Can cooking for one make sense?

[b0mbrman]

Well? Can it?

I live alone and have a kitchen with all the little kitchen tools and a dining table. Anyhow, it seems like it would just be a hassle to prep, cook, and clean all just to feed one person.

Does anyone have suggestions as to how to make this process more time/cost-effective? Or am I better off just eating out 20 times a week?

 

[DaveSimmons]

Leftovers? (fark [ Obvious ] )

 

[AsianriceX]

Frozen chicken breast with spices in the oven for an hour, steamed/stir fry/sautee vegetables on the side, rice. Can't get any easier than that...ok maybe ramen, but that's not really food now is it?

 

[Bulk Beef]

I thought you were supposed to be deployed by now. Isn't KBR gonna feed you?

 

[Balt]

Cook enough for at least 2-3 meals, freeze or refrigerate what you don't eat.

Eat it later.

 

[iamwiz82]

From a monetary standpoint, it is usually cheaper to eat at subway than to eat at home for one. Unless, of course, you ae eating ramen every day

 

[HappyPuppy]

It only makes sense if you cook up enough stuff one day of the week to last for the rest of the week. Cooking every day for one is a drag. You wind up with all that mess every day. Leftovers can be very good, though. Roasts, spaghetti and cassaroles come to mind.

BTW, when I lived alone I ate frozen pot pies and TV dinners every day.

 

[benliong]

I live alone and cook for at least two days' worth of meal everytime. It's not that hard. Prepare the stuffs, put them in and slowly cook them, and go out watch a little TV.

I tried that Subway as a meal thing, and it just doesn't work out. too expensive.

 

[b0mbrman]

Oh no. I enjoy cooking...and I'm pretty decent at it. I'm just thinking about the money and time...

 

[yukichigai]

Yeah, leftovers are best. I usually cook large amounts of something that I know keeps well. Like Goulash. It may cost $10 to make that night, but when you're eating it every meal for the next 3~4 days it's worth it.

If you're cooking from one I find it's better to cook everything from scratch. It's a lot easier to get small portions of raw ingredients on the cheap than it is to get pre-prepared. Garlic Cloves, raw Shrimp, heads of lettuce, etc.

 

Originally posted by: iamwiz82
From a monetary standpoint, it is usually cheaper to eat at subway than to eat at home for one. Unless, of course, you ae eating ramen every day

Uh, ok if you say so. I have not found that to be true at all. You seem to speak from the standpoint of someone who couldn't boil an egg.

I cook everyday, I live alone.

 

[mugs]

Originally posted by: iamwiz82
From a monetary standpoint, it is usually cheaper to eat at subway than to eat at home for one. Unless, of course, you ae eating ramen every day

Uh... no. You could buy all of the ingredients in a subway hoagie and make your own for about $1. You can make a spaghetti dinner for under $1. As long as you make only as much as you need, you can't go wrong cooking at home. Frozen foods are good too. Not as cheap as something you prepare yourself, but still cheaper than eating out.

 

[yukichigai]

Originally posted by: SampSon

Originally posted by: iamwiz82
From a monetary standpoint, it is usually cheaper to eat at subway than to eat at home for one. Unless, of course, you ae eating ramen every day

Uh, ok if you say so. I have not found that to be true at all.

I cook everyday, I live alone.

Yeah, no kidding. A one pound bag of rice costs me a little, but I use it for the next several months. And we're not talking just making rice and rice alone. My freezer has lots of good stuff in it too. I've barely made a dent in the hamburger meat.

The point is while it costs a bit in the beginning, you can spend basically nothing cooking it over a period of time. Unless of course you factor in the electricity costs of using the stove or microwave.

 

[Turkish]

Originally posted by: iamwiz82
From a monetary standpoint, it is usually cheaper to eat at subway than to eat at home for one. Unless, of course, you ae eating ramen every day

Only if you eat the "Sub of the Month" for $1.99 5 times a week. Plus, you can get a free sub every 3 days w/ stamps.

 

[Wahsapa]

first of all you have to like food. if you think fast food is just as good as food from home well then.. theres no point in eating at home. second you have to like cooking. some people hate it, dont have the time, etc. thats ok, just make a lot of whatever it is and eat the leftovers thru out the week(like everybody else said). personally i LIKE cooking, its just fun, and i enjoy knowing what the hells in my food. i might not have the time, but i like making the time for it.

 

[Scarpozzi]

The trick to cooking solo is all on how many pots or pans you use. If you're the only one, you can cook plenty of meals in one skillet or saucepan. It makes cleanup a lot easier....best part is that you can eat right from the pot and you don't have to waste dishes either.

 

[Rage187]

I usually eat out every meal although I usually eat cheap.


Like the 3 strip meal at KFC for $3.99, I usually buy 2-3 of those and eat them for the next couple of nights.

Or I get a couple of large pizza's for $15 and they most of the time last me all 5 days.



I tried cooking for one but it was costing me $75 a week. I suck at shopping so maybe thats why.

 

[yukichigai]

Originally posted by: Scarpozzi
The trick to cooking solo is all on how many pots or pans you use. If you're the only one, you can cook plenty of meals in one skillet or saucepan. It makes cleanup a lot easier....best part is that you can eat right from the pot and you don't have to waste dishes either.

*Ding ding ding!* Winner!

Yeah, most times I'll just eat what I cook right there, or get a hotpad for the pan and take it with me to wherever I am at the moment. It's also economical to use tupperware as dishes, since you can just put a lid on whatever you can't finish and throw it in the fridge.

Oh yes, everything tastes better in a tortilla. Caesar salads, hamburger, even spaghetti. (The last one threw me for a loop) The tortilla shell is indeed a valuable tool to the budget cook.

 

[jadinolf]

I've been living alone for 16 years.

It is a hassle to cook for one. I find that mostly I lose vegetables in my diet.

Not good.

 

Step 1: Buy crockpot on sale for $15
Step 2: Cook chili, corned beef, stew, etc.
Step 3: ????
Step 4: Profit!!

 

[yukichigai]

Originally posted by: jadinolf
I've been living alone for 16 years.

It is a hassle to cook for one. I find that mostly I lose vegetables in my diet.

Not good.

You sir have obviously never tasted the SEAFOOD SALAD OF DOOMTASTIC DOOMOSITY! (I know the recipe there is for pasta, but it's just one I had for salad with linguini instead of lettuce. It's really good either way)

 

[ultimatebob]

I've found that cooking for one only makes sense if the leftovers can be frozen. Otherwise, I find myself eating the same damn thing 3 or 4 nights in a row, or eating too much just to "get rid" of the food goes bad.

Anyway, I've found that Chili works really well. It's one of those few meals that tastes better the next day.

 

[RobCur]

odnt have problems w cooking but i do with eating too much!

 

[Mo0o]

What about that machine that will vaccum a plate of food in a bag and supposedly you can store it for a really long time. You can make several servings at once and then just save those for whenever you want to eat them again.

 

[shekondar]

Just cook like my dad used to...
1. Open can of beans
2. Place can of beans in pan (DO NOT remove beans from can - put the entire can in the pan).
3. Place pan on stove & cook until beans are hot
4. Eat beans (right out of the can - don't want to get a plate dirty...)