Cooking for One

[mierin]

I'm looking for some advice on cooking solo. My DH recently got a new job and I've been grappling with trying to cook for myself while he travels for most of the week. Anyone else in the same boat?

I'm looking for good cookbooks, good recipe ideas, ideas for leftovers (since I always seem to make WAY too much) and just general advice on cooking for one.

My dinner diet at the moment is leaning way too heavily on Subway and pre-made veggie burgers. I need some variety!

[emmjay]

I have a WW cookbook called Dining for Two - I got it at a meeting, but I just did a quick google search and you can get it with another WW book for $8.98. None of the recipes make more than 4 servings, and most make 2 so you can eat the leftovers for lunch the next day.

Dining For Two (http://catalog.hsn.com/prod-12678/hf/hf0026/hp!sf!dept/1968991/1968991.htm)

[Sarah051504]

My Dh and I work opposite shifts so I cook for one every night. My best advise, if you are cooking from a reciepe just cut the ingredients in half. Generally, just cook half of what you think you should.

[EJM]

DH teases me that I'm a walking ad, but I love the magazine Cooking Light. They have 2 sections in the magazine that I use on his school nights (2 times a week), they are the "Dinner Tonight" and the "SuperFast" sections. Most of the servings in these two sections are for 2-4 people. I generally make the entire recipe so I have leftovers for lunch for one/both of us the next day. I got really sick of the usual cassaroles and pre-frozen stuff after a few months, so I've tried to cook more regularly when I'm home alone. I hate clean-up, but this way there is less prep work/cook time so the clean up doesn't bother me as much.

[Lizard]

One thing I love about cooking for myself... I can make things that my DH will not eat. :) He won't eat fish, mushrooms, tomatoes, lamb, veal, the list goes on. So I make those when he's gone and enjoy them my own damn self. :D

On the same topic, I was at Bakers (Kroger) this weekend, and noticed they were selling individually frozen fish fillets and servings of mussels and shrimp... all different kinds for $1.00 each! I got a bunch of them to try.

[craftyT]

My DH travels quite a bit too...

I've found our George Foreman grill to be the best invention ever! I griped when my DH came home with it and now I use it more than he ever has...

I stop by the store on my way home - go to the salad bar, then to the meat counter for a 1/2 chicken breast - come home put it on the grill & voila a meal for one within 10 minutes :)

If I don't feel like cooking at all - I usually do hors d'uevre (sp?) meals... cheese and crackers - chips and salsa - quesadillas ... any of those fill me up and they're easy... Maybe not healthy but easy ;)

[Janey]

I got this book: Healthy Cooking for Two or Just For You (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0875964486/qid=1123003891/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl14/103-2796174-9287014?v=glance&s=books&n=507846), and everything I've tried out of it has been fabulous. :)

[Sposa06]

A really cool feature of www.allrecipes.com (http://) - one of my favorite sites - is that you can input the number of servings you'd like to cook a recipe for and it automatically adjusts it!

[mierin]

Such great ideas, everyone! I actually get Cooking Light, but everything always looks like it serves 6, and it starts to get really hard to cut those recipes down. I'll have to look closer at the section in the back. I hadn't noticed those were for two servings.

He won't eat fish, mushrooms, tomatoes, lamb, veal, the list goes on. So I make those when he's gone and enjoy them my own damn self.
My DH is the same way. And I love mushrooms! So I throw them in everything while he's gone. :D

[chefker]

I'm in the same boat...DH travels a lot for work, so it's just dinner for one quite a bit! I'll get take out one night a week when he's gone, but mostly I'll make something simple...baked or grilled chicken breasts (I make two at a time--eat one for dinner, save the second one for a sandwich). Shrimp stir fry is good too--you can use frozen peeled shrimp and make just enough.

I make a lot of foods ahead and freeze them--such as meatballs, chili, things like that. Easy enough to re-heat, and I just make myself a salad to go with it.

If it is TOO hot to cook (like today!), I'll sometimes make the nuke-able Barber chicken breasts (in the frozen aisle). They come in different varieties, chicken cordon bleu, chicken Kiev, stuffed chicken, etc. Great stuff when you don't want to stand over the stove!

[Katy]

If it is TOO hot to cook (like today!), I'll sometimes make the nuke-able Barber chicken breasts (in the frozen aisle). They come in different varieties, chicken cordon bleu, chicken Kiev, stuffed chicken, etc. Great stuff when you don't want to stand over the stove!
I love those chicken thingies. It's how we survived our first summer together in the damnable heat - with a toaster oven. So easy and so yummy. In fact, I think we might have that for dinner tonight (I'm sure I have some in the freezer) thanks for the reminder Kerrie!

Otherwise, I have no suggestions. On nights my hubby works late, I either do take out or frozen dinners. Sometimes I just nibble until he gets home around 10 or so and then we go out for dinner (the joys of working from home)

[chefker]

I love those chicken thingies. It's how we survived our first summer together in the damnable heat - with a toaster oven. So easy and so yummy. In fact, I think we might have that for dinner tonight (I'm sure I have some in the freezer) thanks for the reminder Kerrie!



Hee hee, guess what I made myself for dinner last night! I had the chicken cordon bleu.

DH also loves the little chicken nuggets they make, filled with bacon & cheese, ham & cheese, or the 4 cheese blend. They come out GREAT in the microwave--no need for the oven, which I totally appreciate during a heat wave like we're having now.

[mierin]

DH also loves the little chicken nuggets they make, filled with bacon & cheese, ham & cheese, or the 4 cheese blend.
Ooo...chicken nuggets filled with CHEESE!? I must investigate. I think anything can be improved with a cheese filling. :D

[Katy]

Meg, I was thinking just this same thing. Kerrie, you say nuggets filled with cheese? Talk about a dream come true (okay, not really, but you get the idea).

The hubby worked late last night, so I just had some frozen shrimp for dinner. Tonight we're having one of the DreamDinner meals (I just want more space in my freezer!)