In Honor of Single People and Fast Good Meals!

[Undertow]

Take one pair of comfortable shoes.
Put them on.
Walk four blocks down to the hot dog stand.
Stand in line.
Buy two with mustard and relish.
Enjoy!

Believe me, if I could get away with this, I would! Unfortunately, Des Moines doesn't have these things you call "vendors".

 

[Dr. Shocker]

However, my favorite Single Person Fast Food recipe goes like this.

Take one pair of comfortable shoes.
Put them on.
Walk four blocks down to the hot dog stand.
Stand in line.
Buy two with mustard and relish.
Enjoy!

this is more my level I hate cooking for just me......

but switch it to the taco stand at the end of the street the diner on the other end. Hell even the mall if I want adventure 3 blocks away. Truth be told it happens to turn into a rum and coke 4 blocks away

 

[Foofoogal]

Thanks LizzieMaine. I appreciate it. I will be trying it soon.

 

[HadleyH]

Why it always has to be in honor of 'single people'????
Can somebody please explain me that?

 

[PA Dancer]

Why it always has to be in honor of 'single people'????
Can somebody please explain me that?

There never seems to be single people size food at the store. Everything seems to be geared towards familys....just reminding us even more that we are single...lol...and loving it.
: )

Making quick meals without having to throw away most of it 4 days later when you are sick of eating leftovers is always helpful.

I nearly did a dance of joy when I saw Prego spaghetti sauce started selling those mini jars of sauce.
(When I make my own...I usually have enough for a year...then I don't know what to do with all the sausage, ribs, and 50 meatballs) LOL

 

[Foofoogal]

Sadly right now I exist on mostly cereal. Don't get me wrong, I can cook....quite well so I'm told but I'm not very good at cooking for one. I'm used to feeding mass quantities of people so when it's just me I don't fare very well. So during the week it's usually a bowl of cereal with fruit for dinner and then I'll treat myself to take out from one of the local restaurants on fridays. Except when I'm in Atlanta. Then it's Scalini's for dinner where my bartender pours my ginger ale before I ask for it and has a menu waiting for me when she sees me walk through the door....so I guess at least once a month I've eaten real meals

Sorry Hadley. The "Nana" in me came out when I read Nashoba's post in the Whats For Dinner Thread.
I am sure we could come up with all kinds of threads if we had a kitchen site or room or whatever one calls it.
How to cook for an Army.
Theme night cooking. etc. lol lol
I sell old cookbooks so we could have old recipes or depression era recipes or WW11 recipes when many ingredients were rationed.
My elderly friend ran a grocery store during the depression and they used to actually save sugar and stuff for the favorite or repeat customers. I was fascinated with her stories.

 

[Travis]

I don't know if anyone else on the planet would enjoy this, but sometimes, when money is tight, I make what I call...

SOUP CAN SLOP
1 cup white rice
2 cups water
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can corn

Put the 2 cups of water and the 1 cup of white rice together and cook them in a rice cooker. Add cream of mushroom and corn. Stir. Eat.

It's even easier the next day when you just microwave it. Better yet, I actually like it.

 

[PA Dancer]

Another 1 hour cook for chicken:

1-2 lbs of Boneless. Skinless chicken
2 cans of campbell's cream of something soup. (I usually use Cream of Broccoli)
2 cans of water to rinse out the cans

Line a baking dish with foil, put in the chicken, the soup, and the water.
Cover the dish with foil
Bake one hour.

You can get creative and line the baking dish with sliced potatoes or serve it over noodles.

 

[Nashoba]

FooFooGal you should be proud of me, I cooked dinner tonight. Well really it was breakfast for dinner but still, it involved a pan and a stove and I did it

I made myself eggs and toast


Sometimes I'll take and scramble an egg and some green onions and mix it in with the wild and brown rice variety of minute rice. A Chippewa dish that I learned years ago from one of the ladies on the drum I sing with in Ca. Simple, filling and dirt cheap

 

[HadleyH]

There never seems to be single people size food at the store. Everything seems to be geared towards familys....just reminding us even more that we are single...lol...and loving it.

Hey PA Dancer There is something called Lean Cuisine (www.nestleusa.com) and they have premium quality frozen food items, very,very good , they come in single portions, here are some examples of what they offer:

Balsamic Glazed Chicken
Baked Chicken Florentine
Cheese Lasagna
Cheese Ravioli
Fettucini Alfredo
Lemon Garlic Shrimp
Macaroni and Beef (...if you eat red meat)
Four Cheese Pizza


and many, many more... even married people like this stuff lol it's so yummy!

 

[Travis]

even married people like this stuff lol it's so yummy!

Maybe it's a result of being single, but I would disagree with your recommendations on this matter. I've had some of this stuff when I was younger and lived with my parents. I prefer food that tastes a little bit less...chemically.

 

[HadleyH]

Maybe it's a result of being single, but I would disagree with your recommendations on this matter. I've had some of this stuff when I was younger and lived with my parents. I prefer food that tastes a little bit less...chemically.

It doesn't taste chemically at all (not for me at least) It's non-fattening and quite tasty.
(That's why it's a wee bit more expensive than other frozen food perhaps, but... yes you are right, KFC is not... [huh]

 

[Foofoogal]

I am 4 years in remission from Graves Disease and treat it with low salt and noniodine items so the soup is out and the frozen dinners are out for me.

One good fast meal along line of eggs is scrambled eggs with Picante sauce mixed in for other though.

Coming from a huge family I used to joke I could teach classes on how to be poor.

 

[Doh!]

mmm... bacon...

For the meatloaf lovers amongst us, try this:

Slightly cook 1 lb of bacon* (until about the halfway point). Drain the fat (or put on top of paper towels to absorb the grease). Dice/chop into reasonably small pieces. Add to your raw meatloaf and mix.

Trust me, you'll not leave the table until the meatloaf has been entirely consumed.


*I prefer thick, applewood but turkey bacon works, too.

 

[be_lovely]

I have to admit I have been avoiding this thread because I am single, looking for a quick meal, but afraid to admit it.

But, I do have a few quick meals that I get by on, and they are healthy... OK most of them....

Chicken Lettuce Wrap (minus the lettuce and add brown rice)
Ground chicken, or turkey
Brown rice
Water chestnuts,
Red, Green, Yellow peppers
Onions & mushrooms (if you like them)
Garlic Ginger sauce (found in the ethnic isle, can also use Schatuan Sauce and no i cant spell it right)

Brown the Chicken, finely chop everything else, throw it in a pan, add the sauce to taste and it doesnt take much, throw in some garlic, salt and pepper, and serve it over the rice, or you can put it in a lettuce cup and eat it like a burrito.

Its healthy & tasty.

The others are Pita Pizzas (Pita, cheese & sauce in toaster oven)
Ramen noodles with boiled eggs cut up on it, and maybe some mixed veggies mixed in.
And Michelena meals, $1.50 at walmart

 

[Jack Scorpion]

Order in Chinese.
Steam table Indian.
Chips n' Salsa.
Sandwich bars.

I have a new roommate and he INSISTS we buy a microwave. It's been years since I had one of those contraptions.

 

[Jack Scorpion]

For the meatloaf lovers amongst us, try this:

Slightly cook 1 lb of bacon* (until about the halfway point). Drain the fat (or put on top of paper towels to absorb the grease). Dice/chop into reasonably small pieces. Add to your raw meatloaf and mix.

Trust me, you'll not leave the table until the meatloaf has been entirely consumed.


*I prefer thick, applewood but turkey bacon works, too.

Meatloaf is definitely one of the few things I make. That recipe sounds fantastic and life defining.

I also like cooking eggplant parmesan, stews/soups that are just random ingredients cooked too long and anything that involves wetting matzo bread.

 

[Miss Neecerie]

These are all really good ideas...

unfortunatly I can neither cook ahead for the week or use frozen meals....because *cough* am freezer impaired and only have a dorm size fridge at the moment (insert long sad tale of woe here).....so I have to actually cook stuff daily and only make enough for two.....

I will have to look in my 'slow cooker for 2 recipes'....was the only slow cooker/crock pot book where every recipe didnt say 'serves a family of 6' becase I cannot stand eating the same thing for 4 days straight!

My default type of stuff is toasted cheese sandwiches (not grilled cheese with butter and crud, its open face bread with cheese stuck under broiler) and salads...or pastas..

 

[CanadaDoll]

Vietnamese Salad Rolls are fast, healthy, and super yummy! Saute some chicken, or meat of preference in some garlic and ginger, soak clear rice noodles in warm water for a few seconds, until soft.

Dip some rice papers in warm water (two is usually enough) rub the water off so they don't fall apart, they just need to get soft enough to roll. Layer on a plate with chicken, noodles, torn lettuce, sliced carrot, mint, and cilantro, roll and voila!:essen:
Add dipping sauces as desired, and if you're feeling fancy shred the veggies and herbs!

My favourite for hot days when I don't really wanna cook, or when I'm too hungry to be patient.

 

[Prairie Dog]

Here's my version of meatballs and spaghetti.
Very little cooking skills are necessary to prepare this quick hot meal.
All you need are 2 hamburger patties, raw of course!

In a bowl add the burgers, one third cup of bread crumbs, and one egg white.
-form 6 meatballs from the mixture.

In a sauce pan, add a can of tomato sauce, two cups of water, some garlic powder, paprika, and cinammon. Dice a medium sized onion and add to the tomato mixture. Bring to a boil.

Wet your hands in cold water and add the meatballs to the boiling sauce.
Cover and cook for half an hour. Check occasionally to make sure the meatballs are covered in the sauce. Add addtional water if needed.

Prepare spaghetti #8, al dente. Pour the sauce and the meatballs over the pata. Serves 2. If you're single you can put half of the meat/sauce into the fridge. Chill some wine, cut up a loaf of Italian bread and MANGIA!