Farmhouse Kitchen, August 2024
Welcome back to the kitchen! I feel like we were just heralding spring, and now here we are getting ready to go back to school. If life seems to be passing you by at warp speed like it is for me, you’ll enjoy the one-pot meals I’m sharing this month. As much as I love cooking, my goal is always to spend less time in the kitchen and more time with my family.
Leading the pack is my treasured Goulash Soup. This tomato-based soup is filled with browned ground beef, whole kernel corn, onions, garlic and tender elbow macaroni. It’s one of those flavorful, nostalgic dishes that takes me back to the best memories from my childhood. The older generations love this dish, but I’ve found it’s one of those bridge builders younger folks fall in love with just as much. In addition to only needing one pot, this can be ready from start to finish in half an hour, making it the perfect addition to your weeknight rotation. Leftovers are great, too.
I have a great one-pot meal for the shrimp lovers in your life, too. Andouille sausage joins bell pepper, onion, garlic and celery to create a flavorful base to this filling One-Pot Sausage and Shrimp Jambalaya. I use a quick rice plus peeled and deveined shrimp to have this dish ready in about 35 minutes. I recommend not telling your guests that it’s a quick recipe, though. With flavor like this, no one would believe you anyway.
Last, but certainly not least, we have a recipe from another Alabama farm family. Jimmy Jimmerson is a longtime Alabama Farmers Federation member from Cleburne County and is known for his impressive cooking chops. That includes this Bacon Corn Chowder, originally shared in the March 2010 Neighbors. Now, I know you’re probably not wanting to think about soup in August, but hear me out. It’s all done in one pot, and it’s super fast — which means less time to heat up the kitchen and more time to enjoy life with those you love.
I hope this month’s recipes will help keep your family fed and happy as we transition from days at the lake to Friday Night Lights. The year will be over before we know it, so let’s make sure to treat life as we would a good glass of iced tea. Sip and savor, y’all. Sip and savor!
Stacey Little