When you are feeding a crew that ranges from 2-12 depending on a typical weeknight, the idea of a one pot dinner (or skillet, or crock, or dutch oven) has become a part of the weekly dinner line-up. I suppose not everything tastes good together and certainly should’t be put in the same pot. There are a lot of people that do not not want their food “touching” any other food on the plate either (think: Thanksgiving).
But, there are also times where certain ingredients seem to play very nicely together. Peanut butter and jelly, basil and tomato, nutmeg and spinach, salt and caramel, and the list goes on. On the surface you wouldn’t think…but…
One of the great things about cooking in a skillet is that there are several ingredients where those of us who cook often have little bits of and we aren’t quite sure what to do with them, that can be put into a one-pot dinner. Have just one onion (or even just a half like me a lot of the time?)? 1-2 carrots? 2-3 cloves of garlicHow about a few herbs you bought for another meal (if you haven’t let them dry out in your pantry of course)? You get my point. A lot of great dinners can perform double-duty. You can clean up some odds and ends from out of your pantry or fridge, and you can serve a very delicious weeknight meal that looks like you worked really hard. Can’t promise the family will appreciate it, but know they will have eaten well. So, pour yourself a glass of wine and gather some some whatnot in the fridge and make a simple, fabulous cast iron skillet dinner.
Cast Iron Skillet Dinner
Preheat oven to 375
6-8 drumsticks or thighs (breasts tend to dry out quickly)
2-4 potatoes (red, Yukon, baking – doesn’t matter), rinsed and cut into chunks
2-3 carrots or any root veg, cut into chunks
1 onion, cut in quarters
3-6 sausages (italians are great, but anything works well here)
3-4 garlic cloves, lightly smashed
Olive oil, leftover herbs such as rosemary, thyme, or sage. If you don’t have, then a sprinkle of herbs de provence or Italian seasoning is great. Salt and pepper too!
Place all in your cast iron skillet (I got my big one from my mom), add a few glugs of olive oil, salt and pepper and herbs or seasoning.
Bake for about 60 minutes. You can turn stuff halfway through if you want, but it will be fine as is too.
