Cooking for one.

[Camikaze]

When I lived alone the biggest problem I had with my frequent pasta cooking was that it wouldn't taste nearly as good microwaved the next day. It was hard to be motivated to cook stuff that was only great when eaten immediately.

 

[Cutlass]

Pasta is easy enough to make in smaller portions and not have to reheat.

 

[cybrxkhan]

Pasta is easy enough to make in smaller portions and not have to reheat.

That's true. Although I've never had an issue with microwaved pasta.

I would suggest keeping the pasta and the sauce/meat/veggies/whatever separate if you keep them in the refrigerator.

 

[Takhisis]

Cooking for one is a pain in the neck. It's a downward spiral towards eating uncooked food nearly all the time, in my experience.

You have to learn to enjoy cooking. Cooking what you enjoy is the way to start.

What's avocado sauce?

Wasabi.

Those chicken pieces will freeze just fine after being prepared.

Prepare them for baking/frying and then freeze them, separated by little plastic wrappers.

Living a loan? Is this what has become of the American dream?

I was wondering how long that would slip by. It was a spell check mis-correction I decided to allow.

J

Only until ve in ze Nazional-Socialist Party of CFC Grammarians can get around to dealink vith you.

 

[Camikaze]

Pasta is easy enough to make in smaller portions and not have to reheat.

It's certainly not the hardest thing to cook just for one night, but it's a duplication of effort.

 

[dusters]

What's avocado sauce?

A sauce made from avocado fruit, mayonnaise,

 

[Borachio]

You have to learn to enjoy cooking. Cooking what you enjoy is the way to start.
.

Yeah. No.

I used to really enjoy cooking. Especially cooking for other people. But nowadays I have no one to cook for, apart from myself. And no desire, or budget, to inflict my declining skills on random passersby or casual acquaintances.

 

[Quackers]

Just make a massive batch of food and freeze it. Chilis and curries are awesome for this.

I made a Rissoto the other day. Finely chop onions, garlic, bell peppers and chorizo. Heat through gently (think translucent onions than browned onions), in oil. Once the chorizo starts losing its oil add your arabata rice with chicken stock. The rice should absorb the water and be cooked...if it isnt add more stock. Once the water has boiled off add a ton of paramesan cheese and let it cover every part of the dish.

You cannot freeze it, but you can put it in the fridge and it will last a while. The best way to reheat is too add to a pan with some water. Any other way and it will end up dry.

 

[Angst]

Single people don't deserve food.

 

[Borachio]

How do you explain my supermarket's range of ready meals for one? (Not that they're anything I ever purchase. Even I can cook better than that.)

 

[kochman]

Extremely cheap, easy, and healthy...

1 person, prep time, easily under 30 minutes

Ingredients:
Tuna Fish (canned)
Lemon
Drained Capers
Parsley
2 Pitas
Black Pepper
Olive Oil

1) Drain water out of Tuna Fish, put in a bowl, put bowl in fridge
2) Apply a little bit of olive oil to one side of each pita, heat for 5-6 minutes at 350 degrees F (oil side down) - this makes it like a pizza bread
3) Retrieve tuna from fridge, add a little olive oil (to taste), capers (to taste), parsley (to taste), squeeze half a lemon in, sprinkle black pepper (to taste) - MIX
4) Get pitas out of oven, spread tuna mix in a thin layer on the non-oil side of the pita
5) Eat

 

[Borachio]

Canned fish! Too much salt. Arggh!!

And tuna? I'll eat it. But only because it's cheap, not because I like it. And I certainly couldn't stomach it without lemon or lime. (Well, I could. But I'd have to be hungry.)

 

[kochman]

It's great for you.
Also, you can use regular Ahi Tuna or whatever from your store...

 

[Borachio]

Hmm. I know oily fish is supposed to be good for a person.

I wonder how sustainable tuna is. They're a top predator, aren't they? Which also means they take a long time to reach maturity, and all the toxic substances accumulate in their flesh.

 

[Phrossack]

One good dish is the foil meal.

Take some aluminum foil and place whatever you want cooked inside. I use sliced potatoes, bell peppers, carrots, onions, and a hamburger patty and wrap them up in the foil, then place them on a grill or over a fire pit with a sort of grill for varying amounts of time (18, maybe more minutes). I put the patty, some onion bits, some pepper slices, and some sliced potatoes and make a hamburger out of them, and eat the rest as is.

 

[Antilogic]

What I do, buy the family size packs of chicken and pork chops, break them up into individual pieces and freeze them. Then only thaw and prepare what I want for the day. I find shake and bake is an easy and tasty way to go. Then you don't have to have the same day after day, but can mix it up some.

I used to do that before I got into the habit of going to the store twice a week. I think my problem was the thaw time: I get home at 7 or 8 PM, then by the time I thawed and cooked the food I would be eating at 9 or later.

Not-fried chicken.

Pre heat a skillet with a tight fitting lid. Over high heat, sear one side of a piece of chicken. If skin on, do skin down. If skin removed, do the cut side. Brown thoroughly, at least 2 minutes. Turn, season with S&P, reduce heat to low and cover. Cook 12-15 minutes. DO NOT LOOK AT IT.
There will be a nice bit of glace if you want a gravy.

J

I don't know if anyone else has this problem, but my chicken would be black if I left it on full-blast high heat for two minutes. The only thing I use the 9 for (my stovetop is numbered 0-9) is boiling water for pasta and other starchy stuff like potatoes. Cooking anything else, I never exceed 5 (medium heat).

Nice choice if you can get it. My delivery choices are seven different pizza options and one Chinese.

I do the cooking, so when my girlfriend is out of town I take it as an excuse to vacation.

This is why I live in cities.

One good dish is the foil meal.

Take some aluminum foil and place whatever you want cooked inside. I use sliced potatoes, bell peppers, carrots, onions, and a hamburger patty and wrap them up in the foil, then place them on a grill or over a fire pit with a sort of grill for varying amounts of time (18, maybe more minutes). I put the patty, some onion bits, some pepper slices, and some sliced potatoes and make a hamburger out of them, and eat the rest as is.

Boy Scout dinners! I used to do those!

 

[kochman]

Hmm. I know oily fish is supposed to be good for a person.

I wonder how sustainable tuna is. They're a top predator, aren't they? Which also means they take a long time to reach maturity, and all the toxic substances accumulate in their flesh.

http://www.eatingwell.com/blogs/health_blog/6_of_the_healthiest_fish_to_eat_and_6_to_avoid

Interestingly, #1 on both lists is types of tuna.
Albacore = good

1. Albacore Tuna (troll- or pole-caught, from the U.S. or British Columbia)
Many tuna are high in mercury but albacore tuna—the kind of white tuna that’s commonly canned—gets a Super Green rating as long as (and this is the clincher) it is “troll- or pole-caught” in the U.S. or British Columbia. The reason: smaller (usually less than 20 pounds), younger fish are typically caught this way (as opposed to the larger fish caught on longlines). These fish have much lower mercury and contaminant ratings and those caught in colder northern waters often have higher omega-3 counts. The challenge: you need to do your homework to know how your fish was caught or look for the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) blue eco label.

Bluefin = overfished, avoid

1. Bluefin Tuna
In December 2009 the World Wildlife Fund put the bluefin tuna on its “10 for 2010” list of threatened species, alongside the giant panda, tigers and leatherback turtles. Though environmental groups are advocating for protected status, the bluefin continues to command as much as $177,000 a fish. Bluefin have high levels of mercury and their PCBs are so high that EDF recommends not eating this fish at all.

 

[Angst]

How do you explain my supermarket's range of ready meals for one? (Not that they're anything I ever purchase. Even I can cook better than that.)

Sustainability until the upcoming purge.

 

[Takhisis]

Yeah. No.

I used to really enjoy cooking. Especially cooking for other people. But nowadays I have no one to cook for, apart from myself. And no desire, or budget, to inflict my declining skills on random passersby or casual acquaintances.

Maybe you have stopped enjoying the act and custom of eating? I don't live alone, so that might be it.

Single people don't deserve food.

How do you explain my supermarket's range of ready meals for one? (Not that they're anything I ever purchase. Even I can cook better than that.)

It's so that vegetarians can't impose their silly standards on people who are properly nourished.

Sustainability until the upcoming purge.

And a bit of that, too.

 

[Cutlass]

I used to do that before I got into the habit of going to the store twice a week. I think my problem was the thaw time: I get home at 7 or 8 PM, then by the time I thawed and cooked the food I would be eating at 9 or later.

My sis in law has a good system for that. She take things out of the freezer before work. She also puts things in the slow cooker for the day. That makes even not so good cuts of meat tender by dinnertime.