Kid Approved One-Dish Dinners

About author / Pamela Chester

Mom of two; graduate French Culinary Institute; kids cooking program instructor; Master's degree in food studies. Creates kid friendly foods and loves her slow cooker.

If one of your New Year’s resolutions is to simplify your life, then an easy place to start is at the dinner table. One strategy you can use to get a family meal together more quickly is to use the “one-dish” approach where all the elements of a dish come together in one pot or pan. Not only does the one dish method simplify preparation, what’s even better is that with only one pan to wash, it makes after dinner cleanup go so much faster.

Warm and nourishing one-dish meals such as hearty stews and braised dishes are perfect for the wintertime. These are the kinds of long cooked meals, such as my family favorite Chicken Cacciatore, that we remember from our grandmother’s kitchens. Many of these dishes taste even better when cooked in advance and then rewarmed just before eating, cutting down on last minute dinnertime stress. We can also use today’s programmable crockpot to get that slow cooked flavor without attending to the stove all day long.

Then there is a whole other realm of one pan dishes recipes that will have you from just in the door to dinnertime in no time flat. Using one of my favorite techniques, roasting, you can make a delicious dinner by throwing a few different ingredients together on a single baking sheet and placing them in the oven. A few of my favorite ingredients to roast together are pieces of chicken with cut up carrots, potatoes (leave the skins on for added fiber and flavor) and zucchini. Simply season with a mixture of salt, pepper, garlic and thyme or rosemary, and forty-five minutes later, you’ll have an easy dinner on the table. Roasting brings out the natural sweetness in many vegetables, boosting their flavor and making them that much more kid friendly. Other veggies I love to roast include sweet potatoes, parsnips, butternut squash, and broccoli.

Finally, one of my absolute favorite easy recipes is one pot pasta. I’ve been making some variation of this dish since college, so it’s also really budget friendly. It’s so easy, you really don’t need a recipe. Simply add some frozen veggies such as peas and broccoli (you can also use fresh veggies, just adjust the cooking time upwards to cook the veggies to your desired texture) into a pot of boiling pasta just before the pasta is finished cooking to al dente; drain and toss together with salt, pepper, extra virgin olive oil, a little crushed garlic, and lots of fresh grated parmesan cheese. You can do the same with your favorite boxed macaroni and cheese (skip the parmesan), and maybe add a little cubed leftover ham or chicken, for a guaranteed kid pleasing, quick meal.

While the one pot meal may be uncomplicated, the beauty of this method is that cooking everything in one dish melds the ingredients together, deepening the flavors without adding extra sodium and fat. One dish cooking makes for healthy and flavorful dinners that your whole family will enjoy!

Serves/Makes: 4

• 12 thin carrots, peeled
• OR
• 6 regular carrots, sliced lengthwise
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil PLUS
• 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt PLUS
• 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 cup Dijon mustard
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• OR
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme or rosemary
• 4 skinless chicken thighs
• 4 skinless chicken drumsticks
• 8 baby Yukon gold or red potatoes, halved or quartered
• 1 lemon
• salt and freshly ground black pepper