FAQ

Hello! I created this page to answer some of the questions that I get asked most often (that would be Frequently Asked Questions 🙂 ). I hope you find this a helpful resource when you have questions about our recipes or our site.

Let’s get started…

What baking dishes do you use?

Great question and I get asked this almost every day.

With each recipe, I reference the baking dish or bowl I use and often provide a link to purchase it from Amazon in each recipe post. The size of the dish used in the recipes at One Dish Kitchen is very important. The recipes are developed and tested using the dish that is recommended. That being said, other similar sized dishes can work well too.

The baking dish I use most often is a 5-inch Le Creuset Baking Dish. It holds about 1.5 cups. I also use a slightly larger version that I have had for years which holds about 2 cups. You don’t have to spend a lot of money on your baking dishes. I have found Le Creuset as well as other brands at Home Goods, Target and Amazon. Just be sure to look for ones that measure about 5 inches by 5 inches or close to it.

One thing to remember, if you use a much larger baking dish for the recipes featured, the cooking time will be different than listed in the recipe and the results may not be the same.

But what if I don’t have a 5 inch by 5 inch baking dish?

When cooking in a baking dish for single serving recipes, the cook time is often driven by size and the depth of the food in the dish.  As mentioned above I typically use a 5 inch by 5 inch baking dish which results in the food in the recipe to be about 1 to 1 1/2 inches deep. The same amount of food in a large baking dish may be only 1/2 inch deep over the area of the dish, causing it to cook more quickly than the recipe called for.  Sorry for the math, but a dish with a comparable area (length x width) should result in the same cooking time. Example: A 5 inch by 5 inch baking pan has an area of 25 inches.  If you have a 4 inch by 6 inch baking pan, it has an area of 24 inches (4 inches x 6 inches) and should work just fine.  Also if you have a 5 – 6 inch diameter baking dish, that should work as well.

After all of that, I would recommend getting a 5 inch by 5 inch baking dish.

Can I double or triple your recipe to increase servings?

First of all, I only develop and test my recipes to serve one. I test these recipes several times (sometimes many, many more times) before they are published on One Dish Kitchen. There are a few recipes that can be doubled with success and I know this because I have done it. If I know that a recipe can be doubled successfully, I will state that in the recipe notes. But here’s the thing – when you alter a recipe from the way it is written, the results will differ. If you have doubled or tripled a recipe and it worked out great, please let us know.

Can I substitute one ingredient for another?

I post recipes that I have made using the ingredients listed in the recipe. You can certainly try a substitution if you would like, but I don’t know how it will turn out. I only test recipes as you see them written.

How do you come up with your recipe creations?

I take personal, family favorite and newly discovered recipes and alter or develop them from scratch to create single serving recipes. I also take requests, if you have a favorite recipe and would love to see it made into a single serving version, let me know at joanie@onedishkitchen.com.

I made your recipe and it didn’t turn out right. What happened?

I am so sorry that happened! Unfortunately, every kitchen is a bit different and there are a few variables that could influence the outcome of a recipe.

• The biggest variable could be your oven. Is your oven calibrated?
• Back to the baking dishes, what size did you use? Remember, if you use a dish that is substantially larger or smaller than the one recommended in the recipe notes, chances are the results won’t be the same.
• Has your baking powder/baking soda expired. Surprisingly, expired ingredients will often alter the outcome of the dish.

Where are you from?

I grew up just outside of New Orleans, in a little town called Slidell. I was exposed to the fantastic food we have in New Orleans and have since traveled throughout the US and beyond and discovered great and wonderful dishes. About 20 years ago, my family and I moved to the Houston area, which is probably the most international city in the US.  Check out Anthony Bourdain’s story here to see what I mean.

You mean you aren’t single? Why do you make single serving recipes then?

I first started making single serving recipes when my oldest son went away to college. He lived on microwave rice and ramen and I wanted him to be able to enjoy his favorite recipes while away (and also I wanted him to learn to cook a little). After creating a few single serving recipes, I found that I loved the process of scaling down recipes. As I posted the recipes to our site, other people discovered them too and wrote to tell me how much they were enjoying the recipes. From college students, young professionals just starting out on their own, professionals traveling away from home, a mom who wants to eat “real food” rather than the kids’ favorite mac and cheese, to those who are living on their own by choice or happenstance, there are a lot of us out there who want to enjoy preparing and enjoying a single serving meal.

Where did your travel posts go?

Before One Dish Kitchen, all of our recipes were on our other site, ZagLeft. ZagLeft was our first home where we wrote about travel and recipes.  And it was on ZagLeft that that we ventured off to explore and develop single serving recipes. The “Cooking For One” section of ZagLeft became so popular that in early 2017, we launched our new site One Dish Kitchen (where you are now) and decided to devote our recipe development to strictly single serving and small batch recipes.

We continue to write travel-related posts on ZagLeft and it will be a growing source of information on interesting places to travel, whether traveling solo or with others.  Also, we have years of favorite recipes for families on ZagLeft that continue to be popular and that we continue to nurture.

I love your recipe for _____ and would like to feature it on my site,  or I think your picture of _____ is awesome and would love to share it on my website, do you mind?

First of all, thank you. I’m flattered – truly I am and the short answer is Yes, but please credit me (One Dish Kitchen) when using the photo and include a link to the recipe webpage. Also, please never share a full recipe without my permission. It takes hours to create a recipe and take the photographs and if a recipe is cut/pasted and placed on your site, even though you think you’re paying a compliment, you are really just violating copyright laws. Instead, would you please snap a picture of your version of our recipe, or use our photo with a link back to us directing your readers to the original recipe on the One Dish Kitchen site and write about your experience with that recipe. Thank you.

Who takes care of the running of your website?

That would have to be my husband EJ. He’s the glue that keeps One Dish Kitchen running smoothly. Not only does he handle the back end blog stuff, he is also the chief recipe tester, sometimes dish washer, and always my biggest supporter. Without EJ, One Dish Kitchen would not be what it is today. I’m a lucky girl!

Do you have any partnership opportunities?

I work with a variety of clients and offer my services by way of sponsored posts, recipe development and food photography. I believe in 100% transparency and will always disclose if a post on One Dish Kitchen is sponsored. I only work with companies that I truly love and trust. If you are a brand and would like to talk a little more about working together, please get in touch, email joanie@onedishkitchen.com.