one saucepan cooking

GFN123

I love one pot cooking (who doesn't like less washing up & cheaper bills!).

The following recipe is great as you can use basically anything, including leftovers.

You need:
One saucepan with lid
Rice - half a cup per person
Meat - any, leftovers, already cooked stuff like ham, or none, if veggie!
Veg - again any, even leftovers, frozen etc. Ideal if you have onions and garlic, as they make a nice base but can do without.
Any herbs and spices you have
Stock cube or powder of any variety if you have it

If using onions and garlic, chop finely and gently fry first. If not, fry off any uncooked veg, again chopped fairly small as the cooking time is not long. If none applies, chuck the rice in the pan!

If using uncooked meat, again chop small and fry this off till basically cooked. I find using bacon works perfectly and is cheap as you get a lovely smoky salty flavour.

You will need to add boiling, not cold, water to the rice, so you do need to boil a kettle. You need 2x water to rice, so for one person, one cup of water to the half cup of rice you have used.

Add boiling water.
Add whatever else you are using - the leftovers, flavourings such as herbs or spices, cooked meat, stock. Basically whatever you have or whatever you like.

Cover with lid, simmer for around 10 mins then check. You may need a splash more water and usually it is completely done in under 15 mins. Apart from one check, keep lid on while cooking!

What you end up with is basically a 'custom risotto' type dish! It's quick, easy, cheap and can be very healthy.

I love it with stock cubes, bacon, peas and leeks if I have them. I've also done more Asian style with chicken, garlic, ginger and soy sauce as the flavours. It's kind of endless, and I always make enough to have lunch the next day I've used all sorts of random stuff from the fridge or freezer and it's always been tasty. The rice absorbs the flavours and makes a very satisfying dish.

tina_malteser

gr8 ideas and thanks for your replys...unless anybody gifts me a pressure cooker or steamer i will carryonwithmy tins at at no extra cost, and if i was really switched on i could have wrapped the chicken breast in cling film, twisted and then poached it:beer:

lostinrates

tina_malteser wrote: »

gr8 ideas and thanks for your replys...unless anybody gifts me a pressure cooker or steamer i will carryonwithmy tins at at no extra cost, and if i was really switched on i could have wrapped the chicken breast in cling film, twisted and then poached it:beer:

I have used my colander in the past (in a big saucepan that covered all the holes) and I usually use a plate as my steamer lid as the lid is never where I left it, so it's possible to improvise.

Need2bthrifty

lostinrates wrote: »

Hehehe, best misread of my 'name' ever. Thank you for making me grin!

My apologies Lostinrates, not that I had lost interest in what you were saying just goes to show that I shouldn't respond to a post when I am stressed or tired - Sorry

lostinrates

Need2bthrifty wrote: »

My apologies Lostinrates, not that I had lost interest in what you were saying just goes to show that I shouldn't respond to a post when I am stressed or tired - Sorry

Nothing to apologise for, I think it was brilliant

VfM4meplse

Wow, I feel as if I've stepped back into the 1970s after reading this thread.

Curries are often one-pot dishes, and have the added advantage of tasting nice!

lostinrates

VfM4meplse wrote: »

Wow, I feel as if I've stepped back into the 1970s after reading this thread.

Curries are often one-pot dishes, and have the added advantage of tasting nice!

I wasn't about in the seventies I am afraid, but I still loved steamed foods, and curries. Simple steamed fish and beautiful veg is delicious in a totally opposite way to curry.

(ATM I cannot eat curry at all, for some reason my medication seems to dislike many spices, so for me curry arm is out )

But yes, there are loads of totally amazing one pot dishes, as well as ways to use a one pot and go upwards.

Sambucus_Nigra

Most of my meals are one pot - as we don't usually have carbs no need for rice or pasta at all. I follow the procedure in post 12 for loads of dishes - just without the meat. Just have a cabbage based salad on the side for crunch and a carby look even if there are no carbs there.

Pink.

We have an existing thread with lots of ideas that may help. Some of them are for oven cooking, but work just as well on the hob:

Your favourite one pot recipe?

I'll add this thread to that one later.

One of my favourite ones is stew made with mince...

Dry fry mince, it creates it's own fat so no need to add any.
Add a diced onion into the mince and brown it slightly.
Add loads of diced carrots.
Add potatoes...cut some small and leave some large. The small ones will disolve and thicken the stew, the larger ones will leave big chunks of potato in your stew.
Add a stock cube and season with lots of pepper, worcester sauce and brown sauce to your taste.

Really cheap comfort food for a wintery night.

Pink

triticale

A firm favourite with the kids is 'camping pasta' (originated as an easy meal on the mini stove on holiday), we actually had this for tea last night with some garlic bread, yum.

- In large pan, boil pasta shapes (twirls, tubes, shells). Drain (using lid) leaving pasta in pan.
- Add jar of value/basics tomato pasta sauce, some chopped hot dog sausages and a tin of drained sweetcorn.
- Heat gently, stirring, until piping hot throughout.
- Add grated cheese and serve.

Can be amended according to taste and what you have in. Have used chopped ham, leftover roast chicken bits, leftover cooked broccoli etc before.

Just one pan to wash up, it's a winner for me!