Category: One Pot Meals

Potato Soup

I adore a good, creamy soup on a cold day. One of my favorites has always been potato soup. I find it comforting for some reason. I guess you could say that if I were to list my favorite ‘comfort foods’, potato soup would be in the top 5.

I like to top my potato soup with grated cheddar and bacon. Knowing that I’d need a roux to thicken the soup, I chose to cook the bacon in the same dutch oven that I intended to make my soup in (then I had the bacon fat to make my roux and all the yummy bits that were left in the pan to help season my soup). I used thick sliced bacon, cut into smaller pieces (I think this is easier than frying it whole and then crumbling it, if you know you want it crumbled. And, the bacon gets crisper).

You can use any potatoes, of course, but I like russet potatoes the best. I use 6-8 potatoes, chopped to similar sized cubes.

Once my bacon was done, I removed it from the dutch oven and set it aside. The bacon I used left about 4 tbsp of oil. To that I added the same amount of flour to create my roux. I did a light roux, so I only cooked it for a few minutes.

After the roux was done, I added in the chicken stock. This was the time that I was able to deglaze the dutch oven. I stirred the mixture through and let the roux combine with the chicken stock, prior to adding in the milk. And, finally the potatoes. Once it was all warmed through, I added in the salt, pepper and butter. I turned down the heat (because my dutch oven holds heat so well, I can’t have it up too high or it will boil over), covered the dutch oven and cooked the soup for about 30 minutes – stirring occasionally.

To help make the soup ‘souper’ (see what I did there?) creamy, I used my immersion blender to blend some of the potatoes. I do like some chunky potatoes in my soup, so I only blended some.

I served the soup topped with cheddar cheese and the bacon I cooked earlier.

Potato Soup

6-8 russet potatoes
6 slices of thick cut bacon, cut into small pieces
3-4 tbsp flour
4 cups chicken stock
4 cups milk
2 1/2 tbsp butter
2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
Grated sharp cheddar cheese

  • Cook bacon, until crisp (reserve bacon grease)
  • Remove bacon, set aside
  • Chop potatoes into smallish cubes
  • Depending on how much bacon grease is left (should be around 3 tbsp or 4 tbsp), add same amount of flour and create a roux
  • Once your roux is done, add in chicken stock and stir though to incorporate
  • Add milk and potatoes
  • Add in salt and pepper
  • Cook until potatoes are soft
  • For a creamier soup, use an immersion blender to blend some of the potatoes
  • Serve with cheese and bacon

by Michelle

Bang Bang Shrimp Pasta

I’ve seen this on the menu at several restaurants, all slightly different – grilled shrimp, fried shrimp, broiled shrimp, for example – but, the one thing that seems to stay the same is the bang bang sauce.

I knew that the bang bang sauce had mayonnaise (I know that seems odd for pasta, but trust me, it’s good!), sweet chili sauce and sriarcha. I decided to add a little garlic, red pepper flakes and a little bit of lime juice to mine.

Another thing that I’ve seen varied is the type of pasta. I chose to add linguine. To me – spaghetti is too thin to really ‘hold’ the sauce and short pastas just don’t seem ‘right’ to me. So linguine it was!

Since I was cooking just for myself (probably for my lunch and my dinner), I decided to make this recipe a ‘for two’ (or 1 really hungry person!) recipe. So, all of my ingredients are sized accordingly. I could have made a larger dish, but I don’t love reheating shrimp.

I use frozen shrimp, so I took out enough shrimp for the dish and defrosted them in cold water.

While the shrimp were defrosting, I started my pasta. I added about 1/2 of a full box of linguine to well salted, boiling water.

While the pasta was cooking, I put together my bang bang sauce – I’m not going to lie – I could have eaten this by the spoon! It’s GOOD! As noted above, I used mayonnaise, sweet chili sauce, sriracha, red pepper flakes, garlic and a bit of lime juice.

And, I just whisked it all together and set it aside.

After my shrimp were thawed, I sauteed them in a hot pan with 1/2 tbsp of butter.

Just before putting them in the pan, I seasoned them with a little bit of salt and pepper (I didn’t want to use any seasonings that would compete with the bang bang sauce).

It doesn’t take long to cook shrimp, so don’t walk away!

By the time my sauce was done and my shrimp were cooked, my pasta was done. I have a pasta pot, with the pasta insert, which makes it so easy when you’re ready to toss pasta into a pan with the sauce.

I just drained the pasta and poured it into the skillet with the shrimp. Then I added in the bang bang sauce (in hind sight, I probably would have added the bang bang sauce to the shrimp first).

With tongs, I just stirred everything through.

Because I like spice, I added a few more red pepper flakes and sriracha, before eating!

Bang Bang Shrimp Pasta (for 2)

1/2 box linguine
12-15 shrimp (can use frozen – defrost prior to cooking)
1/2 tbsp butter
salt and pepper

Sauce
1/4 cup mayonnaise
3 tbsp sweet chili sauce
1/2 – 1 tsp sriracha (I used a little more than that)
1/2 tsp minced garlic
1/4 tsp lime juice
Red pepper flakes, to taste

  • Cook pasta, per directions on box
  • Salt and pepper your shrimp, and then saute in butter, in a large skillet (you’re going to add your pasta into the skillet, later)
  • To make sauce, mix all ingredients together in a bowl
  • Once your pasta and shrimp are done, add pasta and bang bang sauce to the skillet and mix through
by Michelle

Easy Mac and Cheese for 2

I’m not ashamed to admit that I love regular old boxed mac and cheese. But, sometimes, I want something a little creamier. I was home alone, so I needed to make something for just me. I decided that mac and cheese was just the thing! This is so simple that I am not even going to write it up as a ‘recipe’ – just give you directions as I go.

3 simple ingredients: Pasta (any kind you want, I chose penne and cooked about 1/2 the box), milk (1/4 cup) and Velveeta cheese (about 6 oz).

I just boiled my pasta.

And cut the cheese into squares.

When the pasta was done, I drained it and returned it to the pot. I also reduced the heat to low. I added in the milk and cheese and stirred until all the cheese was melted.

Add salt and pepper, if you like. These measurements makes enough for 2 servings.

by Michelle

Homemade Sloppy Joes

I remember eating Sloppy Joes when I was a little girl – but, the canned kind. And, I’ve eaten them plenty as an adult – again, the canned kind. I’ve always loved Sloppy Joes – so I’m not sure why it has taken me so long to try my hand at making homemade Sloppy Joes.

I started by finely dicing a 1/2 an onion.

In a hot pan, I added a little bit of olive oil, the diced onion and some minced garlic. I cooked until the onions started to soften.

I then added in the ground beef and seasonings. I used a 93% lean ground beef, so there was no need to drain it after browning.

To the browned meat, I added in ketchup, mustard, worcestershire sauce and brown sugar.

I added more after this pic, so ignore the portioning 🙂

I let the Sloppy Joe mixture simmer for about 15 minutes (you could certainly simmer longer, but I was hungry!).

I eat my Sloppy Joe’s on a bun, with mayonnaise.

Sloppy Joes

1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
1/2 onion, finely diced
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 cup ketchup
1/3 cup mustard
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
1 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic powder
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp olive oil

  • In olive oil, soften onion and garlic
  • Add in ground beef and brown
  • Add in remaining ingredients and simmer for 15-30 minutes
by Michelle

Easy Black Bean Soup

I love cooler weather, partly because I love soup and stews and cooler weather makes it more ‘acceptable’ to cook soups and stews more often. I would, honestly, eat soups year round – but, they do taste better when there is a little nip in the air.

For black bean soup, you could certainly start with dried black beans – but, this is a recipe for a quick and easy black bean soup. That said, I used canned black beans (the picture shows 3 cans, but I actually used 4). Along with the black beans, I added in some carrots, onion, celery and a jalapeno. As far as seasonings, I kept it simple – just cumin and salt. I diced all the vegetables pretty small.

I actually used 4 cans of black beans

In a large pot, I warmed a bit of olive oil. To that, I added in the chopped vegetables and seasonings.

I allowed the vegetables to cook until the vegetables started to soften.

Finally, I added in the black beans and beef stock.

I also remembered that I had a jar of roasted red peppers in the refrigerator (it was about 3/4 full). I drained them and threw that in.

Since I chopped the vegetables pretty small, it doesn’t take long to cook this soup – but, it is good to let it simmer long enough for all the flavors to meld. I would say let it simmer for at least 30 minutes.

This soup is great on it’s own – but, you can add any variety of toppings if you like. I topped mine with a little bit of sour cream.

Also – this recipe is super easy to make vegetarian – just use vegetable stock, in place of the beef stock!

Easy Black Bean Soup

2 carrots, chopped small
1 stalk of celery, chopped small
1/2 onion, diced
1 jalapeno, seeded and diced small
1 tbsp minced garlic
4 cans black beans, undrained
6-8 oz roasted red peppers
1 carton (4 cups) beef stock (or vegetable stock, if you want it to be vegetarian)
1 tbsp cumin
1 tsp salt
1 tsp olive oil

  • Prep vegetables
  • In large pot, add olive oil and heat
  • Add in onion, garlic, celery, carrots and jalapeno
  • Add in seasonings and stir through
  • Add in the stock, black beans and roasted red peppers, bring to boil
  • Once boil is achieved, cover and reduce heat.
  • Let simmer for at least 30 minutes

Soup can be served with various toppings: sour cream, cheese, avocado or chips

by Michelle