Pre-Covid, I somewhat dreaded the question, what do you normally eat? I didn’t have a good answer. At a social event once someone found out where I lived and asked me that question, I believe in hopes of getting some restaurant recommendations in the area. My response was, “Do you mean in terms of frequency? If so, then El Pollo Loco.” To which they chuckled. I didn’t see what was so funny.

I mainly subsisted off of El Pollo Loco, pre-packaged meals and snacks from Trader Joe’s, street tacos from the vendor stationed outside said Trader Joe’s, weekly deals from Sprouts, and whatever free food I could get from my job (which consisted of a decent amount of catered lunch meetings). Wine paired with popcorn or cheese and crackers was not an uncommon dinner.

In quarantine, much like everyone else, I decided to take up cooking, looking to Chrissy Teigen and Nicole Trunfio for inspiration. Nicole’s Laksa, Pork Sausage spaghetti, Australian sausage rolls, and Chrissy’s Roasted Carrot & Avocado salad, and infamous banana muffin bread went through the meal rotation often.

I realized it’s not that I don’t enjoy cooking, I just don’t enjoy cooking for myself. Since it’s still just me for now, and I’ve been rehabbing my knee (see ACL injury posts) and life is getting more back to normal, I’ve stopped making many meals from scratch. It was through an Instacart post-operation purchase that I discovered Sprouts now has ONE PAN MEALS and they are AMAZING!

So far I’ve tried the STEAK with CHIMICHURRI, BASIL PESTO PASTA with CHICKEN, POT ROAST with MASHED POTATOES, and SHRIMP SCAMPI.

While the Basil Pesto and Pot Roast aren’t technically one pan meals, they are classified under Market Corner near the deli, the Basil Pesto is oh so delicious and along with the Shrimp Scampi, my favorites. It doesn’t look as appetizing before the cheese has melted, but after microwaving, the pasta comes out perfectly al dente, with the cheese all nice and gooey.

For the Shrimp Scampi, I’ve had it both as is, and with noodles I added on my own. The ingredients sit in the seasoning for some time, so it’s incredibly favorable as is. If you’re going to add more veggies or noodles to help the meal stretch out, add more salt, pepper, oil, and additional seasoning to ensure the same flavor.

The ONE PAN MEALS are perfect for meal prepping if you live alone, or a quick and easy way to make family lunch or dinner. Highly recommend!

CONCLUSION

1. The Market Corner Basil Pesto is amazing, comes in individual size, or larger family size
2. Common sense, but if you’re going to add additional veggies and carbs to the ONE PAN MEALS add more seasoning to ensure strength of flavor