one-skillet dinners Archives - The Midnight Baker

Tuscan Chicken

Judith Hannemann — Sun, 14 Feb 2021 00:00:06 +0000

Tuscan chicken is a great for when you want real food in little time.

Tuscan Chicken Is Real Food Fast

There’s just days where you don’t want to fuss but want real food. Instead of calling for take-out consider this easy chicken dish.

It’s easy to make and ready in no time at all. Another plus is that you can get to use those dehydrated sun-dried tomatoes you bought a while a go for something else. That always happens to me so I’m always glad to use something up. This time, it was the sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil that I had on the door shelf of my fridge. Trust me, I was glad to finally use them. And since most of us have some frozen spinach lurking in the freezer, this is another good place for it. Of course, if you have fresh baby spinach for salads, you’re all set too.

Brown Chicken Strips Without Overcooking

Browning chicken strips without overcooking the chicken has been an age-old problem for me. I make a lot of Asian stir fries and even though they may have tasted very good, the chicken was always overcooked.

However, I learned a great way to stop this happening. I was watching a video of Mary Berry making her Malay Rice recipe and she gave out her secret: drizzle the chicken strips with about a teaspoon of honey. This is brilliant and I’ve used this technique many times since. Yes, you will get a slight sweetness, but the trade-off is worth it. The honey will caramelize and make the chicken brown before it has a chance to overcook!

Excellent With…

Pasta of course! But this is also nice over rice or quinoa. Even serve it over biscuits if you have some in the freezer or in a can in the fridge.

The Recipe

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Tuscan Chicken

Tasty and easy chicken dinner

Prep Time10

Cook Time15

Course: Dinner, Main, Main Course

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: browning chicken strips without overcooking, dinners ready in 15 minutes, quick tuscan chicken recipe

Servings: 4

Calories: 445kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts cut in strips
2 tbs olive oil
1 clove garlic finely minced
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 cup frozen chopped spinach thawed and drained
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes cut in strips
1/2 cup grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
1/2 cup chicken stock
1 cup heavy cream
Salt & pepper to taste

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook until no pink remains and it begins to get brown (see hint for browning in post).
Remove chicken from the skillet and set aside.
In the same skillet, add the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for about 5 minutes until sauce is slightly reduced. Add chicken back to the pan to heat through.

Nutrition

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Rustic Ragu One-Pan Pasta Meal

Judith Hannemann — Wed, 11 Mar 2020 00:00:33 +0000

If you are looking for a great one-pan pasta meal, look no further. This rustic ragu is easy to make too.

Quick And Easy

One thing I love is something quick and easy. This one-pan pasta meal surely fills the bill.

It’s got tons of taste too. All those flavors blend together to make this rustic sausage and pasta dish a family favorite.

Sweet Italian sausage is the basis of it along with subtle herbs. And i bet you have everything you need it your pantry. This is just one of those dinners that you can throw together after work with minimal effort that tastes like you cooked it all day!

Use What You Have

This is just one of those recipes where you can substitute things safely.

If you don’t have any bulk Italian sausage on hand but have links, just remove the meat from the casing and you’re set to go. You can even cut up the links into pieces and it still works.

No sausage of any kind on hand? Use ground beef and a bit more Italian seasoning and if you have some fennel seed on hand, add a pinch of that. It will taste fine.

As to the pasta, well anything will work although I think that most of us have the straight spaghetti on hand. If you don’t, use what you have. It’ll work fine. In fact, the substitutions make this into a different meal so keep them all in mind.

Yes, Fresh

The only thing here you will probably have to buy is some fresh basil. If you have a windowsill garden as I do, it’s always on hand. Hint–it’s super easy to grow.

The fresh basil adds not only flavor but a pop of color. To me, that’s an essential to eating pleasure. And this is one place where I can’t see the dried stuff in the jar to be an adequate substitution, but if you must, a tablespoon will probably do the trick.

The Recipe

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Rustic Ragu

A one-pot pasta dinner that’s loaded with flavor

Prep Time10

Cook Time20

Course: Dinner, Main, Main Course

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: one pan meals with pasta, one pot spaghetti dinner, sausage and pasta meals

Servings: 4

Calories: 812kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

1/2 cup chopped carrots
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 tbs olive oil
1 lb sweet Italian bulk sausage
28 oz petite diced tomatoes large can
3 cups chicken stock
1/2 tbs Italian seasoning
8 oz spaghetti
salt & pepper to taste
1/2 cup fresh basil chopped

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and the vegetables. Cook until the sausage is browned. Drain off most excess fat.
Add the tomatoes, stock and the spaghetti, make sure the spaghetti is submerged.
Bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat to medium-low and the spaghetti is cooked and sauce is slightly thickened.
Add any salt and pepper if needed, then stir in the fresh basil.

Nutrition

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Salmon Fennel Risotto

Judith Hannemann — Wed, 28 Nov 2018 00:00:57 +0000

A little bit of salmon goes a long way in this tasty risotto flavored with fennel.

Salmon Never Tasted So Good

I really love salmon. However, I like good salmon, such as wild-caught Alaskan. What I really don’t love is the price, which is quite high. Rather than use the farmed variety, which is less expensive, I tend to look for recipes that use salmon more as a condiment. It’s just a thing with me that I don’t care for farmed fish, but if you’re good with it, then by all means use it here too!

This is another recipe that comes from the great Mary Berry. It’s basically the same as hers but I adapted it to American measures and ingredients easily (and cheaper) found here.

You Just Gotta Stir–There’s No Substitute

There’s just no quick way with risotto. If you speed up the procedure, you won’t get that lovely creamy texture.

This is going to take you at least 20 minutes of pot watching and stirring, but the end product is well worth it.

The secret to a good risotto is hot stock ladled in a bit at a time. Then you stir constantly until almost all that liquid is absorbed, and you keep doing that until all the hot stock is gone. Rinse and repeat so to speak.

The best utensil for adding the hot stock is just a standard ladle. Most hold about 6 fluid ounces so it’s the perfect tool for the job. The stock must also be hot. Heat it almost to boiling then reduce the heat to a simmer and keep it on that low heat until the operation is complete.

Fennel Is Delicious

Try it you’ll like it! I mean that. It’s really delicious.

Fennel is also called “anise” in some parts of the country. It has a very mild anise flavor and it’s not overpowering.

If you can only find a large–meaning a baseball-sized–bulb, you use one half of the bulb. I realize it’s not an everyday veg for most people, so what I do is use the other half as a side dish sauteed in butter or raw thinly sliced in a salad.

However, if you’re not all that fond of even a mild anise flavor, then substitute a nice sweet onion–about one cup–sliced.

The Recipe

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Salmon Fennel Risotto

A little bit of salmon goes a long way in this tasty risotto flavored with fennel.

Prep Time15

Cook Time20

Total Time35

Course: Main

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: risotto recipe, salmon

Servings: 5

Calories: 432kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups chicken stock hot
2 tbs oil
1/2 bulb fennel whole bulb if small
2 cloves garlic finely minced
1 cup arborio rice
1 1/4 cup dry white wine
2/3 cup frozen peas
juice of 1/2 lemon
12 oz salmon filets thinly sliced
3 tbs sour cream
3 sprigs fresh tarragon coarsely chopped -OR- 1/4 tsp dried
2 tbs grated Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Rinse the frozen peas to remove any frost; drain and set aside.
Place stock in a saucepan and keep warm over a low heat.
Pour the oil into a large skillet over a medium-high heat. Add the fennel and fry for about 4 minutes, or until softened, but not browned, stirring often. Add the garlic and rice and fry for a minute, stirring constantly, until the grains of rice are coated in the oil.
Pour the wine into the stock, stir and bring to a gentle simmer. Add a ladleful of the hot stock mixture to the rice and simmer, stirring continuously. Wait until the stock is almost fully absorbed before adding the next ladleful. Continue to add the stock, a ladleful at a time, and cook the risotto for 15–20 minutes, or until you are left with about 8 oz stock in the saucepan and the rice is nearly cooked.
Add the peas and lemon juice. Ladle in some of the remaining stock and keep stirring for a couple of minutes. Add the salmon slices, sour cream, tarragon and Parmesan. Stir and continue to cook until the salmon is opaque.
Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve immediately, sprinkled with extra parmesan.

Nutrition

*Adapted from Mary Berry

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Rustic Ziti with White Sausage Sauce

Judith Hannemann — Tue, 30 May 2017 23:00:51 +0000

This quick and easy ziti with white sausage sauce is on the table in less than 30 minutes!

Few Ingredients But Lots Of Flavor

It’s always amazing to me, no matter how many times I experience it, how meals with so few ingredients have such big flavor!

This is another one of those meals. The dominant flavor here comes from tasty Italian sausage. This is also one of those meals folks will think you fussed over, but it’ll be your secret just how easy it is.

With it’s rustic look and easy prep, it’s also a great meal to serve when you have guests!

Wine: Dry And White

Even though there’s not much wine called for in the recipe, it’s important to use the driest white wine you can find. I used sauvignon blanc, which is a good choice, but drier works better. Therefore, I’d suggest a white chianti, but only if you have to purchase wine to make this. Otherwise any dry white you have on hand can stand in.

If you don’t want to use wine, you can substitute a good-quality chicken stock, but bear in mind that the dish will taste different. It’ll still be good though.

Some Like It Hot

I’m a lover of hot Italian sausage, so naturally this was my choice in this recipe. However, sweet tastes very good too.

There are so many flavor varieties of Italian sausage now available that any of those could stand in for the more conventional hot or sweet. One of my stores sells a 4-cheese, pepper and onion, and cheese & garlic variety. Each one would be fantastic in this.

The Recipe

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Rustic Ziti with White Sausage Sauce

This quick and easy ziti with white sausage sauce is on the table in less than 30 minutes!

Prep Time5

Cook Time15

Total Time20

Course: Comfort Foods, Everyday Meals, pasta, Pork, skillet dinners

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: 30-minute meals, baked ziti, italian sausage, one skillet dinners, pasta, white sauce

Servings: 4

Calories: 511kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

8 oz bulk hot or sweet Italian sausage broken up into small lumps
1 tbsp butter
1/2 cup dry white wine or water
8 oz dry weight ziti (or any tubular pasta) cooked per package directions (reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta water)
2 tbsp coarsely chopped fresh parsley
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Instructions

Melt butter over medium-high heat in a large skillet.
Brown the sausage bits until the are cooked and browned.
Add the wine or water and scrape up the browned bits at the bottom of the pan (deglazing).
Add the cooked ziti and the reserved pasta water; heat through.
Stir in the parsley and top with the Parmesan cheese.

Nutrition

*Adapted from NYT

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One-Skillet Ground Beef Divan

Judith Hannemann — Sat, 13 May 2017 23:00:55 +0000

This delicious ground beef divan dinner takes one skillet and is on the table in 30 minutes. Easy and the family will love it too!

Ground Beef Divan To The Rescue

If you’ve had a busy day and want something simple, this meal is just what the doctor ordered.

There’s not many of us who don’t have ground beef on hand, and here’s a great way to use it. This skillet dinner also relies on a couple of convenient pantry staples so it comes together quickly and easily.

Kid Pleasing Dinner

This is one meal the kiddos will love–grown-ups too!

It has a mild flavor. There’s nothing in it that will shock the taste buds or bite you in the butt. In other words, this is comfort food. Who doesn’t love a nice plate of comfort?

Even fussy eaters will enjoy this and it’s a complete meal in itself because it contains the spaghetti, meat and veggies.

Substitutions Make It Different

The recipe calls for store-bought alfredo sauce, but if you don’t have that on hand you can make your own, of course!

However, it’s equally as good when you substitute your own condensed cream of mushroom soup and even the canned variety will do. If you’re a fan of golden mushroom soup, that gives this a wonderful flavor as well.

Have Leftover Pasta?

This is also a great way to use up leftover spaghetti–or any pasta.

So if you have spaghetti or any pasta-style dinner in your meal plan and also plan to make this recipe in the same week, make a “planned over” from the pasta-based dinner to make this meal. The leftovers will soak up the flavors of the sauce so pre-cooked pasta won’t have any off flavors nor texture.

The Recipe

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One-Skillet Ground Beef Divan

This delicious ground beef divan dinner takes one skillet and is on the table in 30 minutes. Easy and the family will love it too!

Prep Time5

Cook Time20

Total Time25

Course: beef, Everyday Meals, skillet dinners

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Alfredo sauce, ground beef divan, ground beef recipe, one skillet dinners

Servings: 4 -6

Calories: 885kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

6 oz uncooked spaghetti broken into 2-inch pieces (see NOTES)
1 1/2 lb lean ground beef
3 cups frozen or fresh broccoli florets
1 jar about 16 oz prepared Alfredo sauce (see NOTES)
4 oz cream cheese cut into cubes
1/4 cup cream or milk
4 oz can sliced mushrooms
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Instructions

Cook pasta per package directions. Add the broccoli in the last minute of cooking; drain and set aside.
Brown ground beef in a large skillet; drain fat. Add the cream cheese, alfredo sauce and cream. Cook over medium heat, stirring until cream cheese is melted.
Add the mushrooms, pasta and broccoli, stirring to combine, and heat through.
Top with the shredded cheddar cheese.

Notes

You can also use leftover pasta.
You may substitute 10 oz homemade condensed cream of mushroom or the store-bought variety for the alfredo sauce and mushrooms.

Nutrition

*Adapted from Betty Crocker

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Trinidad Chicken Drummies

Judith Hannemann — Wed, 16 Dec 2015 00:00:44 +0000

These earthy and slightly sweet Trinidad chicken drummies are sure to be a hit! Here’s a one-skillet dinner that’s easy and family friendly.

Chicken drumsticks were on sale for 99 cents last week and naturally, I bought some. I wanted to make something different from the usual with these so I went searching for some chicken recipes.

I found the original on Allrecipes. Honestly, I’m not a huge fan of cilantro unless it’s part of an oniony or garlicky base and also if the recipe isn’t heavy handed with it. This recipe seemed to fill the bill and from what commenters said, it was good and pretty much authentic.

The recipe calls for short marination, but from reading the comments from some native Trinidadians, you get better flavor if you marinate overnight. I didn’t do that, but I can see how it would produce a better end result, as would making a paste out of the marinade ingredients and rubbing into the chicken as one commenter suggested. However, you cook the marinade–which is dry by the way–with the chicken, so you get a lot of flavor. But armed with these suggestions, you can make a choice of what to do regarding marinating.

However, the short marination works well for making a speedy supper. It cooks all in one skillet so there’s another big bonus.

You can make this with a zip too if you include the red pepper flakes. I didn’t but I may on the reheated leftovers.

The original recipe made the coconut milk optional, but I’m sure the recipe would suffer with less flavor without it. Since it’s not something that a lot of people have in their cupboards, I’m keeping it as an optional ingredient here. I used it in mine and it made the sauce creamy and evened out the flavor IMO.

This is one that will get better served the next day because the herbs will get a chance to infuse more, so make a big batch with “planned overs” in mind.

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Trinidad Chicken Drummies

These earthy and slightly sweet Trinidad chicken drummies are sure to be a hit! Here’s a one-skillet dinner that’s easy and family friendly.

Prep Time35

Cook Time40

Total Time1 15

Course: Chicken

Cuisine: American

Keyword: chicken drumsticks

Servings: 4 -6

Calories: 416kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

2 lbs about 8-10 chicken drumsticks
1 tbs vegetable oil
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp ketchup
1 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup coconut milk optional
1 tsp red pepper flakes optional

MARINADE

3 tbsp finely chopped green onions
3 tbsp finely chopped fresh cilantro
1 clove garlic minced
1 tbsp finely chopped onion
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Instructions

Place chicken on a plate.
Mix marinade ingredients and sprinkle over chicken. Let chicken stand and marinate for 30 minutes.
Heat oil in a large deep pot (like a Dutch oven) over medium heat. Add brown sugar and stir until sugar is dissolved and syrupy.
Brown the chicken on all sides. Cover and cook for 2 minutes.
Mix the ketchup, chicken stock, coconut milk (if using) and red pepper flakes (if using),
Pour over chicken, bring to boil. Cover and cook for 20-30 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.
Remove the chicken to a plate and cover to keep warm or place in a 200 degree F oven to keep warm.
Turn heat to high and reduce the sauce by half (about 5-10 minutes_
Pour sauce over chicken and serve immediately.
Nice with rice

Nutrition

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Smoked Sausage & Cheesy Rice

Judith Hannemann — Tue, 26 May 2015 23:00:00 +0000

Smoked Sausage & Cheesy Rice

This tasty smoked sausage skillet dinner is a complete meal cooked in one pan. Quick, easy and totally delish.

It was love at first sight when I saw this posted on one of the recipe groups I run on Facebook!

A member shared this off a recipe page called “Janet’s Appalachian Kitchen.” This lady doesn’t have a website, just a Facebook page where she shares her wonderful recipes, otherwise I’d give a link, but she’s easy to find if you want to follow her page.

Tasty, tasty, tasty!

I love all the ingredients in this. I had kielbasa and used that in place of the smoked sausage. I can’t really tell the difference between the two to be honest. I also used fresh broccoli and had some frozen diced red bell peppers in the freezer. I did buy the extra-sharp shredded cheddar as Janet specified just that in the recipe–and with good reason. It makes it taste so much better than just regular sharp.

This was just so good, I couldn’t stop eating it!! You can’t ask for more than something abundantly tasty and so easy to make.

This is a wonderful way to use leftover rice too!

Watch The Video

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Smoked Sausage & Cheesy Rice

This tasty smoked sausage skillet dinner is a complete meal cooked in one pan. Quick, easy and totally delish.

Prep Time10

Cook Time20

Total Time30

Course: Comfort Foods, Everyday Meals, Pork, skillet dinners

Cuisine: American

Keyword: RICE, smoked sausage

Servings: 4

Calories: 627kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
1 lb smoked sausage or kielbasa sliced 1/4-inch thick
1 small onion chopped
1 small red bell pepper seeded and chopped
2 cups broccoli florets
1 1/2 cups cooked rice
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 cup shredded extra-sharp cheddar cheese

Instructions

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add butter and olive oil till butter sizzles.
Add the slice smoked sausage and onions. Cook for about 5 minutes until onion is tender and sausage begins to brown.
Add the red bell pepper and broccoli. Cover, reduce heat and cook about 5 minutes.
Add the cooked rice, garlic powder and onion salt. Combine well, cover and heat until rice is hot.
Add the shredded cheese and remove from heat. Stir in cheese until it’s melted.

Nutrition

Smoked Sausage & Cheesy Rice

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Pork Chops with Lemon Thyme Cream Sauce

Judith Hannemann — Sat, 18 Apr 2015 23:00:00 +0000

Pork Chops with Lemon Thyme Cream Sauce

All it takes is one pan, a few simple ingredients and 30 minutes to these succulent pork chops in a lemony thyme cream sauce.

Today I hit the jackpot with reduced-for-quick-sale meats at my local market. The meats are never bad, or “off” so I buy there with complete confidence.

So I had this package of beautiful rib/sirloin chops and wanted to make something special–something with lemons since I’m a huge lover of lemon anything.

Simple ingredients, gourmet taste

I wanted a nice sauce and a rich sauce that would be full of flavor. I can think of no herb that goes better with pork than thyme. Unfortunately, I lacked any fresh, as what I tried to overwinter didn’t survive, but I did manage to dehydrate it. You don’t have to use fresh–the stuff in the little jars will do just fine.

Nice “company” meal

To me, all cream-based sauces taste better with a touch of wine, so of course, that went in the mix, but if you don’t want it in there, you can substitute it with an equal amount of chicken stock.

The ingredients for the sauce can be doubled if you like a lot of sauce, but I found that it was so well flavored that about 2 tablespoons on top of each chop was enough to make this sing…a little will go a long way here, or so I thought.

This is another simple one-skillet meal that’s got a real gourmet touch, much like my now famous Mushroom Asiago Chicken!

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Pork Chops with Lemon Thyme Cream Sauce

All it takes is one pan, a few simple ingredients and 30 minutes to these succulent pork chops in a lemony thyme cream sauce.

Prep Time10

Cook Time40

Total Time50

Course: Dinner, Everyday Meals, Pork

Cuisine: American

Keyword: pork chops

Servings: 4

Calories: 568kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

4 rib or sirloin pork chops bone in about 1/2-inch thick*
4 tbsp unsalted butter divided
1/2 cup flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp shredded lemon zest
1 clove garlic minced
3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup white wine
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup heavy cream

Instructions

*Boneless chops may be substituted.
Heat a heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add 2 tbs. butter and let it melt.
Mix the flour, 1 tsp. salt, 1/2 tsp. pepper and 1/2 tsp garlic powder in a shallow bowl. Dredge pork chops in seasoned flour mixture, shaking off excess.
Brown pork chops well on both sides, about 5-8 minutes per side. Remove from pan and set aside.
In the same pan you browned the chops, reduce the heat to medium and add the lemon juice, lemon zest, garlic, wine, thyme and salt. Mix well.
Place pork chops back in pan, cover and reduce heat to low and cook for 15-20 minutes.
Remove pork chops to a serving platter, cover and keep warm in a 200 degree F oven while making sauce.
Increase the heat under the pan to medium. Blend in heavy cream and remaining butter. Let the mixture bubble and reduce by 25%–it should be like a thin gravy.
Drizzle sauce over pork chops and serve immediately.

Nutrition

Pork Chops with Lemon Thyme Cream Sauce

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