Cooking for One

[G.T.]

I shop much the same way but don't do so much in the way of preparing bigger quantities and freezing for later. I tend to just make a meal at a time, which is often too big but not enough to freeze for future. But I never nuke, matter of fact I have never used a microwave at all.

I never plan a menu though. I have no idea what tonight's dinner will be and probably won't until I start making it (sometimes not even then) I just hate to be locked into a predetermined plan because I like options. I tend to make a lot of Asian meals -- curries and Thai noodle dishes and such.

Don't know nearly as much about canning/preserving as I'd like to. I'm venturing into making hot sauces soon, using close to 100 Ghost and Carolina Reaper peppers I've grown over the summer.

Make one with a glaze like texture and with pineapples and we can be besties and even ride roller coasters together on weekends.

Pineapples is it? That sounds good, might work it in.

I figure on using baby food as part of the base. But no planned recipe is safe once I get started.

Watch the youtube series hot ones, thatll inspire you...its a fun watch, too

 

[williepete]

Saw this posted on a "Site of the Day" links page.

Food and Nutrition Service

"Try this site if you are having trouble paying for groceries or affording a nutritious diet. Seventeen programs offer help, including food and nutrition education."

 

[Ringel05]

Cheap meal that lasts;
Breakfast sausage (1Lb) cooked and crumbled.
1/4 onion diced and cooked till translucent.
Cooked rice (about 3 cups).
Cut green beans (12 oz, fresh or frozen).
Soy Sauce (Lite)
Oil (use which oil you prefer), 1 to 2 tablespoons.
Ginger as per taste.
Cook rice, cook the sausage in a large skillet, add onions and cook till translucent, add green beans and ginger, cook till green beans are done then add cooked rice, oil and stir well, add a couple of splashes of soy sauce and stir another minute.

 

[Muhammed]

When I lived alone I used a crock pot a lot. I would put a chuck roast in there with potatoes and the holy trinity in the morning and put it on the lowest setting it had. Then when I got home from work I had a hearty dinner waiting for me.

 

[Gracie]

There is a lady on Pinterest that shows her monthly crockpot meals. She gets them ready ahead of time..all in one large freezer bag for each meal complete with all ingredients, then freezes that bag. Every couple of days, she just yanks one out of the freezer, plops it in the crockpot and forgets about it.

I'll see if I can find the link to her.

BrB

 

[Gracie]

31 Freezer Prep Sessions That Will Change Your Life – New Leaf Wellness

 

[Gracie]

Here is another one. Having Arthritis sucks. I have RA, myself, so cooking is a bitch with heavy pots and pans. The crock pot is a Godsend.

Whole 30 Crock Pot Recipes You Can Freeze Ahead! - Sweet T Makes Three

 

[SeaGal]

As a single, retired person who lives alone on a fixed income, I have developed an effective and low cost way of eating well and staying healthy. But I'm curious what others here who live alone are doing.

Though not living alone my cooking style has changed greatly now that there's just two of us. Sounds as though you have things well in hand with your system. I also love one pot meals and make them once or twice a week...and will sometimes cook a weeks worth of meals in one day.

I've been using the home food deliveries for nearly a year now...usually ordering three meals a week for two which actually is generous enough for three or four portions per meal. They send all the ingredients needed, including spices you might not normally have. I really love the variety of choices and the freshness of the veggies. We've tried several and I like Home Chef the best (not an ad, just a starting point).

I, too, make my own dressing (vinaigrettes) and in my case, marmalade - as well as going to the u-pick fields for tom's, cukes. etc. to freeze, pickle or can. For decades grew nearly all our own produce - but the deer have made gardening almost impossible lately.

I use the bag method for freezing too (as was demonstrated in an earlier post)- makes storage and visibility so much easier.

My two favorite one-pot meals use a whole chicken - chicken and dumplings, or chicken and rice soup.