Cooking for One

mickNsnicks2mom said:

 
me too!!! i like meatloaf hot, but i absolutely love cold meatloaf sandwiches!

another tip:  it can be hard to use up a 3 lb bag of onions, just cooking for one or two people. when i buy onions, i buy the 3 lb bag, dice all the onions up, then portion them into snack size zipper bags, and freeze them. when i need onions, i just pull out what i need. no need to thaw them, just pop them in the pan or into the slow cooker, etc. if you need them thawed, put the frozen onions in a microwave dish with lid and nuke them until thawed/softened. you can also 'break in half' the solid chunk of frozen diced onions in the zipper bag relatively easily.

related tip (not mine, but thanks to the tv show Castle for this one):  if you're sensitive to raw onions, like i am -- eyes watering like niagara falls, sinuses running, and even sometimes nausea (from the smell of them)......wear swimming goggles to chop onions. it works, i swear!

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You can freeze diced bell peppers, too!  When I find them on sale, I buy a bunch and dice and freeze them, along with onions.  Since half of what I cook has one or both, this works very well!  Tech tip...place them on a baking sheet and freeze, THEN put into the bags.  They are less likely to stick together that way!

Mamanyt1953 said:

 
You can freeze diced bell peppers, too!  When I find them on sale, I buy a bunch and dice and freeze them, along with onions.  Since half of what I cook has one or both, this works very well!  Tech tip...place them on a baking sheet and freeze, THEN put into the bags.  They are less likely to stick together that way!

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yes! i chop and freeze sweet bell peppers on trays first, then into a zipper bag(s). i really don't like sweet green bell peppers any more, not sure what changed. i usually buy the 6 pack of mixed (colors) sweet bell peppers at wegmans, which includes one green one. i cut the green pepper in half, remove the stem and seeds and white stuff, then freeze them -- which i save specifically for making stuffed peppers, the only way i still like them.

cookie dough. one batch of cookie dough can make a heck of a lot of cookies for just one or two people to eat. cookie dough, with the exception of dough that has either sour cream or cream cheese in it, can be frozen! it can either be rolled into dough balls, placed on a tray, frozen, and then put into a zipper bag; or can be formed into a pretty flat disc or long rectangle pretty flat shape, wrapped in plastic and into a zipper bag, then frozen. when ready to use, thaw overnight in the fridge -- dough balls can be thawed right on a baking sheet and the pretty flat disc would need to be formed into dough balls, and into the oven to bake.

and honey! honey can be frozen -- well, it doesn't become solidly frozen, but more like very thick. i buy the 80 oz sized bottles of honey, then freeze in portions (i use 6 oz yogurt cups, empty and cleaned/washed out) on a baking sheet. freezing honey prevents it from hardening...crystallizing? when ready to use it, i place however many portion cups i need inside a plastic storage container with lid to bring it to room temperature.

LOL...I never met a pepper, sweet or fiery, that I didn't like!  I even like those Ghost Peppers, in TINY amounts!

Did not know that about either cookie dough or honey.  I shall make a note.  I do know that honey is good for just about everything.  And never goes bad.  It is both bacteriostatic and bacteriocidal, and is a wonderful dressing for wounds.  It is used to treat scrapes and nicks on show horses, as it promotes scar-free healing.  Sore throats, whatever.  Honey is your friend.  It is any wonder that I talk to bees?  Well...maybe.  The neighbors look at me oddly...

Mamanyt1953 said:

 
LOL...I never met a pepper, sweet or fiery, that I didn't like!  I even like those Ghost Peppers, in TINY amounts!

Did not know that about either cookie dough or honey.  I shall make a note.  I do know that honey is good for just about everything.  And never goes bad.  It is both bacteriostatic and bacteriocidal, and is a wonderful dressing for wounds.  It is used to treat scrapes and nicks on show horses, as it promotes scar-free healing.  Sore throats, whatever.  Honey is your friend.  It is any wonder that I talk to bees?  Well...maybe.  The neighbors look at me oddly...

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i think my dislike of green bell peppers is due to them sometimes...overpowering the other flavor(s) in some recipes. 

i really love honey, could eat it by the spoonful! wow! i didn't know that honey could be used to dress wounds. i think it's been at least two years now that i've used tea tree and eucalyptus oils in fractionated coconut oil (as the carrier -- essential oils should never be used on skin full strength) as a disinfectant for my wounds, which also does very nicely in healing the wounds.

bees are wonderful, and very necessary for pollinating! i've noticed that bees really love me, they will hover around the backs of my knees in the hot weather months. they never sting me, just hover. 

I talk to them.  My neighbor gets a little wierded out because I'll be sitting on my porch with two or three bumble or honey bees just hovering in front of my face while I talk with them.  But I know all about the Melissa (bee goddess), and we discuss matters and generations and stuff.  The poor neighbor will just have to get over it.  It isn't as if I'm building hives in the back yard!

Dang...I think I  just hijacked my own thread!

I dearly love peppers of all kinds. When Dad was alive, every spring, he'd give me a ton of jalepeno pepper plants and say, "Now be careful; they're hot!" And I'd grow them and then give him the peppers.   He loved them, too. We freeze tons of peppers from the garden and they come in so handily for me. I slice a bunch and freeze them for pizza. I chop a bunch and freeze them for sauces, soups, casseroles, etc. I have large cookie sheets that I freeze peppers on, for about 90 minutes or so, then put them in containers, label, and toss into the freezer. We have tons frozen. Tons, I tell you! I'm still using peppers from 2015 and they seem to be fine in casseroles and such. From hot to medium to mild, peppers are so easy to grow and freeze. If you have peppers, onions, and tomatoes in your freezer, you will never go hungry. 

I used to freeze cookie dough. Now I usually make the various doughs the night before I plan to bake. I do freeze cookies all the time.

If you like to bake bread, but one loaf is too much for one person, simply make your dough, but then make rolls. Rolls can be frozen in just freezer bags. I will put rolls into freezer bags, and then throw the bag into a large Lock & Lock container, simply for some extra protection. Rick and I eat a lot of rolls, not only during the winter with soup and stew, but also in the summer with a salad for supper. I bake a lot with whole wheat and I've gotten into the habit of sprinkling seeds and such on top of my rolls, for a bit of added nutritional. Trader Joe's sells (used to sell?) a package of Ancient Grains and I've sprinkled that on top of yeast rolls before baking. Rolls are better for one or two people than a whole loaf of bread. Baking powder biscuits, soda rolls, etc. You can also make bread and use the little cake pans for your loaves....just keep an eye on the baking time. Wrap well, label, and freeze.

I really MUST manage a small freezer at some point.  The one on the fridge just isn't quite enough to allow me to stock up on stuff when it is on sale and that is CRITICAL when shopping for one person!  Single-sized ANYTHING is so expensive!

Mamanyt1953 said:

 
I really MUST manage a small freezer at some point.  The one on the fridge just isn't quite enough to allow me to stock up on stuff when it is on sale and that is CRITICAL when shopping for one person!  Single-sized ANYTHING is so expensive!

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You would be amazed at how much easier it would be with a small freezer. My sister recently bought a small freezer; it's just the perfect size to fit in her basement way. She told me that it has made such a difference for them because they can take advantage of sales more now. She doesn't enjoy cooking; they eat a lot of convenience foods, but even stocking up on frozen meals has helped them. They have found that they don't call for pizza or grab fast food as often as they used to. So the freezer has actually saved them some money in the long run. (My sister can cook, but she really has to be in the mood to deal with it. And having to make dinner as soon as she walks in the door at night is not her idea of fun at all. My BIL recently retired and he is slowly becoming Chief Cook. They've subscribed to Blue Apron for three meals a week and he enjoys working on the meals.)

I have an extra freezer and I don't know how I would live without it. I can't imagine having to be limited to my regular freezer, which is quite small compared to most. I will often cook just for the freezer, especially soups. I cook meatballs and sausages up and freeze them individually and things like that as well.

I have an extra freezer too. It's a 5 cubic square foot Haier. I love it. It's also a cat perch. Sophie sits on it while she looks out the window and waits for me to get home from work. 

I used survey money, Swagbucks to get a WM gift card and a gift card I got from Sam's Club for renewing my membership early to buy mine. Final total spent out of pocket? $0.00. All the reason to love it even more. 

Kat0121 said:

 
I have an extra freezer too. It's a 5 cubic square foot Haier. I love it. It's also a cat perch. Sophie sits on it while she looks out the window and waits for me to get home from work. 

I used survey money, Swagbucks to get a WM gift card and a gift card I got from Sam's Club for renewing my membership early to buy mine. Final total spent out of pocket? $0.00. All the reason to love it even more. 

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You know, I joined Swagbucks, but never did anything with it. I need to get on the ball.

Winchester said:

 
You know, I joined Swagbucks, but never did anything with it. I need to get on the ball.

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I keep it as my home page. That way all my searches are through them. There are also other ways that you can earn bucks. Shop & earn, surveys, etc. 

It's a good site. I got DD a $50.00 Amazon GC for Christmas using my bucks  and a $25.00 Barnes and Noble GC for her birthday 

The best advice my mother ever gave me was to buy a freezer so I could stock up on meat sales.  We had a large freezer out on the patio when I was growing up, and I remember going to the butcher about once a year for Mom to select a side of beef.  She usually only ordered the cheaper cuts from the side, and the better cuts went to other people who could afford them.  Still we never had a shortage of beef...or chicken....or pork in the freezer.

I bought a small freezer when I first moved into my own apartment.  The apartment was so small, I used it for an end table (and it was pretty noisy).  Forty years later that little freezer is still chugging away (full of meat)...though it is out in the garage.  When I started feeding 3 cats and 2 dogs a raw diet, I bought an additional larger freezer for the patio.  So I now have 3 freezers for just being a single person.  Best investment ever!

I drooled over one at WalMart today that was under $200.  I could do that.  Well, not today, but that amount is saveable for the foreseeable future.  

Know what food is wonderful if you live alone?  EGGS!  They keep practically forever.  Here's a tip...to test your eggs, fill a large bowl with water and place the eggs in the bowl. The water must be deep enough to completely cover the eggs.  If they stay on the bottom, they are fresh.  If they are beginning to stand up, use first.  If they actually float, dump them.  Also, although this isn't really for one person, if you are making deviled eggs or want a very pretty egg for slicing, spin the egg on your countertop before boiling.  That will center the yolk for you.  

PERFECT BOILED EGGS with sunny yolks (NO discoloration at all)

Place eggs in pan and cover with cold water.  Bring to a rolling boil.  Cover and remove from heat.  Allow to sit for 15 minutes without disturbing.  Peel by rapping the fat end of the egg on the counter.  This is where it is easiest to get hold of the "skin" inside the shell and peel the egg without tearing it.

Think I'll make a fried egg sandwich for supper.

You'll save more than $200 the first year buying lots of meat during seasonal sales...but I understand having to save up for an investment like that, too.  I think I paid $109 after tax for my second freezer when there was some kind of Energy Efficient appliance sale combined with free home delivery.  It's medium-sized.

Eggs:  I ate 2 egg whites for dinner tonight (and some steamed asparagus and 1/2 an organic tomato).  I was laughing in sympathy with 1CatOverTheLines tip on how to turn 6 broiled lamb chops into dinner for one by feeding most of them to the cats.  I was eating egg whites for dinner tonight because I saved them when I put four egg yolks into the cat food recipe over the weekend.  Tonight the cats had chicken, pork, egg yolks; the dog had chicken, pork, poached egg whites.  I ate the two remaining poached egg whites.  LOL

Walgreens ran eggs for 99 cents a dozen a couple weeks ago.  I went in only to buy 2 dozen eggs.  The cashier was eyeing the expiration dates on the cartons and asked, "When IS Easter???"  I said, "Umm. I don't really know."  Then I realized that she probably wondered how I would use 2 dozen eggs before they expired.  I volunteered to her that the cats and the dog eat a lot of eggs, and I get to eat a few as well.

Homemade breakfast tacos freeze really well.  Wrap them in buttered foil.  Move them to the fridge the night before, then heat for about 20 minutes in a hot toaster oven.  Yummy!

I drooled over one at WalMart today that was under $200.

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If you know someone with a Sam's Club membership (or, do they still do $5 day passes?), they have a 5cf for $150, a 7cf for $180, and a 9cf for $200. Can't beat that. Also, keep an eye out for promotions. The grocery store here will have a deal every year where you buy a 5cf for around $200, but they give you $300 worth of coupons. Of course you may not use everything so it might not be as great a deal as they say but still. Even if you only use $50 worth of coupons it would still be worth it.

Willowy said:

If you know someone with a Sam's Club membership (or, do they still do $5 day passes?), they have a 5cf for $150, a 7cf for $180, and a 9cf for $200. Can't beat that. Also, keep an eye out for promotions. The grocery store here will have a deal every year where you buy a 5cf for around $200, but they give you $300 worth of coupons. Of course you may not use everything so it might not be as great a deal as they say but still. Even if you only use $50 worth of coupons it would still be worth it.

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Groupon often has deals on Sam's memberships where it's like half price and they give you a bunch of coupons for free things. I think I got free apple pie, turkey breast (deli style in a tub), rolls, and something else that eludes me at the moment. The free stuff added up to more than what I paid for the membership. You have to be a first time member to use the deal though

Kat0121 said:

 
Groupon often has deals on Sam's memberships where it's like half price and they give you a bunch of coupons for free things. I think I got free apple pie, turkey breast (deli style in a tub), rolls, and something else that eludes me at the moment. The free stuff added up to more than what I paid for the membership. You have to be a first time member to use the deal though

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We did that a couple years ago, through Groupon. I think the membership was $40 for one year; we received enough in the way of coupons that it came out to be more than the original $40. We thought we might use the membership, but we really didn't. We buy some things in bulk, but overall it wasn't worth it for us. A lot of things were really more expensive at Sam's than what it was on sale at the grocery store. They don't take coupons and I'm a avid coupon clipper; I really try to combine coupons with good sales at the store whenever I can. We don't have a Sam's particularly close to us either. (And I really do have that thing about WM and Sam's. Sorry.)

There's a Costco in Harrisburg, about 60 miles south of us; I wouldn't mind trying that out as I've heard a lot of really good things about the Kirkland brand at Costco. But I think we'd run into the same problems, trying to buy in bulk and it's just the two of us. There's a BJ's close to our son and DIL and when we visit them, she and I will take an hour or so to hit BJ's. I can usually find something I "need" there.

Winchester said:

 
We did that a couple years ago, through Groupon. I think the membership was $40 for one year; we received enough in the way of coupons that it came out to be more than the original $40. We thought we might use the membership, but we really didn't. We buy some things in bulk, but overall it wasn't worth it for us. A lot of things were really more expensive at Sam's than what it was on sale at the grocery store. They don't take coupons and I'm a avid coupon clipper; I really try to combine coupons with good sales at the store whenever I can. We don't have a Sam's particularly close to us either. (And I really do have that thing about WM and Sam's. Sorry.)

There's a Costco in Harrisburg, about 60 miles south of us; I wouldn't mind trying that out as I've heard a lot of really good things about the Kirkland brand at Costco. But I think we'd run into the same problems, trying to buy in bulk and it's just the two of us. There's a BJ's close to our son and DIL and when we visit them, she and I will take an hour or so to hit BJ's. I can usually find something I "need" there.

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I did that deal too. The membership was OK when it turned out to be free but it's not worth the price for me either. I get better deals with my Amazon subscribe and save and it gets delivered to my door for free. 

I did renew it once and they gave me a gift card for renewing that I put towards the freezer. Sam's had it cheaper than WM to boot. It worked out for that but I have not renewed the subscription since. We do not have a BJ's or Costco close enough to make me want to go see if their prices are worth the membership. 

Costco has some really good things;  but for one person, the membership fee is not worth it. Buying in bulk does not usually work for one person or a couple. If you have a basement or a huge store room, perhaps. 

I have a membership for BJ's. I have had it for years. I used to get some things for my dad from there, stock up on paper towels, TP, and other stuff. I am thinking about not renewing the membership this year. I can pick things up at my local 

Rite-Aid with sales and coupons. I also have cash back rewards from them, so it works out better.