The Art of Cooking: Quick & Easy One-Pan Meals

Whether you are running late, pressed for time, or you just don’t want to spend your entire evening in the kitchen, your stove is the answer to quick and easy meals your whole family can enjoy. From breakfast to dinner, you can have great food on the table in minutes. Just grab your pan and a spoon, and turn up the flame.

My “Breakfast Skillet” was discovered by my growing aggravation with standing in the kitchen making everyone in my family individual omelets. This recipe is very simple, takes only a few minutes to make, and will serve your whole family. Perfect for weekday mornings when everyone has their own place to be and very little time to spare. I usually accompany this omelet with cottage cheese and fruit, or some toast.

Breakfast Skillet

¼ cup bacon
2 cloves crushed garlic
½ onion, sliced
1 pepper (green, red or both) diced
handful mushrooms, or 1 small can
6 eggs
A few tablespoons milk (makes eggs fluffy)
Salt & pepper
Cheese of your choice

1. Cut bacon into small pieces and cook on medium heat in a large skillet until almost done.
2. Add garlic, onion, pepper, and mushrooms. Cook until onions start to get soft.
3. In separate bowl, beat eggs, milk, and salt & pepper until blended. Add to skillet and mix once; let cook.
4. When egg starts to set around the edges, take a spatula and gently lift the edges of the omelet and let the liquid egg run to the bottom. Do this until the egg no longer runs, then flip.
5. Top with cheese and let melt. Cut into 6 wedges. Serve.

Salads are great for lunch because they take very little time to prepare, and don’t weigh you down for the rest of the day. My favorite is Grilled Shrimp Salad, but you can use just about any kind of meat you want. Just sauté it with your favorite seasonings and throw it on some greens.

Grilled Shrimp Salad

1 lb. raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper or Cajun seasoning
4 Tbs. butter
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon lemon juice (optional)
Salad greens, vegetables
Vinaigrette dressing of your choice

1. In a small bowl, toss shrimp with cayenne pepper until mixed
2. Melt butter on low heat, then add garlic; let simmer for about 30 seconds
3. Turn heat to medium, add shrimp and lemon juice; cook for about 3 minutes until shrimp are opaque.
4. Spoon shrimp onto salad greens and vegetables, top with dressing.

The most versatile recipe I have ever learned has to be cream sauce. Once you know the 3 key steps, you can twist and turn it all you want to fit your own ideas. I usually add 5 crushed cloves garlic (will not have overwhelming garlic taste) and 1 chopped onion, then sauté with butter in step 1. Then I add some pepper and chopped, cooked chicken in step 3. Finally, I serve it over pasta or rice. It’s that simple!

Basic Cream Sauce

1 ½ sticks butter
1 ½ cups flour
About 3 cups milk

1. Melt butter in saucepan on medium heat.
2. While mixing, add flour gradually until it has a “thick paste” consistency
3. Slowly add milk while stirring. Bring to boil while constantly stirring, then remove from heat. If sauce is too thick you can add more milk.

Image by: John Evans, SXC

Christine Malinowski

Christine loves to cook for her friends and family, and she is always experimenting in the kitchen. She has always loved to write and she hopes you will enjoy reading her articles as much as she enjoyed writing them.