One-Pan Wonders

by Cook's Country

I don’t usually review cookbooks here, but this book has been making me so happy, I had to share. I first borrowed this cookbook from the library, because the Cook’s Country/America’s Test Kitchen cookbooks can be costly, especially if I end up liking one or two recipes. I ended up liking this cookbook so much, I bought my own copy and have been adding recipes to our rotation since it arrived in July.

Y’all. Y’ALL. I love this cookbook. I love recipes where I can put a bunch of stuff on a sheet pan or in a dutch oven and let heat and time do their thing while I do all the other things I have to do. Some of the recipes are more hands-on than others, but the ones I’ve made I’ve enjoyed so much. Each section focuses on one container or method of cooking: skillets, sheet pans, dutch ovens, casserole dishes, roasting pans, and slow cookers. There are a set of recipes designed for each method, and I’ve tried several so far.

I’ve made:

• Lemony chicken with spinach and potatoes: This one is made in a skillet, and comes together very quickly (a number of the recipes are labeled as “weeknight friendly,” which I appreciate!). The flavors are simple but interesting, and I liked the wilted baby spinach. Usually spinach that’s not raw in a salad makes me gag.
• Lime ginger chicken with rice: This made a lot of rice, but it was delicious. There are a bunch of different flavors and the combination didn’t get boring. I wanted to keep eating.
• Italian sausage with peppers, onions, tomatoes, and polenta: I loved this recipe. It’s all cooked on a sheet pan, and the combination of textures and the balance of the sausage, the polenta, and the pepper/tomato mixture was perfect. We’re making this one again very soon.
• Mexican-style spaghetti squash casserole: I’ve made this three times already. I usually hate squash – I think it has a weird aftertaste. But by heating the spices in olive oil, then tossing the spaghetti squash and the chopped vegetables with that oil means that the spices permeates the squash and yay, no weird aftertaste! I have eaten a portion of this casserole every day for lunch for a week and have been very, very happy about it. (Seriously, yum.)

If you’re a vegetarian, alas, there aren’t too many recipes in here for you. Most involve meat or fish. And if you eat zero carbs, like no potatoes, rice, or pasta, the pickings get a little sparse.

But for my weeknight cooking rotation, this cookbook has made me so happy. I am trying new recipes in the next few weeks, and I’ll report back how they go. I love the ease and convenience of using one method or container for the food preparations, and so far the flavors and combinations have been terrific.

– SB Sarah

In One-Pan Wonders, you will discover over 130 meticulously tested recipes that deliver fresh, fuss-free meals from a single vessel. These recipes been tailored to highlight each vessel’s strengths, from imparting a deep, flavorful sear on chicken breasts to roasting a turkey breast above bread stuffing to turning out supremely tender slow-cooked beef. And each recipe is engineered to ensure every component of the meals turns out perfectly cooked and ready to eat at the same time. The result? An authoritative resource for preparing simple yet satisfying meals seven days a week.

When you think about cooking dinner, multiple pots and pans and a lot of multitasking (and cleanup) are probably quick to come to mind. Even a simple meal of chicken and a vegetable can require use of one pan for the chicken and another for the side dish. With this in mind, we set out to streamline dinner with a fresh, modern collection of recipes make the most of your Dutch oven, sheet pan, skillet, roasting pan, casserole dish, and slow cooker to deliver dinner using just one pot (no cheating!) and a minimum of hands-on time. These recipes simplify meal prep, but that doesn’t mean we’ve sacrificed flavor. From Skillet Spanikopita to Sheet Pan Beef Fajitas to Indian-Style Vegetable Curry, we narrowed our ingredient lists to focus on delivering bold, fresh taste in every dish. Each recipe was tested (and re-tested) with the home cook in mind, and only the most flavorful meals made it onto these pages.

 

Cookbook