One pot meals.

I love cookbooks. Very rarely do I ever actually make the recipes in them. I usually use them as inspiration for a new meal. While looking through a cookbook I may see a chicken recipe and think chicken sounds good. Then I'll see a roast recipe and in my mind I'll think rotisserie, mmmm. From there more ingredients are added from different pictures or recipes in the book and before I know it I'm craving rotisserie chicken that's got garlic, walnuts, baby onions and oranges crammed inside. So off to the store I run because I don't have any of that stuff, lol. I'm looking through a cookbook I have to actually do a recipe with the children for a cooking class. It's suppose to be one pot meals only when you start looking they're really not. To me a one pot meal means that you only need one pot. Or at least one item in which to cook the meal. But once you start looking into the recipes and the instructions you need one pan to braise, a bowl to mix ingredients, a dish to marinate overnight, one for on top of the range for sauce but another in the oven or any number of different things. I can kind of understand maybe understand a bowl to mix some ingredients, I can understand needing a cutting board or some other items in order to prep ingredients. But when I here one pot meal, I think you are basically need one pot to cook the meal. So I would like to share my one pot meal with you. This is one of the meals that I only cook when we are in the middle of moving. I pack one pot with us and I will use it to cook in during the time we are moving. I have over the years developed a number of meals that can be cooked from start to finish in the one pot and not need another. This recipe has been shared with our unit for the cookbook to help with fundraising. I hope you all enjoy it as much as we do.

Moving Pot Potato Soup

1-3 potatoes (peeled and diced into 1 inch cubes, approximately 1/4 cup)
1/4 cup Stock or broth (enough to cover potatoes)
1/4 cup cream (milk can be used instead just won't be as creamy)
1/4 cup cheese (shredded so it will melt easier)

In your pot put your potatoes and stock. Bring it to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to simmer for about 10-15 minutes or until the potatoes are soft. Mash potatoes in the stock. Add cream and cheese. You can add more stock or cream if you like a thinner soup.

Serves: 1 (simply multiply by the number of family members for more)

I have caramelized some onions and garlic before making this for a bit of a change. We have added a dollop of sour cream and topped with bacon bits or chives too. Let this be a base to start and have fun.

Thank goodness for Ramen.

When you are sick the last thing you want to do is cook something. But children have a tendency to not understand, lol. Hence the title today. Of coarse it goes without saying that children know that you are not feeling well and won't agree to the same thing for supper. RAMEN TO THE RESCUE!!! One package of ramen, kid's choice of frozen vegetables (about 1/2 a cup with meat or more if they don't want the meat), and either the leftover chicken or left over pork chop (about 1/2 cup of meat) added. Each child gets their perfect supper that they want. You get to go back to the couch and be miserable but they got to eat!! Of coarse if you had been smart you wouldn't have gotten sunburned on the first nice day of the year and been in this position in the first place.