them a meal. Oh, yeah, yeah, ideas for the week. So this is, again, just to mention, this would be easy to transport to if you were taking you'd put in you want your pot back, obviously. But if you're taking a meal to someone, this is also a good these are good recipes to or transport it from your Dutch oven to just a plastic. You know, foil dish. Let them keep it.  You can't keep my Dutch Oven though, Ive gotta have that back. 

I love the direction of Indian kind of flavors to where you can make like, our small group leader makes butter chicken. Okay. That's an Indian dish. Yes. And so I've made it a couple of times now. And we can link to that in the show notes. But it's very easy and t's got the onion, curry, garlic, ginger, butter. All of that, hence the name and then you add in your broth, and it has tomato puree and heavy cream. Ooh. So things like this wonderful curry cream sauce. It was healthy until you got to the butter and cream. 

And then I also have a really good recipe for spicy vegan potato curry. So it's a curry dish, but it's vegan. So if I'm not eating certain things in a season or feeding someone who doesn't, right, I can get you the that's a really, really good option because yes, it's hearty and yeah. Warm for the fall.I love that.

I love using sausage too. Do you remember that recipe I make the recipe is super awkward because I'll tell you the reason. It came from one of those Pampered Chef booklets you get at a Pampered Chef party. And the way they write out the recipe, no offense Pampered Chef, I know you're just trying to push your products, but it names the specific tool and pan and I don't have any of them.  I know exactly what you're talking and so yes. In that sense, I just know now how to make and I don't even look at that recipe anymore. But it uses someone with the orzo pasta. So it uses it looks kind of like orzo pasta, but it's arborio rice. Yes. And you cook it in chicken broth or stock. So that makes it soak up all that flavor of this. It has sun dried tomatoes, and then you use Italian sausage.  I want to make this I can't I can't believe I forgot this. This is one of my favorite things you make. Yes.

So anyway, we can link to that. But if I think I can find it from that little booklet I have but just y'all know you're gonna have to tweak it unless you have 25 Pampered Chef tools literally listed in the recipe. Yes. You're a Pampered Chef top seller. Yes. You put Parmesan on top- girl?. Yes. So good. I love that one. And there's different ways you can tweak that to with what you have. But I love it's a good fall recipe.

I love it. And the others. You are surrounded by open binders, papers so fun things are tucked everywhere right now. Well,

I didn't go into desserts. Well, I wanted to talk about desserts too. Yeah, okay.

But I do think cast iron skillet desserts are such a beautiful thing because it keeps it warm for a while when it comes out hot. In fact, you can transport it and it will stay warm for a long time. Like I love that about it. Yeah. And it looks cool. It does when I entered a pie contest and my apple pie that I made was in the cast iron skillet. And I just thought it was like the coolest thing ever. And well, that's pretty easy. They're

doing a pie contest again. Just so you know, they announced it at church. Well, yeah, so you're talking about even the skillet, but then even I think it's really yummy in a Dutch oven to make cobblers. Okay, so I've got a recipe for I've never done that a peach cobbler. I've done even a peach cobbler in a skillet on the grill too. Before that was good. That was a good summer thing. Now that it's fall I also have a good apple cobbler recipe that you make in the Dutch oven. Now, I guess I should qualify you are going to have to mix your dry ingredients in a small mixing bowl. So dirty something else this is probably already disqualifying me, but it is just those two things. It's the mixing bowl for your dry ingredients because you have to mix up your flour. Yeah, and your but you're gonna like get them to a place where you're just going to dollup around. Yeah. Anyway, yes. Don't forget that you can make desserts in one pot too. 

I haven't made it but it looks so good. This is It's old a big a couple of years old cast iron fall baking it's like a Oh yeah, like a magazine magazine. This one's from 2019 I just now pulled it out and it looks so good. Salted Caramel blondies, oh my lowered so it uses you make a salted caramel sauce that you bake this whole thing in a cast iron skillet. So you're dirty and more than just yell it to for this fine. But anyway, it has chopped up pretzels in it sounds so good to me with the sweet and the salty. Love those together. That is like the best. So anyhow, okay, that sounds good to see. Now that we've talked in caramel and desserts, unlike other bowls getting dirty or fine.  Well, it's so funny. On this one it says kitchen tip no square skillet, use a 10 inch round skillet and I'm like, I forget people have square skillets I didn't even I just who cares if one of them's weird shaped? I'll eat that one. Doesn't bother me at all. Yeah. Interesting. Well, we could go on and on. But I think we've cut we've hopefully given a little new inspiration. I agree. Thanks. You can dive into Yeah, this week or this month.  Fall is the time to do it. Just start getting ready for winter and start practice in some of your one pot meals now to know what you're gonna make again and again. And it's getting into that time of sweetening things with sorghum and molasses are so many wonderful flavors that are from close to home. There are I love it too good mentioned to. Okay, well we hope that you guys have a great week and we will see you right back here next time until then, Lainie, Peace be with you. Awww, and also with y’all!