cooking for 1 person...anybody have any good ideas or tips?

[NTB]

Cooking for one person turns out to be a lot harder than I thought it would be . Part of it, I know, is just me - I just plain stink at eyeballing things, at figuring out how much is too much, or enough, or too little. Every time I try it, I end up with either too little, or too much for one meal but not quite enough to be worth saving.

Part of it also though is that I'm not sure *what* to cook. I never was the creative or artistic type, so just 'throwing something together' is not something that comes naturally to me. I'm also not one to eat 'because something sounds good'. I get cravings once in a while, but mostly I just get hungry in general - not for any one specific thing. So I'm at a bit of a loss. I need to do something though - I'm getting tired of fast food and frozen stuff, and my waistline isn't taking too kindly to it, either. Suggestions?

Nathan

 

[keird]

A modified and tastier version of this

Ingredients:

1 LB GROUND ITALIAN SWEET SAUSAGE
1 MEDIUM RED ONION, CHOPPED (about ¾ cup)
½ TSP SALT (OPTIONAL)
1 CUP SHREDDED MONTEREY JACK CHEESE
½ to ¾ cup mushrooms/sliced?(2 small cans drained)
½ CUP Bisquick Original Baking Mix
1 cup milk
2 eggs
garlic powder
Hungarian paprika
Black pepper

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. With non-stick cooking spray lightly spray a 9 or 10 inch pie plate.

Cook sausage until brown then drain. Spread sausage in pie plate, layer the cheese, onion and mushrooms on top of sausage and sprinkle lightly with garlic powder

In a separate bowl, mix the eggs, milk, salt and Bisquick then spread on top and sprinkle with paprika and pepper.

Bake about 25 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean.

Think of it as a lazy man's quiche. I made it the other night with broccoli and onions instead of mushrooms and it turned out fine.

 

[necine]

I make chilli

2 lbs lean turkey ground
2 tomato sauce
2 packets chilli mix
1 pepper
1 onion
1 Can kidney bean
Some salt/Pepper
Some Cheyenne Pepper

Brown meat
Drain fat
add everything else plus 2 cups water
cook for 30 mins simmer

Also, arroz con pollo is good. I grill steaks.... Anything I can cook that will leave me leftovers that is quick to make. I make chicken breasts.

My normal week looks something like this...

Monday - Lunch - Eat out, Dinner - Steak, rice, steamed brocolli
Tuesday - Lunch - Steak, rice, steamed brocolli, Dinner - Chili
Wednesday - Lunch - Chilli, Dinner - Arroz con pollo
Thursday Lunch - Arroz con pollo, Dinner - Salad, Tuna sandwhich, Steammed veggies
Friday lunch/dinner - eat out

It works for me... I get to eat out enough, plus i cook 4 days a week. Just go to any recipe site find stuff you like and make it... Thing is when they say put weird stuff like thyme and saffron or whatever it makes the recipe look intimidating. That stuff is too taste and is unnecessary. A recipe is not an instruction manual more like a guide. I leave stuff out and add stuff into recipes all the time.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/S...pherds-Pie/Detail.aspx
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/C...-con-Pollo/Detail.aspx
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/H...o-Sauce-II/Detail.aspx

Also learn to snack better and to store food with Tupperware.

 

[necine]

Speghetti w/ White Clam sauce is good too.

 

[NTB]

Thanks for the suggestions, guys - keep 'em coming! I've got some errands to run this afternoon, but I will deffinitely come back and check this thread again before I go grocery shopping this evening

Nathan

 

[Squisher]

I'm far too lazy to cook meals one at a time. I'll buy 12 lbs. of chicken breast or thighs or whatever when it's onsale. Marinate it and broil or grill it all at once then refreeze it in small quantities using my Handi-Vac. With meats at the the ready I only have to make side dishes or use the meat on salads or in a quick stir-fry. I'll usually make up side dishes that'll last a few days too.

 

[NTB]

Originally posted by: necine
Speghetti w/ White Clam sauce is good too.

Speghetti is one of the few things I *have* made without completely buggering it up But that gets old after a while, too.

Also, if it helps, I have most of the stuff to do the cooking - stove, microwave, toaster oven, pots, frying pans / skillets, mixing bowls, kitchen knives, etc. I re-stocked my kitchen last spring because all of the stuff I originally brought with me had to go back home: my little brother was getting his own apartment, and between the 2 of us, I was the one who could most easily afford to stock a kitchen. So I did Now I just have to figure out when/how to use the stuff properly . Also ought to replace the knives - I skimped a little on those. Oops. The 'kitchen knives' are still OK I think, but the steak knives I bought started to rust in less than 6 months.

Nathan

 

[Baked]

Get an ugly wife.

 

[wwswimming]

rib eye steak, which is the same cut as prime rib.

fried with tarragon & pesto.

works for more than one, too.

potatoes, vegetables, Reese's peanut butter cups.

milk & Sierra Mist.

 

[BrunoPuntzJones]

Buy a big ass sharp knife. Cut everything you buy in half and throw it in the freezer or frige.

Pizzas, pasta, bread, etc.

 

[lightstar]

buy some ziplock bags and freeze leftovers for a rainy day

 

[NTB]

Originally posted by: Baked
Get an ugly wife.

:music:
If you wanna be happy for the rest of your life
never make a pretty woman your wife
from my personal point of view
get an ugly girl to marry you!
:music:



Nathan

 

[randomlinh]

necine, your steak holds up the next day? Or do you cook a steak a little more raw in preparation of reheating it?

 

[sandorski]

Just cook normal meals, eat leftovers for a couple days or freeze them in 1 Meal sized portions that you can just reheat whenever.

Here's a quick easy and basic meal plan that's not great, but is highly malleable:
Meat---1 steak, or 1 pork chop, or 1chicken thigh(or 2), cook up as you like it
Carb---1 package Ramen, drain noodles, add butter/margarine and flavour packet- or 1 potato Baked/boiled-mashed or 1 Kraft dinner(or other Pasta or Rice side dish thingies) or simply 1/2-1 cup of Rice
Veggie---canned/frozen/fresh Vegetable of your choice.

I like to bake my pork chops and chicken wrapped in foil and covered with one of those bottled sauces(not the whole bottle, just until the meat is covered ), such as BBq, Thai Ginger, Curry, etc. Along with that I add Salt/black Pepper/crushed chillis. The juice that's made this way can be poured directly onto the Carb part of the meal or you could thicken it a bit to make it more like a gravy. That's especially useful when just having Rice, but also adds to Pasta or potatoes.

Green beans go with anything, Peas are especially nice with Rice, Carrots(get some of those "baby" carrots chopped/skinned ready to eat from the bag for convenience)are always good. A neat trick to use when having Pasta and an Italian Tomato/Meat Sauce: When cooking the Pasta, add spinach or broccoli into the water approx 1 minute before the Pasta is done. Drain as usual and serve.

Cheese! Not much to be said about it, except many a crappy meal can be made tolerable with it though.

 

[Gothgar]

Just make full meals and eat the leftovers as others have said.

 

[wwswimming]

fry a piece of fish and then put a piece of cheese on it when
you take it out of the frying pan. i cut the fish in half and
put the hot sides against the cheese, so it melts better,
maybe.

 

[sygyzy]

Your problem isn't that you are cooking for one person; it's that you don't know how to cook.

 

[gamepad]

Fried salmon, a couple boiled vegetables, and a hunk of french bread.

Easy meal.

 

[necine]

Originally posted by: randomlinh
necine, your steak holds up the next day? Or do you cook a steak a little more raw in preparation of reheating it?

I prefer medium-rare steaks, so when I reheat it tastes fine. Steak keeps well.

 

[Jeff7]

Macaroni & cheese with stewed tomatoes

- 2C dry macaroni, cooked normally
- 8oz mozzarella
- 4oz cheddar (half each of the standard 1lb and 8oz sizes of each)
Shred the cheese.

"Sauce"
- 2C milk
- 2T flour
- 2T butter

Stewed tomatoes - I've found that buying them in a can is far easier than making my own, and it tastes exactly the same as what my mom made back home anyway.


While the macaroni is going, get the sauce ready. Heat the milk and butter in the microwave, and stir in the flour. The mixture doesn't need to be too hot - just so long as the butter melts and the flour mixes in.

Mix the cooked macaroni, sauce, and shredded cheese, and pour into a 2qt oven-safe container. Put a lid on it, and heat for 40min at 375F.

I will usually take the lid off after 20 minutes so that the top can get lightly browned.

Scoop out a serving onto a plate, and mix the stewed tomatoes in with it. Enjoy.

The original recipe called for pepper and chopped onions to be added to the macaroni, but I found that unnecessary as 1) Both ingredients are already found in the stewed tomatoes, and 2) I couldn't taste a difference.


Tuna Noodle Casserole
For this one, you really don't need to cook it, but it's recommended.

- 1 can cream of mushroom soup (the condensed stuff)
- 1/2 C milk
- 1 can tuna
- 2.5C egg noodles (dry). I think this is about half of a 12oz package

Cook the noodles, and mix them with everything else.
Bake at 350F for 30 minutes, covered, and leave the cover on for the entire time.

 

[NTB]

Originally posted by: sygyzy
Your problem isn't that you are cooking for one person; it's that you don't know how to cook.

This is also true, at least partially. There are *some* things that I do know how to cook - but with those I'm used to cooking for, at the very least, 4 people. Usually more.

Nathan

 

[wwswimming]

monkey brains

you buy a plane ticket to Tokyo
go to expensive Japanese restaurant
order fresh monkey brains
they do the monkey brain thing

they take out the monkey brains so it's sort of take-out.

but it's definitely not TV dinner.

probably on UTube though
http://www.google.com/search?h...key+brains&btnG=Search

ick

 

[Sentrosi2121]

Buy a whole chicken at the beginning of the week. Quarter it and you'll have a meal for at least 4 days.

 

[Cattlegod]

6 lb bag of boneless chicken breasts from costco (individually wrapped)
1 bottle of sweet baby ray's bbq sauce
1 favorite spice
1 george foreman

15 minutes = yum yum and tons of protein.

 

[cw42]

i usually like to fry a portion of chicken breast or porkchop, cook some rice, and then steam some vegetables to put on the side. simple.