As evenings get colder and darker over the coming months, many will be swapping summery salads and light dishes for hearty dinners. For many elderly people cooking a large elaborate meal is not an option, particularly when living alone. That’s where one-pot meals come in!
One-Pot Meals
Cooking a complicated evening meal is the last thing you want to do when it’s cold outside. A one-pot meal is a simple way to enjoy dinner without making a mess! Cooking your own meals is more nutritious and a healthy alternative to ready-meals which are often full of salt and fat.
Not only are one-pot meals simple to make, the recipes will often make more than enough for you to freeze to eat at a later date or to eat as leftovers for lunch the next day. We have rounded up some of our favourite one-pot meals and linked the recipes below.
Vegetable Stew
The Purse-Friendly Recipe
At just 172 calories per serving, this vegetable-packed dish is great for anyone who is watching their weight. It is also perfect for anyone watching the pennies as the stew is very cheap to make – even cheaper if you already have many of the ingredients in your cupboard. You can also use your blender to blend the stew into a tasty soup to eat the next day at lunchtime.
You can also get creative with this recipe and throw in whatever leftover meat or vegetables that you have in the fridge or pop some lentils and your favourite spices in too. This stew could also be served with dumplings or bread if you’d like a bit more substance on a chilly evening (but beware: this will drive the calorie content up!)
Sweet Potato, Spinach and Paneer Curry
The Vegetarian Recipe
Great for vegetarians and meat eaters alike, this curry is the perfect alternative to a greasy Indian takeaway but still with lots of flavour. You can even add in your own poppadoms and naan bread.
The recipe uses paneer cheese which works incredibly well with the curry, but if you’re not a fan, feel free to omit it.
This recipe recommends that you cook it in a slow cooker for 6-7 hours (another great recipe if you are out all day) but you could also alter the recipe so that you cook it on the hob for an hour or so.
Slow Cooker Chilli Con Carne
The Slow Cooker Recipe
This recipe can be made as mild or as spicy as your taste buds desire by simply altering the amount of chilli powder in the recipe. However spicy you go, this chilli con carne will be sure to keep you warm as evenings get colder.
This a great meal if you have a busy day ahead and would like to come home to your dinner practically on the table! You will simply need to spend a little while in the morning preparing the ingredients and then you can leave the the slow cooker to do the rest of the work for you. The dark chocolate might seem like a strange ingredient, but trust us, it adds a depth to the chilli!
Roasted Sausage and Potato Supper
The Pop it all in the Oven Recipe
Mary Berry’s hearty sausage and potato dinner is a very simple one to make – and we always trust a recipe from Mary! All you have to do is put all of your ingredients in a roasting tin and pop it in the oven for just under an hour.
This is a perfect recipe to replace a time-consuming Sunday roast. It’s very simple but will still give you that hearty Sunday feeling. Remember, if you don’t want to add the wine just replace it with stock.
Dijon chicken with mushrooms
The Luxurious Recipe
The luxurious taste of this chicken recipe will make you think that you’ve gone out to a nice restaurant for dinner. In fact, this meal will take you very little time and effort to make but provides all of the flavour. The recipe list the addition of double cream as optional but we say you should go for it – you’ll thank us later.
Serve with whatever leftover potatoes and vegetables your have in the kitchen.
Don’t forget to let us know if you make any of theses meals or have your own favourite one-pot meal recipe! You can share them with us over on our Facebook page. You can also see more one-pot meals by visiting our Pinterest.
