I’M NOT A GREAT COOK, but I’m competent at a few things. All I have is a one-burner stove, so I can’t get too fancy. And when I can, I prepare enough for several meals.
I don’t know how the culinary world would characterize my single-pot creation. Does it matter? For me it’s the foundation for a variety of meals. It can be filling for tacos, burritos, empanadas, or meat pies. It could be a Sloppy Joe type sandwich. It can be the base for chili or a stew, or it could be spooned over pasta or rice. It might make a decent shepherds pie. And it’s good when scrambled up with eggs. Or, if I’m extra lazy, just eat it as is. It’s particularly good during the cooler seasons.
Here’s how I make it
(This is an omnivore recipe. A plant based version could be done, I suppose. I just have no experience with it.)
In a 2-quart pot I brown about a half of an onion and sometimes a handful of sliced mushrooms.
I add some chorizo, usually Cacique brand from Walmart, about a third of the stick. If chorizo isn’t available where you are, some hot Italian sausage could work. Or you could skip this step. I sometimes do.
Next comes a pound of some kind of ground meat. Beef, pork, chicken, turkey, plant-based imitation — whichever. I crumble it up with a potato masher as it cooks.
Now it’s time for seasoning. Salt and pepper, of course, and garlic powder (or actual garlic). Then whatever I have that sounds good. I like spicy food, so I’m likely to add some chili-lime salt (Tajin) or fajita seasoning. Sometimes some liquid smoke. Often hot sauce. (Salsa Huichol is my favorite.)
Then I add some form of tomato-based sauce. Straight tomato sauce, pizza sauce, or salsa. Whatever I have around at the time. If you’re not into tomato sauces, then gravy or broth would probably be good. I’ve just never done it that way.
Sometimes I might add pinto beans, or black beans, or refried beans, or maybe Hungry Jack dehydrated hash browns (dry, so they rehydrate with the juices in the pot), or corn, carrots, bell peppers, celery — again, whatever I have that might taste good. Maybe some bacon bits. Maybe all of the above.
I cook it on medium-low heat until all the meat is done and the flavors have blended. If I haven’t overdone the liquids, it’s thick enough for a spoon to stand in it, thick enough to work as the aforementioned taco filling. I end up with enough for a half dozen meals.
I have two containers of this stuff in the fridge right now. One is ground chicken with refried beans (as shown in the burrito), the other is ground pork with hash browns (which is great with the aforementioned eggs).
Do you have a similar one-pot concoction? If so, what goes into yours?
I love it! Growing up me mum would refer to her version of this as “Concoction”. “Mum what’s for tea?” “CONCOCTION!!!” And my dad would roll his eyes… But I do a version much like this and yes, it works in so many ways (sometimes tight out of the saucepan…). Love it!
My children always complained: “mixed food!” I called it a casserole. I’m 74 and still love one pot meals, but now I focus more on vegetables. Nicely presented recipe article.
Wow. Thais is a fantastic recipe/process. I got lots of ideas to use with my one pot thing. Happy to know others cook this way.
This is my “I hate cooking” meal:
1 pound Ground sirloin
Can of black beans
Can of kidney beans
Can of fire roasted diced tomatoes
Cup of white rice
2 cups of water
Lots of salt and pepper and especially cayenne pepper and/or chili powder
I cook the meat, beans, and spices for awhile and then stir in the rice near the end.
I use low fat beef because I don’t brown or drain the meat. Sirloin is 90/10. Just right.
One of the travel blogs I read has lots of directions for making stoup–sort of stew and sort of soup. Check it out: https://ofmadventures.blogspot.com/search?q=stoup
That sounds delicious.
Have you tried mock tuna salad? All you do is substitute a can of Garbanzo beans – mashed – rather than tuna. I eat it with chips however I’ve eaten it as a sandwich too. I usually boil the beans for about 10 mins to make them softer but it’s not necessary.
I like vegan food!
You could just use refried beans and skip the meat.
You could use tofu.
Or you could just use textured vegetable protein. There are enough seasonings in the recipe that it would work instead of the hamburger.
Alex, there was a recipe for mock tuna casserole that used garbanzos in one of the last print magazines of Vegetarian Times. It sounded amazing, so maybe it’s still online?
Really enjoyed this!!! Thank you for sharing, I’m going to try to make some version.
Check out steve wallis on you tube. He does camping videos and has done a lot of one pot meals
I fry potatoes and add apples and red onion, sometimes that’s it, or I add sausage links or keilbasa. My kids called it Mess
In French, apple is pomme and potato is pomme de terre, which literally translates as apple of the ground. So I suppose it’s perfectly natural to mix apples and potatoes.
Probably started out as all that was left in the cupboard, but hey…hit the easy button as much as you can!
I make what I call “dogs dinner”. I boil my potatoes first, then cook hamburger, onions, and bell peppers, mix in the potatoes and add a can of mushroom soup.