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Three easy but fancy one-pot meals to make for you and your friends

We all love great food and many of us even aspire to cook those meals ourselves but the truth is, only few gourmet meals are easy for anyone to make at home, and we believe these three are on that list.

Great looking meal

A great special meal doesn’t have to be a pain with these delicious dishes. Not only are these meals easy and delicious, but some can also be whipped up in just 30 minutes. Don't be intimidated, you can cook at least two of these at home.

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Fill up on all the flavors of this recipe slightly sweetened with fresh apple cider.

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INGREDIENTS

1 tbsp. olive oil

6 small sweet Italian sausage links (about 1 kilo in total)

2 Pink Lady apples, halved

1/2 red onion, sliced

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1/2 head red cabbage, cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices

Salt

freshly ground black pepper

1 cup of fresh apple cider

2 tbsp. fresh cider vinegar

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1. Heat oil in a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add sausage and cook, turning occasionally, until golden brown, 6 to 8 minutes; transfer to a plate.

2. Reduce heat to medium and add apples, cut-sides down. Scatter onion and cabbage around apples. Season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring onion occasionally, until apples are golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes.

3. Flip apples. Return sausage to skillet, nestling among vegetables. Add cider and vinegar. Simmer, rotating and turning sausages occasionally, until sausages are cooked through and apples are tender, 18 to 20 minutes.

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This is such a basic soup made with everyday staple ingredients, yet it packs in so much goodness paired with an enjoyable and welcome flavor.

It’s the not-feeling-so well, pick-me-up kind of soup, a dinner the whole family can agree on, or the-not-much-in-the-fridge-what-to-make-for-dinner kind of soup.

It checks so many boxes. In other words it’s one of those must-try recipes for a rainy day. Literally.

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  • 1 kilo of boneless skinless chicken thighs, trimmed
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1 medium yellow onion, chopped (1 1/2 cups)
  • 2 large carrots, diced (1 1/4 cups)
  • 1 cup diced celery (2 large)
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced (1 Tbsp)
  • 7 to 8 cups low-sodium chicken broth
  • 2 tsp minced fresh thyme
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 parmesan rind, plus shredded parmesan for serving
  • 1 cup long grain white rice
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
  • 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

Boneless skinless chicken breasts will work too, just monitor them closely as they simmer and be careful not to cook past 165 in center of thickest portion or they start to get dry.

  • Brown chicken thighs in pot: Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat.
  • Dab chicken thighs dry with paper towels, season both sides with salt.
  • Add to pot and sear until browned on bottom, about 4 minutes. Turn and cook 2 minutes longer. Transfer to a plate.
  • Saute vegetables: Return pot to medium-high heat (there should be about 1 Tbsp oil in pot now, if needed you can add a little more). Add onion, carrots, and celery and saute 5 minutes.
  • Add garlic and saute 1 minute longer.
  • Simmer then add rice: Bring mixture to a simmer then stir in rice, and return chicken thighs to pot.
  • Cook chicken through, then chop: Reduce to low heat. Cover pot and let simmer until thighs are cooked through, about 8 minutes
  • Transfer thighs to a cutting board (shake rice that sticks back into pot). Let rest 5 minutes then cut chicken into small pieces.
  • Continue to cook soup: Meanwhile let soup continue to simmer, covered, until rice is tender, about 8 to 12 minutes longer.
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Satisfy all your comfort food desires with heaping bowl of this no-fuss chicken, cheese, and broccoli casserole.

This Cheesy Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole is made all in ONE POT and ready in only 30 minutes. It’s cheesy, it’s comforting, loaded with broccoli and super simple to make!

  • Chicken – boneless skinless chicken breasts that are cut into 1-inch pieces but boneless skinless chicken thighs will also work quite well.
  • Broccoli – using fresh broccoli cut into bite size floretsis ideal, but frozen broccoli will work as well.
  • Rice – use a long grain rice, but medium grain rice will work as well. If you use brown rice, this will require more broth and will take longer to cook.
  • Onion And Garlic – Essential flavor enhancers for any casserole. You can use fresh garlic which is the best in my opinion, but you can sub with 1 teaspoon of garlic powder.
  • Cheese – Lots of freshly grated cheddar cheese for all that cheesy goodness. You can sub with Colby or Monterey Jack.
  • Liquids – You’ll need some chicken broth and a can of cream of chicken soup. If you don’t have or can’t find cream of chicken soup, scroll down for instructions on how to make your own.
  • Seasoning – Just some salt and pepper to taste.
  1. This easy dish comes together in just 30 minutes and it’s extremely easy to make. Start by cooking the chicken with the onion first until it’s no longer pink inside, then season with salt and pepper. Stir in garlic and cook for another 30 seconds until garlic gets aromatic. Add the broth, cream of chicken soup, rice and cook for a few minutes until the rice cooks through.
  2. The rice should take about 15 minutes to cook, depending on what type of rice you used. You could use instant rice to speed this up. Brown rice will take a lot longer to cook and may require more broth.
  3. Add in the broccoli and cheese and continue cooking for a couple more minutes until the broccoli softens.
  4. Top with more cheese and cover with the lid so that the cheese melts. The chicken is incredibly tender and juicy and the rice is perfectly cooked. You can also place the skillet (if it’s oven safe) in the oven under the broiler for a couple minutes until the cheese starts to brown a bit. If your skillet is not oven safe, you can still do this by transferring the rice mixture to a casserole dish first.
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