I Cheated! My Easy One Pot Meal Tonight Was Delivered...

Yummy!! :)

Penne Pasta with Broccoli: This Week's Easy One Pot Meal

I liked it, but I think it needed both more broccoli and more cheese. We added a little extra parmesan, gave it a bit of salt and pepper, and then, it was good!

But I think next time, I'll add some fresh broccoli to really yum it up!!

What have you been cooking lately?

See you Thursday!

Jeanine

I Think It's Becoming a Favorite...

Today, we decided to bring back an "old favorite" for tonight's easy one pot meal, though it's really not that old yet. It became a favorite pretty quickly.

Family Day: An Easy One Pot Meal to Celebrate

We had a wonderful dinner on Monday for family day and then, had the leftovers tonight! It was spaghetti and meatballs, beanpot style.

The only thing that went wrong was that I didn't put the spaghetti in for long enough. It was a little too al dente, if you know what I mean.

But it was all good by as leftovers!! I can't wait to make it again!

See you Thursday :)

Jeanine

Fall One-Pot Meals: How to Roast A Pumpkin

From Suzanne over at Hillbilly Housewife...

To Roast A Pumpkin...

You can only do this with a freshly carved pumpkin! Do not use on a pumpkin that has been carved and sitting out for several days.

To bake a fresh 6 to 7 pound pumpkin, halve the pumpkin crosswise and scoop out the seeds and strings. Place halves, hollow side down, in a large baking pan covered with aluminum foil and add a little water. Bake, uncovered, at 375° for 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until fork-tender. Remove. When cool, scrape pulp from shells and puree, a little at time, in food processor or blender. Mix with a little salt.

Can You Cook It in a Beanpot?
 
I'm sure you can!
 
Hillbilly Housewife

Wordless Wednesday: A Repeat Easy One Pot Meal

Pot Roast: A "Comfort Food" Easy One Pot Meal

Confession: this is not what we are having for dinner tonight. It's what I wish we were having! I could not even wrap my mind around getting dinner ready tonight in the beanpot.

So this is what I found for you, instead...

A pot roast recipe from Everyday Food.

Hopefully, I will get myself back in gear and come up with a beanpot recipe to try in the next few days and when I do, I'll take pics and come show all of you!

See you Thursday!!

Jeanine

Easy One Pot Meal: Beans in the Beanpot

We had a wonderful dinner on Tuesday night, with baked beans and bacon!! In fact, there were no leftovers and we had planned to leave some.

Here's the Recipe

Ingredients

Two cans of baked beans
4-6 tbsp. of maple syrup
1 tbsp. of brown sugar (I use cane)
pinch of salt
pinch of pepper
1 tbsp. of dijon mustard
6-8 slices of cooked bacon

Instructions

Stir all the ingredients together (I would add the bacon after everything else has been blended and then, stir again)
Bake on low in the crockpot or 250 degrees in the beanpot for 3 hours

Here's What's Cookin': Hamburgers & an Easy One Pot Meal Bean Recipe

The Hamburgers

We just got through putting the hamburger in for lunch. I took a picture or two of my son mashing his in so it will cook faster :).

When the hamburgers come out, we will put the beanpot in and begin cooking the beans extravaganza. I found a three-ingredient recipe that involves two cans of baked beans, a cup of barbecue sauce and a fourth of a cup of dijon mustard.

The Beans

But I don't want to try that one because it seems like the flavors would be too extreme! Has anyone used a similar recipe?

I am planning to use the one I have done before on the stove and see how that translates for better or worse in the beanpot. Here's hoping for better!

I'll tell how it went on Thursday, and hopefully, if I remember, have pictures!!

See you then!

Jeanine

New Blog Plan: Stay Tuned for Twice-a-Week Easy One Pot Meals & Recipes...

As you know, if you have been following along :), I am going to cook at least one meal a week in the beanpot and also, teach my son to cook as part of his homeschooling. During some weeks, I am sure I will cook more than that and will want to share it with you here.

But here's the problem...

The Problem

I am only on the second week of homeschooling and I am already overwhelmed! I'm not surprised because it always takes us a few weeks to settle in and shake the dust off. Establishing a new rhythm takes time and this year, we are making several lifestyle changes, too, so it's all a bit much right now.

My Solution

So my solution is to post here twice a week. Two meals each time or one meal and its recipe. I'm not sure yet which one it will be but will keep you posted. Stay with me, it will all get sorted out eventually!

Take care!

Jeanine

Labor Day Cooking

The Weekend!

I had a wonderful weekend!! I watched three or four movies, finished a Jane Austen novel, spent time with my family, stared out the window...

I took the whole weekend off and because of that, did a bit more cooking than I usually do. Saturday is pizza day, so I ordered a pizza that day, but on Sunday, I invited a friend over and we made the mac and cheese bake in the beanpot. We all had seconds and my friend said she loved it!

Labor Day

I had planned to make a bean extravaganza in the beanpot yesterday but discovered I only had one can of beans in the cabinet! So I let it cook on the stovetop for a couple of hours and added bacon, dijon mustard, sugar, maple syrup, and a pinch of salt and pepper.

In the oven, I made hamburgers, and also baked cookies. Our dessert yesterday was ice cream sandwiches made with almond pound cake cookies (made w/ a mix) and pineapple coconut ice cream! YUM!!

It was a great day!!

See you tomorrow!

Jeanine

Back to School Blog Tour: Teaching My Son to Cook with the Beanpot

This back to school blog tour is brought to you by the women at http://www.livingmymoment.com/  and http://www.theworkathomewoman.com/ . Jump in and participate with your blog! It's not too late...

One Pot Meal, Beanpot Cooking

If you are new to this blog, you may not know yet that I am on a mission! I am what you might call a reluctant cook. When I was growing up, my mother preferred to be alone in the kitchen and after a few tense-filled attempts to be with her, I was happy to let her.

So everything I know about cooking, I learned after I left home. Which wasn't all that much! Now, I am chief cook and bottle washer and I have decided it's time to learn a few more things than my memorized number for Papa John's pizza!!

When I found out that the beanpots from Celebrating Home are oven-safe and dishwasher-safe (microwave, too), I decided to try my hand at learning to make some slow cooking, one pot meals. 52 weeks worth, actually.

So for the next year or so, I will try at least one new slow cooking, one pot meal each week. You're invited along for the ride!!

Teaching My Son

But I also want to teach my son to cook so he won't leave home as unprepared as I was.

So part of our homeschooling each week will involve teaching him how to cook a beanpot meal. During the month before, I will try the meal myself, and then, each Friday, he will practice it for that next month, eventually doing it himself.

This week, he made barbecue chicken (that wasn't in our plan, we snuck that in) but this month, he also will learn to make a mac and cheese bake. Like the one I made the other day...

I'd love to hear about your family meals and what you've got cooking!

Thanks so much for visiting!!

Jeanine

Labor Day Weekend Laziness...

Okay, I admit it! It already feels like a holiday to me. And after my homeschooling day came to an end, I just didn't feel like figuring out what to put in the beanpot.

So my son and I decided to just make some sandwiches. I combined turkey and bacon and roast beef, sliced 'em all up and sliced the bread, removing the ends and served them with Picnic Peach tea with a splash of vanilla extract. It was yummy!

Tomorrow, I will probably try out something in the beanpot, but I confess I may just take the whole weekend off. If I do, I'll see you again on Monday!

Have a wonderful Labor Day weekend!!

Jeanine

Barbecue Chicken Slow Cooking One Pot Meal

Easy One Pot Meal with BBQ Chicken

I forgot to take pictures but must tell you that experiment number two on my slow-cooking beanpot was a success!

However, I think I am learning that I prefer slow cooking and lower temperatures to get-it-done-faster and higher temps. But yesterday, we had errands to run and by the time I was back, with groceries put up and the oven warmed, it was mid-afternoon.

So I cooked it at 350 degrees for two hours. It was great, but not as tender as I would have liked. Today, I added bacon and mild cheddar cheese and warmed it up at 200-250 degrees and it was even better. We had sandwiches that were the absolute yummiest!

Didn't think of taking a picture of them, either, until I was halfway finished with mine.

Cleaning Up

I did have to run the hot water and let the beanpot soak while we ate because the I forgot cooking spray at the store and the butter just didn't work this time :).

However, it came right off and the pot is now resting comfortably in the dishwasher.

Tomorrow's Dinner

Tomorrow is cooking day for homeschooling and we picked mac and cheese. I haven't decided if I'm ready for that again so soon or would rather wait until next Friday. But an even more important question might be, do I have anything else?

I definitely don't feel like trekking back to the store just to make something different. So at this point, tomorrow's dinner is anybody's guess.

See you then!

Jeanine

Guess What's Slow Cooking Right Now?

Today was our first day back to homeschool and as part of the end of our homeschooling day, we not only decided on the easy one pot meal made with chicken barbecued in the beanpot, I let my son do all of the preparation except for pouring in the barbecue sauce.

Our meal is cooking in the oven right now! I'll let you know tomorrow if it was as yummy as I expect it to be.

Our day went well today! But we got a later start than planned so our dinner meal will be about an hour later than it usually is.

We began with tea and meditation, and then ate a quick breakfast before the start to our first homeschooling day of the year! It was fun to start again and I look forward to getting the rhythm of our days established so I don't even have to think about what to do first and what to do next.

What's cooking in your kitchen?

See you tomorrow!

Jeanine

Mini 10 Concludes with Breakfast for Dinner

I took my shiny clean beanpot out of the dishwasher and considered whether or not I wanted to make barbecue chicken for dinner tonight or wait until tomorrow.

This was the last day before the start of homeschooling and we had errands a plenty this morning and afternoon! By the time I got home, I wanted to sit down and not have to get up for a while. My son, on the other hand, was ready for chicken.

But I just did not feel like heating up the oven or eating barbecue chicken to be honest. So we will do it tomorrow. In fact, my son offered to prepare it since it is so simple and I just might let him.

Put in the chicken, pour barbecue sauce over it, turn the oven on and let it sit for a few hours. That's it!

Tonight, instead, we had waffles and cereal. Yes, we did! I was and am tired. But tomorrow, my reluctant cook quest for slow cooking, easy one pot meals far better for dinner than breakfast, resumes with my customary enthusiasm :).

Thanks to all my mini 10 readers for dropping by during the challenge!

See you tomorrow!

Jeanine

Leftover Mac and Cheese, a Slow Cooking, One Pot Meal

Leftover Meal

After we finished dinner last time, there was still enough left in the beanpot for another meal. So I just put the beanpot in the refrigerator and took it out today for tonight's dinner. It is stoneware, so it's safe for the oven, refrigerator, microwave and dishwasher.

But it is not a good idea to take it from the fridge and put it in the hot oven right away. I let it sit out for a couple of hours so it could return to room temperature.

I warmed it up at about the same temperature (200 degrees), and added some butter to it before I put it in and after I took it out to wake it up a little.

Just As Good

Our meal tonight was almost as yummydelicious as last night's except for missing that elusive fresh-from-the-oven thing that makes it just that much better on the night you cook it.

As I ate, I continued to marvel at how good it was! You know, when I am out at restaurants, I am wary of ordering macaroni and cheese because sometimes, it's not quite right. The cheese is too sharp or too gooey, or there's too much of it, or the texture is just off in some other way.

So it's dawning on me that when you are the one cooking it, if it turns out okay, you can create something that tastes exactly the way you want it! That amazes me!!

Best Slow Cooking Mac & Cheese I Have Ever Tasted!!

Oh...my...god!!

That macaroni and cheese truly was the best I have ever tasted. I cannot believe that I, reluctant cook, ordinary homeschooling mom, basically still a novice when it comes to new meals, made a mac and cheese that tasted that good!!! And I was so worried that something would go wrong.

I expected it to be crusty and dry but it surprised me and was anything but. It was just like I like it, not too cheesy, not too dry, soft and yummy comfort food!


I feel excited, now, about all my other planned one pot meals!! I asked my son if that wasn't the best mac and cheese I have ever made (I've only tried it once or twice before, I think) and he agreed rather enthusiastically that it was, LOL!

Here's what I cooked it in...

And I got the recipe from Three Ingredient Slow Cooker Comfort Foods.

Now this book's recipes are designed for a slow cooker that has "high" and "low" settings. Obviously, with my beanpot, I used oven temperatures. So I altered it a smidge. I cooked it at 250 degrees for 2 1/2 hours and that worked out perfectly!!



See you tomorrow!

Jeanine

Pizza, anyone?

Sigh.

Once again, I did not make the one pot meal. I'm sure I have mentioned it, but in case I haven't, I have spent the past couple of weeks racing to the finish line to get my homeschool planning done. As a Waldorf homeschooler, I plan every single day of my son's year in advance.

Last night, I finished and was so excited, I could hardly stand it!!

But then, I felt miserably exhausted and kind of sick. Today, I feel better but not up to cooking. I ordered pizza, instead.

Hopefully, by tomorrow, I will have fully recovered!

Can I tease you by telling you which slow cooker, one pot meal I'm going to make whenever the heck I get around to it?

Mac and Cheese Bake

Guess What I Did Today?

A Confession

Unfortunately, no, it wasn't making my first ever slow cooking, one pot meal! I had an early-morning appt., not nearly enough sleep last night and the task of finishing my homeschool planning for the next year once I got back home.

Homeschool Planning

Although I love homeschooling, the planning process almost always stresses me out completely!!

Because of that anticipated stress, this year, I waited much too long to begin the planning process and have been practically buried under it for the past couple of weeks. I was not completely sure I would get it done.

But I did!!

Homeschool Lunch Plan

After I finished, however, my son reminded me that we had not yet planned our lunches for September. Now, normally, I have not been one to do that kind of planning. Creating the dinner plans for next month was my first foray into genuine, stick-with-it-past-tomorrow meal planning. But I promised we’d do the lunch planning, too, so that’s what we did.

Tomorrow, we have nothing planned for the afternoon except cooking the beanpot meal!!

See you tomorrow!

Jeanine