One Dish Meal

What is this Mysterious Dish?

I know what you’re thinking–-this recipe’s name is not helpful. And I agree. When I saw the card in Grandma’s box, I had questions galore. What’s in this mysterious dish? And what, exactly, does “one dish” mean? It was a far cry from today’s recipes where you can almost make the thing by throwing together all the ingredients listed in the title. 

And that wasn't the only problem. I had no idea what the end product was supposed to be. A soup or a casserole? There seemed to be too much liquid in the ingredients for a casserole but not enough for a soup.  

Also, the instructions and ingredient amounts were vague, so vague, I was tempted to skip it. However, there was that word at the top. Good. I’d learned from this recipe to be skeptical of that word, but finding out what kinds of things Grandma thought were good (and I don't) has been lots of fun. 

So, I gave a heads-up to my family that we might be ordering pizza and went ahead with the test. 

How to Make One Dish Meal

First, I measured out a pound of stew beef and sprinkled some flour over it.  

The recipe doesn’t specify the amount of flour, so I started with a tablespoon and that was perfect.  

The stew meat went into a hot pot with a little oil. 

I purposely used my stainless steel pot because I wanted the fond--you know, the browned bits that get stuck to the bottom. The recipe made no mention of seasoning ingredients, and I knew the fond would add some depth of flavor. 

After the meat was browned, I skipped the onions because of sensitivity issues and went right to the cup and a half of boiling water. As I poured it in, I scraped the browned bits from the bottom to form a broth that the meat would simmer in for the next hour. I also added some raw vegetables--diced carrots and celery. According to the recipe, you can add whatever vegetables you desire, so I did exactly that. 

I have to admit that I got impatient and started adding other vegetables before the hour of simmering was up. Some leftover shredded cabbage went in, as did some frozen peas and corn. By then, there wasn’t much liquid left in the pot, which answered the question about how soupy this dish would be. 

If you, like I was, are thinking that  “One Dish Meal” meant I could prepare the whole thing in one pot, we are all wrong. The recipe calls for cooked noodles, so those had to be boiled separately.  

Once they were cooked, I added them in with the meat and vegetables. 

I then stirred in the one cup of evaporated milk the recipe calls for.  

At that point, it looked very much like a casserole, hot and ready for the table. With all those added vegetables, it was even pretty. However, I had doubts. As I mentioned earlier, no seasoning ingredients were listed in the recipe, so I paused to take a taste. 

It was a good thing I did. It was so bland and boring, we would have been ordering out for pizza after just one bite.   

All was not lost though. The dish had solid ingredients. It just needed some pepping up. Salt and pepper were the first things to go in. I then asked Alexa what other kinds of herbs and spices went well with beef. Rosemary, thyme, sage, and cinnamon were some of the ones she listed. 

Cinnamon?  I took a pass on that.  

Instead, I pulled out my Herbes de Provence because it contained several of the herbs Alexa shouted out. I put in two teaspoons, knowing as I did so that the best time to have done that would have been before the simmering began. 

Ah well, test and learn. That’s the name of this game. 

The Verdict

The results were mixed. 

The pluses: As I placed the bowl on the table, I finally understood what “One Dish Meal” was supposed to mean. Here were the meat, vegetables, and grain in one dish--truly a whole meal right there. It was colorful and attractive. I also liked that it was customizable. I’d been able to add a random assortment of vegetables that needed to be used, and I figured the flavors could be changed to suit whatever vegetables I had on hand. We liked the Herbes de Provence, but any number of fresh or dried herbs could be used instead.  Also, the evaporated milk could be switched out for a variety of dairy or non-dairy options, such as half and half, cream, milk, almond milk, or possibly even sour cream. 

The negatives. I’m all about quick and easy when it comes to preparing my evening meals, and this one wasn’t quick. We also ended up with chewy beef instead of the fall-apart tenderness we prefer because I got impatient and cut the simmering time short. Take that as a warning to stick to the one-hour or start earlier in the day and use a slow cooker to better tenderize the beef. That’s what I’ll do next time. I’ll also switch up the herbs just for fun.  

In other words, this is a dish I will continue to fiddle with. If you’d like a comforting, one-dish meal that looks and tastes appealing, you can fiddle too. Just click on the link below the recipe card to download and print it out.