Easy and Delicious One-Dish Dinners
Dishes such as these are a perfect way to recycle yesterday’s leftovers into a flavorful, budget-friendly meal for today. Try these mouthwatering one-dish wonders!
Busy families have neither the time nor energy to prepare an elaborate dinner, then do the dishes. And now more than ever, “easy” is the order of the day. Having a few one-dish dinner options may be just what’s in order.
Whether you prefer cooking in a cast-iron skillet, roast pan, or crockpot, one-dish dinners make life simpler in a number of ways. Combine a protein, starch, and some veggies to form a soup, stew, or casserole, and you have a nutritious, well-balanced meal.
Dishes such as these are a perfect way to recycle yesterday’s leftovers into a flavorful, budget-friendly meal for today. In addition, many one-dish dinners can be prepared in advance and stored in the refrigerator or freezer for times when you need a quick meal. And possibly the biggest plus of a one-dish dinner is the smaller pile of dirty dishes waiting for you after the meal is over.
Try these mouthwatering one dish wonders!
Delicious One-Dish Dinners
Cornbread Taco Pie
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 onion, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 15- ounce can diced tomatoes, undrained
- 15- ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained (optional)
- 8- ounce can taco sauce
- 1 cup corn (frozen or canned)
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1 jalapeno pepper, minced (optional)
- 11- ounce can refrigerated corn breadstick dough
- 1 cup Jack Cheese, shredded
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. In a large oven-safe cast-iron skillet, brown ground beef with onion, and garlic; drain well.
- Add tomatoes, beans (if using), taco sauce, corn, chili powder, cumin, and jalapeno pepper. Heat to boiling.
- Top with corn breadstick dough rounds (do not unroll), pressing down gently. Sprinkle with cheese and oregano.
- Bake 35-45 minutes until top is golden brown. When it’s out of the oven, top with sour cream, green onions, cilantro, or whatever toppings you like, and serve. Makes 6 servings.
- *Note: Corn breadstick dough by Pillsbury has been discontinued in some areas. You can make your own cornbread mixture using 1 cup cornmeal, 1 cup baking mix (such as Bisquick), 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, 2 eggs, and 1.5 cups buttermilk. Mix and dollop over meat mixture; spread into thin layer. Bake for 10 minutes, then add the cheese and oregano and bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown.
Crockpot Pasta Fagioli
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cup chopped onion
- 5 garlic cloves, chopped
- 28- ounce can tomatoes, chopped
- 3 cups chicken broth
- Chopped parsley
- Salt and pepper
- 2/3 cup elbow macaroni, cooked
- 1 can red or white kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- Grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Sauté onion and garlic in olive oil until tender. In crockpot, combine tomatoes, broth, and sautéed onion and garlic.
- Add parsley, salt, and pepper to taste. Cover and cook on low setting for approximately 3 hours.
- Add cooked macaroni and beans, and heat on low an additional 30 minutes until hot. Serve with grated Parmesan cheese.
Greek Shrimp and Rice
Ingredients
- 7 ounce package rice pilaf mix
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 onion chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon dried mint leaves
- 12 -ounce can shrimp, drained, reserving broth
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 14 -ounce can diced tomatoes, drained
- 2 -ounce can chopped kalamata olives
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- In a large skillet over medium heat, sauté rice, onions, and garlic in olive oil until rice is light golden brown.
- Add oregano, mint, reserved shrimp broth, water, and rice pilaf seasoning packet. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to low.
- Cover and simmer 10-15 minutes until rice is tender.
- Stir in shrimp, tomatoes, and olives. Simmer an additional 8-10 minutes until thoroughly heated.
- Sprinkle with cheese and serve. Makes 4 servings.
Chicken Vegetable Stew with Dumplings
Ingredients
- 2 (2 1/2 – 3 pound) broiler-fryer chickens, cut up
- 4 cups water
- 1 1/2 cups chopped celery
- 1 1/2 cups chopped carrots
- 1 1/2 cups chopped onion
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1 cup cold water
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1 10 ounce package frozen peas
- 1 10 ounce can mushrooms, undrained
- Parsley
Instructions
- Place chicken pieces in a Dutch oven.
- Add 4 cups water, celery, carrots, onions, salt, thyme, and pepper. Bring to boil.
- Reduce heat, cover, and simmer 35-45 minutes or until chicken is nearly tender. Skim off fat.
- Blend 1 cup water and flour together and then stir into chicken mixture.
- Stir in frozen peas and mushrooms. Cook, stirring gently until thickened and bubbly.
- Drop herb dumplings dough (see recipe below) by tablespoon onto stew.
- Cover and simmer 15 minutes without lifting lid. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.
Herb Dumplings
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme or sage (crushed)
- 3/4 cup sour cream
- 3/4 cup milk
- 2 tablespoons oil
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking powder, salt, and thyme or sage.
- In another bowl, mix sour cream, milk, and oil.
- Add sour cream mixture to dry ingredients, and stir until dry ingredients are moistened. Makes 8 dumplings.
DV
Dondra Vaughn
- Dondra Vaughn#molongui-disabled-link
- Dondra Vaughn#molongui-disabled-link
- Dondra Vaughn#molongui-disabled-link
- Dondra Vaughn#molongui-disabled-link
These “recipes” look terrific. Thanks for sharing.
I would really like to see some PRESSURE COOKER recipes/instructions. Pressure cookers are fast (save on Hydro and cook efficiently), retain all the natural flavors and nutrients, use no fat or oils and are a far healthier alternative to frying etc. Power Pressure Cooker XL and Instant Pot have sold many millions of units in North America in the past four years. These units are not only pressure cookers but they are rice cookers, and slow cookers as well. They are also very affordable.
When I find a recipe that I want to copy, I just high light it, hit right click, and print comes up, so just click on print and it’s done. I clicked on email but it will email all of the article which I don’t need or want. Very good article but there are just certain recipes that I want to keep.
Kinda after the pt, but you can email these results ides to yourself! Go to top of page and see share icons. Choose the envelope and send to yourself!
These are awesome and easily modified for the more health conscious (you know who you are, quit complaining). As some families don’t like corn bread you could do drop biquits and the like. I would not bake a dumpling, but switch it out for something else entirely if your family doesn’t like them. Hey, you can copy and paste this page or simple save the link….or like our grandparents did…write it down. Xo
COOKING TOMATOES IN CAST IRON
“A well-seasoned pan can handle acidic foods with impunity. Mark does caution, though, against jumping into menu plans with tomatoes while using a newly purchased Lodge product. “If the seasoning is very good, you can prepare dishes with tomatoes and other acidic foods, but it’s best to wait until your piece is well-seasoned.” Recipes including very acidic foods, like tomatoes and citrus juices, should not be cooked in seasoned cast iron until the cookware is highly seasoned. The high acidity of these foods will strip the seasoning and result in discoloration and metallic-tasting food. “
There’s nowhere to share this to my page so I can have it, would you please e-mail it & any others to me. BTW, this dish sounds wonderful, can’t wait to try it! Thank you in advance.
For the Cornbread Taco Casserole, I use a box of Jiffy Cornbread mix, prepared and bake the whole casserole according to the box directions.
How is it that a whole family does not like corn bread or is it that You don’t like like it? You need to have it more often and have different jams or with honey.
How does a Family not like corn bread or is that You don’t like it and spread to the whole family?
Why are people asking to be emailed the recipes when they are right here and can be copied and pasted?
These recipes look great, could you email them to me. Thanks
Please email recipes! Thank you! Or if you have cookbook I would be interested!
Can you just use crescent rolls on top instead of corn bread, as my family doesn’t like corn bread.
can you bake those herb dumplings and eat them seperately?
Make these recipes healthier:
1. Use only water or veggie stock in place of any meat stock.
2. Use either starch or animal proteins in a meal, not both! Substitute bacon or sausage for any meat (or go veggie and use beans, eggplant, or mushrooms instead of meat), or keep meat and use protein flour in place of wheat flour. To keep meat in pasta/noodle recipes, use carb-free noodles or rice, or make your own noodles with protein flour. If keeping starches, any tomatoes in recipe must be raw.
Try simple substitutions like these consistently–every meal, every day–for one week and see how much better you feel.