Cooking Single or for Couples

[boefixepa]

I've noticed I'm not the only single or couple on this site so I'd thought I give and ask about this. I really don't like eating the same thing numerous time, and things only freeze so well for so long. How do you cook inexpensively for one or two people? Here are some things I've found and please offer up what you have.

1. I FINALLY found a cook book called cooking for two. It has great meal ideas and recipies...I mean things like making six cookies...from scratch! I'll bring the title and author to work tomorrow. Learning ALOT from it.

2. Deli counter. You can buy two slices of cheese...the rest won't go bad before you can use it. Works great for making stuffed chicken breast...see note one!!

3. Learning to eat out at wendy's and Taco Bell for between 2-3 dollars a meal.

4. Food saver to melt the plastic bags for everything from cheese to chips.

5. No soda, just water. Gave up on milk too...goes bad before I can use it all even 1/2 gallon. I take vitamins instead. Kool aid even tastes bad after a week in the fridge.

6. Toaster over instead of range oven. Why heat up the whole thing for something little. Microwave is handy too.

7. I need a bigger freezer. Wish I could switch the Fridge side to the freezer side. It would be much wiser use of space.

Bring on the hints!!!

[Fern]

When i can, i like to cook a 'sunday dinner' type meal on the weekend, then use the leftovers for lunches during the week.

[boefixepa]

Cooking for two - Bruce Weinstein & Mark Scarbrough

Come on there have to be more people that cook out there?

[lrjohnson]

Yeah, I cook, and it's just 2 of us, but I freeze things a long time, and I don't mind eating the same thing numerous times. With tortillas, potatoes, cheese, tomatoes, refried beans, and eggs, which are all staples in our house, we'll have bean burritos, cheese omelets, breakfast burritos with scrambled eggs and sauteed potatoes, tomato omelets, quesadillas, frittata, all the combos except bean omelets, I guess.

[PrincessPerky]

I cook for three at lunch, but we eat alot...

[zakity]

I used to make a normal dinner and then we would eat on it for a day or so and then I would freeze the rest. I would also make something and then use the leftovers to make something else.

I would bake a chicken and make gravy one day I would make lots of extra gravy and extra noodles (or rice or potatoes). The next day, some of the leftovers would be eaten for lunch and dinner that day would be something else (tacos or something totally different, DH hates to eat the same thing over and over again). The day after that, I would mix the leftover chicken, the leftover gravy, and the noodles together to make a casserole. The next night would be leftover night or I would freeze the leftovers.

[PrincessPerky]

I remember never buying bread before kids...it always went modly before we could eat it!

I also remember making spaghetti sauce with a can of tomatoes (mini diced) it was just enough for 3 plates...the hardest part ofr me was needing my little mini pot (one whcih I havn't used since!)

[boefixepa]

Okay, I know there are more ideas out there.

From another thread cooking things in Bread loaf pans, mini loaf pans, and muffin pans.

Any other tricks?

[Ima saver]

I go out to eat a lot. You can eat cheap at wendy's. I always throw away milk. there is just 2 of us. I wish they would sell steaks in single packs. My husband likes rib eye, I like ny. strip.

[jaksilee]

I cook alot of things by only making half of the recipe or packaging it up for lunches. I make mini cassroles and meat loafs in small loaf pans or a jumbo muffin tin. If you are into OAMC (once a month cooking) Libby's Cooking for single servings is a good one to try!

[miclason]

leftover chicken can be chopped up to make chicken patties, chicken crepes, chicken salad for sandwiches, tacos....it can be pureed to make chicken pate or, can be used to make chicken soup (cream)

If you serve meatballs with mashed potatos one day, themeatballs can be mashed and used for bolognese sauce for a lasagna...and leftover mashed potatos can be made into little balls and filled with ham and cheese, then fried or baked, then served with a salad...which gives you meals for 3 days...

Ok, it's 11:47 here and I've already made myself hungry!!

[Tightwad Kitty]

Originally Posted by jaksilee

I cook alot of things by only making half of the recipe or packaging it up for lunches. I make mini cassroles and meat loafs in small loaf pans or a jumbo muffin tin. If you are into OAMC (once a month cooking) Libby's Cooking for single servings is a good one to try!

'Libby's cooking for single servings' is a great site to learn the methods on how to do this for singles. Try to read that website for other ideas, recipes and methods, try the links too! You can use your own recipes that freeze but remember to cook for 4-6 servings only, packing into single portions that way you will be able use them up in two months. Rotating a menus of 14 - 21 days is a good way to go. Remember to take out your meals the night before you plan to used them!
Happy Cooking

[jaksilee]

I just thought of a few things more that may help with this.....

1. I just found this cool cookbook for cooking for 1 at Target... the recipes are for one or for things that can freeze well The name is: Serves One by Toni Lydecker. Now these are not extremaly frugal recipes, but they look really good!

2. Buy Larger packages and then freeze individaly. Like today I bought bacon on sale really cheap. I take it and seperate the strips out on a baking sheet and flash freeze them then put in a ziploc bag so I can only pull out a few strips at a time. this works really well for lots of other meats and I like to add marinades to chicken, porkchops and steaks before I freeze so it makes things easier when I pull it out of the freezer.

3. When chicken parts go on sale buy as much as will fit in you stock/pasta pot or crockpot. Put 1 onion quartered, 2 sticks of celery cut in large chunks, and 2 carrots washed but not peeled and cut in large chunks in the bottom of you pot. Then add the chicken. If you are using a stock pot add water/chicken broth to cover the chicken. If you are using you crock pot add 1-2 cups chicken broth. Stew the chicken till it starts to fall off the bones. Then seperate bones and skin and freeze the meat for cassroles, soup or salad topping. I like to use chicken thighs or quarters for this. I also take the skin off all but a few pieces to cut down on the fat. If you make this in the crock pot you get a double strength chicken stock at the end and if you do it in the pot you get a standard strength stock! I make this in really large batches (I have 9.25lbs I'm working on right now) so it lasts me a long time!

[boefixepa]

Thanks for your ideas. I'm really liking that web site Jaksilee!

[Tightwad Kitty]

Hi Boefixapa
I have just posted some menus & notes for single household in 'What is your menu for the week?' thread. This is what I came up with, when I review my diet a few years back.

[jaksilee]

Bumping for Nehirean