Easy dinner recipes: Diner-style hash and other one-dish meals

Sometimes nothing beats an easy one-dish meal. Especially if it comes together in an hour or less. Hash is a great option when you want something simple -- it’s one-pan comfort food. Simply combine potatoes with the meat of your choice and flavor as desired. Voila. Check out these options:

For diner-style roast beef hash, take that leftover roast beef in the fridge and cook it up with some cubed potatoes, bell pepper, garlic and jalapeño for a little heat.

Thinking chicken? Take leftover chicken (or pick up a rotisserie chicken from the store on your way home) and cook with cubed potatoes, crumbled chorizo, roasted green chiles.

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If you like spice, try a curried pork and apple hash. Cubed pork loin is tossed with tart apple bits, potatoes, onion and bacon. A little curry powder adds a layer of richness, balancing the sweetness of the apple.

For more ideas, click through our easy dinner recipes gallery and check out our Dinner Tonight page, devoted to recipes that can be made in an hour or less. Looking for a particular type of recipe? Comment below or email me at noelle.carter@latimes.com.

DINER-STYLE ROAST BEEF HASH

Total time: 1 hour

Servings: 6

1 1/4 pounds cooked roast beef, sliced into chunks

1 pound baking potatoes (about 2 large), cubed

1/2 red bell pepper, chopped

2 cloves garlic

1/2 jalapeño, seeded

2 teaspoons crushed red chile flakes

2 teaspoons dried oregano

2 tablespoons soy sauce

Salt and pepper

Olive oil

1. Working in batches, combine equal portions of beef, potatoes, bell pepper, garlic and jalapeño in the bowl of a food processor and pulse briefly until the mixture is reduced to a coarse crumb. (This can also be done with a meat grinder.) Repeat until all ingredients have been chopped. Place the finished mixture in a large bowl. Sprinkle with chile flakes, oregano and soy sauce, and stir the mixture gently to combine.

2. Prepare the hash in batches: Drizzle olive oil into a large cast-iron pan until it just coats the surface of the pan, then heat the pan over medium heat. Spoon a batch of hash into the pan and spread it out to a thickness of one-half to three-quarters of an inch, covering the bottom of the skillet. Cook hash, stirring very little, until the bottom has crisped and browned, 6 to 8 minutes. Scrape the crusty bits from the bottom and turn the mixture to allow other parts to brown. Taste and season as desired with salt and pepper. Cook for an additional 5 to 8 minutes, until there are plenty of crispy bits, then turn again. Remove hash from skillet, and begin another batch.

3. Repeat until all the hash has been cooked. (You may keep the finished batches warm on a platter placed in a 300-degree oven as you work.) Serve alone with Tabasco or ketchup or garnished with a fried egg.

Each serving: 264 calories; 34 grams protein; 16 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams fiber; 7 grams fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 63 mg. cholesterol; 1 gram sugar; 359 mg. sodium.

CHICKEN, CHORIZO AND GREEN CHILE HASH

Total time: 45 minutes

Servings: 6

3 tablespoons butter, divided

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

3/4 pound Mexican chorizo, squeezed from casing and crumbled

1 1/2 pounds cooked chicken, chopped into ½-inch cubes

1 pound baking potatoes, peeled and sliced into ½-inch cubes

1 1/2 cups chopped roasted green chiles

Salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup cream

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

2 green onions, chopped

1. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a large skillet, preferably cast iron, over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is soft and slightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add the chorizo and chicken, and cook until the chicken is almost warmed through, about 4 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove the mixture from the pan and set aside.

2. Wipe out the skillet and heat the remaining butter over medium heat. Add the potatoes, cover and cook without stirring until browned and beginning to crisp around the edges, about 5 minutes. Add the chiles, stirring them into the potatoes, then re-cover and cook until the potatoes are well browned, about 4 minutes longer. Stir the chicken and chorizo mixture into the skillet, then drizzle over the cream, paprika, and oregano. Stir to combine, scraping up any crusty bits from the bottom of the pan. Remove from heat, season with additional salt and pepper to taste. Top with chopped green onions and serve.

Each serving: 611 calories; 46 grams protein; 19 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams fiber; 39 grams fat; 16 grams saturated fat; 164 mg. cholesterol; 3 grams sugar; 934 mg. sodium.

CURRIED PORK AND APPLE HASH

Total time: 50 minutes

Servings: 6

Note: Whole cloves are an important part of the flavor of this hash, but warn your guests to look out for them.

4 ounces thick-cut bacon, roughly chopped

1 large onion, cut into ½-inch dice

3/4 pound (about 7) small red potatoes, unpeeled and sliced into ½-inch cubes

3/4 pound (about 3) firm, tart apples, sliced into ½-inch cubes

3/4 pound cooked pork loin, sliced into ½-inch cubes

6 whole cloves

1 teaspoon curry powder

Lemon juice, to taste

1/4 cup whole milk

Salt and pepper

1. In a large skillet over medium heat, add the bacon. Cook the bacon until it begins to brown and crisp, rendering its fat, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Scatter the onion into the skillet and stir to combine with the bacon. Cover the skillet and cook until the onion has softened and begun to caramelize, about 5 minutes.

2. Add cubed potatoes to the onion and bacon, spreading them out so they’re spaced in an even layer in the pan. (The more surface area is in contact with the pan, the more the potatoes will brown and crisp.) Cover and cook the potatoes for a few minutes to soften, then give them a quick toss in the skillet. Re-cover the pan and continue to cook the potatoes until they are browned and crunchy at the edges, about 5 minutes.

3. Uncover the skillet and stir in the apples, pork, cloves, curry powder and lemon juice. Stir, taste and season to taste with salt and pepper. Re-cover the skillet and cook for 5 minutes without stirring. Uncover and stir, scraping the crispy bits from the bottom of the pan and mixing them into the hash, then re-cover and cook for another 5 minutes.

4. Uncover the pan and drizzle over the milk, stirring and scraping any browned bits from the pan and making a loose gravy that binds the hash. Taste and season again with salt and pepper before serving.

Each serving: 308 calories; 18 grams protein; 21 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams fiber; 17 grams fat; 6 grams saturated fat; 62 mg. cholesterol; 8 grams sugar; 214 mg. sodium.

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