Cooking for One?

mince meat is cheap in Uk (I think you call it ground beef) to make chilli con carne, bolognaise sauce, keema curry and can all be portioned and frozen then warmed up in the microwave. soups also you can make a big batch and freeze. you can also make low fat curries and stews which freeze well.

When I lived on my own these are some of the things I did.

I would make a full pot of rice, separate them into single servings and sandwich bag and refrigerate them so I could microwave them a minute to get almost a bagged steam effect. (just make sure to open the baggie before you microwave. You may need to put a bit of water in the baggy, too, so that it doesn't overdehydrate, depending on the rice, and your microwave.)

I made enough veggies/ meat for the week to keep in the fridge. I would freeze the rest in single serving baggies. The veggies and meat I made may be unmarinated, or marinated very basically so that I could vary up what I had throughout the week.

Frozen mixed veggies are quick, and easy. They are great for making quick stir fry or fried rice, or a side to go with a piece of chicken or fish. I buy bulk, and make sure to seal it properly so it doesn't get freezer burn.

I refrigerate the bread right away, and if I know I won't be able to consume it before it molds, I'll store some in the freezer.

Fresh veggies, like lettuce or spinach can be difficult if you plan to eat them raw, like in a salad or sandwich. You don't want to buy too much, because it doesn't taste the same once you freeze. Buy only one of each type at a time. For example, as a salad staple for week 1, buy 1 head of lettuce. After you are almost done, you can buy spinach. That minimizes waste.

Good luck!

When I lived on my own these are some of the things I did.

I would make a full pot of rice, separate them into single servings and sandwich bag and refrigerate them so I could microwave them a minute to get almost a bagged steam effect. (just make sure to open the baggie before you microwave. You may need to put a bit of water in the baggy, too, so that it doesn't overdehydrate, depending on the rice, and your microwave.)

I made enough veggies/ meat for the week to keep in the fridge. I would freeze the rest in single serving baggies. The veggies and meat I made may be unmarinated, or marinated very basically so that I could vary up what I had throughout the week.

Frozen mixed veggies are quick, and easy. They are great for making quick stir fry or fried rice, or a side to go with a piece of chicken or fish. I buy bulk, and make sure to seal it properly so it doesn't get freezer burn.

I refrigerate the bread right away, and if I know I won't be able to consume it before it molds, I'll store some in the freezer.

Fresh veggies, like lettuce or spinach can be difficult if you plan to eat them raw, like in a salad or sandwich. You don't want to buy too much, because it doesn't taste the same once you freeze. Buy only one of each type at a time. For example, as a salad staple for week 1, buy 1 head of lettuce. After you are almost done, you can buy spinach. That minimizes waste.

Good luck!

Good advice. However, you should never refrigerate bread. It will go stale faster in the humid, cool environment of a fridge. Freeze if you are saving for a long time..but don't refrigerate.

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Should_you_refrigerate_bread

Currently I'm in the habit of cooking multiple portions of every meal and then freezing them. We have a big freezer so I can do this and not eat the same meal twice in a week - which was what initally put me off the idea of cooking multiples. It also gives me nights off cooking because I only have to reheat

It can get quite costly cooking a completely different meal each day so before I had a freezer I used to choose recipes for a week that all contained similar ingredients. eg. I'd have a tomato, onion and garlic week with root veg. And it's amazing how different you can make those meals by switching between your carbs (rice, pasta, cous cous, potatoes, bread) and adding different staples herbs and spices. Eg. Soup, Risotto, Pasta bolenguese, pizza, chilli, stuffed mushrooms, casserole, some sort of meat replacement with a Mediterranean style sauce, curry.

Hi. Not sure how big your freezer is? Do you have a slow cooker? those are great for cooking big meals in a really super easy way, eat one portion and freeze the rest. :-) xxx

get a slow cooker that way you can get the cheaper cuts of meat, add whatever you want. Throw it all together in the morning and the house smells great and dinner is ready when I get up. Left overs can be made into anything you want depending on what you started with. Favorite is chicken breast, mushrooms, onions and can of tomatoes. Have fun!

stir frys are great go to meals wether you are cooking for one or four.

I thnk you can probably do just about anything you do now just made for one. Just portion it out for one.

Think pasta

a box will now last your for a few meals rather than one and the sauce once opened freezes well in airtight containers so divide a jar up into equal parts and you can have it on hand to quickly defrost to put over the pasta alone or with a thin cut chicken breast and some light mozzarella cheese. Just as simple to toss in some frozen veggies when boiling a serving of pasta then drain and add a couple wedges of laughing cow light cheese. and toss till melted well.

I make vegetarian chili but I would also say toss whatever you like for chili or bean soup in a crock pot and let it cook then divide it up into individual servings and freeze. it goes a long way as a side dish say over steamed rice or alone as a meal. And is pretty cost effective. You can do the same with soups.

I agree with stocking up on meats when they are on sale I do this regularly and I portion them out and season them before I freeze. I have a family of four to feed so I buy ground beef and season it up then freeze it individualy into burgers, meatballs, a meatloaf, or just enough to make a portion of whatever you happen to use it for like a taco salad (one of my favs.

Same goes for chicken but I season it with some dry ranch (hidden valley) dressing mix or one of many marinades by lawrys or mckormick and freeze individualy in ziplock bags. Or make shiskabobs from cuts of beef, pork or chicken and some veggies.

Hope that helped! Good Luck and enjoy your new place

how about fish,
whiting with veg,
we have a pie oven at work so I put a fish fillet in tin foil with some veg's and a little oil with some spices,
Put it in there at the start of shift and have a decent alternative to pies and chips for break,,,
its the cheapest healthiest thing I can come up with so far,,,,

Cost ; under 2 Australian Dollars

My fiance is in the army and so I find it hard to switch between having him here 100% of the time some weeks and then not seeing him at all other weeks in terms of planning my meals (and him not being here generally as well!). A few tips I would have are:

Don't worry about a small freezer, just get sensible with space and how you store things - rather than having half filled containers put everything in ziplock bags and you'll fit more in.

Prepping veg is a brilliant idea - cutting up carrots, green beans, asparagus so they are ready to pop into a stirfry / salad / steamer as necessary. I find pulling out the big steamer is a pain for one but in the UK you can buy these steamers to put in the microwave - assume you'll get them over there too.

Try to think of ways of changing things up so you can have what you had for dinner the following lunchtime without getting bored (e.g. marinated lamb kebabs in the evening, make the lamb into a wrap / salad the following day).

Speak to people you work with - I don't have it now but at my old work myself and 2 other girls had a 'lunch club' where every third day we'd bring in lunch for all 3 of us. Meant we got gorgeous, homecooked and healthy food every day but didn't have the faff of cooking for one every lunchtime and every evening.

Finally, plan, plan, plan your meals. It might sound boring but you will end up saving a lot of money. If you find a recipe that calls for something fresh that you know you'll only use half of - that's fine, just find another recipe that uses up that ingredient (google is a godsend, just type in the ingredient followed by 'recipes' and it'll bring back a load of suggestions).

Have fun - you'll love living on your own

Sarah

Go to emilybites.com. She has a lot of recipes for "cupcake" main dishes. They are already portion controlled. I make up a batch for the a few days, have 2 each night with a salad and that is supper.