I make dinner at home almost every night. One of the things I do to reduce the stress is use as few pots and pans as possible – it keeps me from getting squeezed on the stove, reduces overall mess, and makes clean-up much easier.
The fewest pots I can use and still turn out a meal? One.
And this might be a pot, a pan, a pressure cooker, or a sheet-pan. But the ultimate goal is to get dinner on the table and not have a grease spattered stove or a sink full of dishes.
In this video (top of page), I show you several methods of “one-pot” meals — meals that make cleanup much quicker — as well as a simple approach for using the methods over and over without repeating the same meal.
We’re talking about putting food on the table here, folks — the ultimate goal of every home cook. This isn’t about being fancy and it’s not for Instagram. It’s about healthy, delicious food with time left over to spend however you want.
All the recipes featured in this video are listed below:
Sheet Pan Chicken, Broccoli, and Red Peppers
Ingredients
- 4 chicken thighs, each thigh cut into 6 pieces
- 2 heads of broccoli, florets separated
- 2 red peppers, seeded and cut into 1” pieces
- Salt and pepper, to taste,
- 2 T olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 500 degrees
- Line a ½ sheet pan with parchment paper or foil
- Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and toss well to combine
- Spread out evenly on sheet pan and bake for about 20 minutes
Saute Pan Chicken, Leeks, and Carrots
Ingredients
- 6 skin on chicken thighs
- 3-4 medium carrots, halved lengthwise and cut into 1” pieces
- 2 medium leeks, white and light green only, halved lengthwise and sliced thing
- 1 T olive oil
- 1 T butter
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 c chicken stock
Instructions
- Preheat saute pan over medium high heat
- Add oil and swirl in pan
- Season and add chicken thighs, skin side down. Cook for 6-7 minutes until nicely brown
- Remove chicken to a plate
- Melt butter and add leeks and carrots, cooking for 5-6 minutes, stirring often
- Add stock and return chicken to pan, skin side up
- Bring to a simmer and cover, cooking for 30 minutes
Dutch Oven Collard Greens and Bratwurst
Ingredients
- 1 lb. fresh bratwurst sausage
- 1 T olive oil or lard
- 1 T butter
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 2 bunches collard greens, stemmed and torn into bite sized pieces
- 2.5 c chicken stock
- 2 T coconut aminos
- 2 T apple cider vinegar
- 4 oz. sauerkraut
Instructions
- Heat dutch oven over medium heat and add fats
- Add onion and saute until softened, 5-6 minutes
- Add greens and stir to coat
- Add chicken stock and coconut aminos, bring to a simmer, and cover
- After 15 minutes, remove lid and add sausages on top of greens
- Close and cook for another 15 minutes, until sausages are 155-160 degrees
- Stir in apple cider vinegar and sauerkraut
Pressure Cooker Colombian Chicken and Potato Stew
Ingredients
- 6 skinless and boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1½” pieces
- 2 potatoes cut into 1½” pieces
- 2 beefsteak tomatoes cut into 1½” pieces
- 1 medium onion, peeled, and cut into ¼” slices
- 1 bay leaf
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in Instant Pot or pressure cooker and stir to combine
- Seal and cook at high pressure for 25 minutes
- Depressurize rapidly
He graduated from UCLA with a BA in philosophy as well as a degree from the Southern California School of Culinary Arts, and feels food is one of the most important parts of a life - it can nourish, heal, and bring people together.
Michael believes health and well-being are as much a state of mind as they are a state of the body, and when it comes to fitness, food, and life in general, he thinks slow is much better than fast (most of the time). Stopping regularly to examine things is the surest way to put down roots and grow.
He knows he will never be done with his own work, and believes the best thing you can do for your well-being starts with loving and working from what you’ve got right now.
