Practical one-pot dinners to make this fall

By Maria Laura Haddad-Garcia

Cooking dinner is just one of the many after-work tasks we all do each day. There's laundry to fold, rooms to clean and family members to care for. Not to mention fitting in things like exercise or visits with friends! So during especially packed weeks, I rely on practical dinners that make getting a healthy meal on the table—and cleanup afterward—a breeze. This week's delicious dinners are made using a single pot, sheet pan, skillet or slow cooker to keep your evenings easy.

Your Meal Plan

I'm especially looking forward to Monday's Vegan Coconut Chickpea Curry. I try to follow #meatlessmondays, and this beautiful curry bowl is a satisfying plant-based option. This recipe uses healthy convenience ingredients to keep things simple, like jarred coconut curry sauce, canned chickpeas and a package of precooked rice—three items I keep in my pantry at all times, so I can whip up this recipe on a whim. By using precooked rice, I can keep this dinner to one skillet. If you don't mind dirtying a second dish, follow our recipe to make Easy Brown Rice.

My skillet, Dutch oven and sheet pan all get put to work in other dinners this week, and I'm pulling out my slow cooker for the first time this season to make Wednesday's Slow-Cooker Chicken & Vegetable Noodle Soup. This cozy soup is just what I'm craving as the temperature drops. The best part about this slow-cooker recipe is that it can be prepped in a quick 15 minutes, so I can realistically get it ready before signing on for work in the morning. But to save even more time on prep, I'll plan on chopping the onion and bell pepper the night before.

Sunday: Creamy Chicken, Brussels Sprouts & Mushrooms One-Pot Pasta
Monday: Vegan Coconut Chickpea Curry
Tuesday: Salmon & Asparagus with Lemon-Garlic Butter Sauce
Wednesday: Slow-Cooker Chicken & Vegetable Noodle Soup (That gorgeous image above!)
Thursday: One-Pot Garlicky Shrimp & Spinach
Friday: Adobo Chicken & Kale Enchiladas

You can also view all of the recipes here.
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Something Sweet

Nothing feels more like fall to me than pumpkin spice. Whether it's in muffins, cookies or drinks, pumpkin spice is a flavor I can't get enough of. These pumpkin spice latte cookies are my all-time favorite—especially when paired with a hot cup of coffee. And I love that this recipe uses the whole can of pureed pumpkin, so I'm not left with an odd amount.

Get the Recipe: Pumpkin Spice Latte Cookies

What's Inspiring Me This Week

Coffee is definitely my jam, and not one morning goes by that I don't have at least one cup. But a recent study on black tea has inspired me to start adding a cup to my daily routine. According to this study, black tea can lower mortality risk by 9% to 13%. While this is also true for coffee, tea lovers now have another reason to keep sipping.

Find out More: Drinking Black Tea Might Help Lower Risk for Early Death, According to a New Study

Love this newsletter, have a meal-prep tip you're dying to share or a question you need answering? Email me at ThePrep@eatingwell.com.