One Dish Meals Perfect for Fall

Fall is the perfect time for meals that warm your soul. Of course, fall can also be a hectic time of the year, as the holidays get closer. That's when one dish meals come in really hand. Not only are many one dish meals easy to prepare, but they require little cleanup. Some even take less than 30 minutes to cook. The following are just two of my favorite one dish meals that are perfect for fall.

Creamy Chicken Stew

½ stick of butter
½ cup of flour
1 can of chicken broth
1 ½ cups of milk
½ teaspoon of dried thyme
1/8 teaspoon poultry seasoning
Kosher salt, to taste
Fresh ground black pepper, to taste
3 cups of cooked chicken, cut into bite sized pieces (I prefer white and dark meat for this recipe)
4 cups of frozen mixed vegetables

1. Melt the butter in the bottom of a large pot and stir in the flour, whisking until smooth.
2. Slowly add the chicken broth, stirring to remove any lumps of the butter and flour mixture.
3. Add the milk and season with the thyme, poultry seasoning, salt and pepper.
4. Allow the mixture to continue cooking until it starts to thicken and then add the chicken and vegetables.
5. Continue heating until the vegetables have heated through.
6. Serve immediately or make into Chicken Pot Pie.

Tips:

Different seasonings and vegetables can be used to create different flavors for this stew.

If a creamy stew doesn't interest you, increase the chicken broth to two cans and omit the milk.

Olive oil can be used in place of butter for a healthier stew.

Chicken Pot Pie

1 pot of Creamy Chicken Stew
10 canned biscuits, 1 sheet of pie dough, puff pastry, or homemade biscuit dough (your choice)
½ stick of melted butter

1. Reheat the Creamy Chicken Stew, if necessary, in an ovenproof pot.
2. Top the stew with the pastry of your choice.
3. Brush the pastry with the melted butter.
4. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, or until the pastry is golden brown and cooked through.
5. Serve immediately.

Tips:

If the Creamy Chicken Stew is refrigerated overnight, you may want to add additional liquid to the stew while reheating because the stew does thicken even more when refrigerated.

Dried spices or even shredded cheese can be added to the top of the pastry to add even more flavor.