One-Pan Dinner

Last year for Christmas, my brothers and sister on Joe's side got me a subscription to Martha Stewart's everyday Food magazine.  Not to sound like a commercial, but I love that this magazine focuses on foods that are in season and also have a seasonal feel to them.  My favorite part of the magazine is the "5 Great Meals, 1 Short List" section where it gives you a grocery list and then 5 one-pot weeknight meals to make.  While I haven't done a whole week of the meals yet, I bought the ingredients for 2 of them from the most recent issue.  To give you an idea of what a "week" is like, this set has Mon: Roast Beef with Cabbage, Squash and Carrots, Tues: Black Beans and Sausage, Wed: Herb-Roasted Chicken and Vegetables, Thurs: Butternut Squash Baked Risotto, Fri: One-Pot Pasta with Broccoli Rabe and Bacon.  Each recipe also gives suggested alterations.  (The Chicken and Kale Handpies also came from the November issue of everyday Food.)

Mid-week, I made this Black Beans and Kielbasa one-pot (actually one large frying pan) dish.  It was good the first day we ate it, but it was better after sitting in the fridge for a few nights because the smoky flavor of the kielbasa soaked into the beans even more (yes, I'm admitting that I enjoyed this as a leftover).

 It was really quick to make.  I think for once in my life I may have come within 20% of the time advertised on the recipe (they said 40 min total).  Basic steps were:  slice 1 lb kielabasa and sear it in EVOO.  Remove it from the pan.  Add 3 chopped carrots and 2 diced shallots, cook until carrots are starting to tenderize.  Add 2 cloves minced garlic and pepper to taste.  Add 2 cans rinsed black beans and 1 can chicken broth.  Simmer 12 minutes, or until carrots are tender.  They suggested serving it with a dollop of plain greek yogurt on top.  I bought the yogurt, but we forgot to use it as a topping...

The second set of ingredients I bought was for Roast Beef with Cabbage, Sweet Potatoes and Carrots.  Often, I use recipes as suggestions rather than defined rules.  Today is one of those days.  I'm cooking it in my crock pot rather than the oven, and I added a mustard, horseradish, parsley, thyme rub to the meat.  Its currently cooking, so we'll see tonight how it turns out!  :-)