Cooking for One

Now that I'm single again I don't want to go back to the crap I ate before L. moved over. I actually don't remember much of what I ate besides Boston Market and spaghetti. I want to still eat good meals.

Anyone have any tips for cooking made-from-scratch meals for one without having mounds of leftovers? If the meal will make lots of leftovers, more ideas for storage and/or cooking as a new dish will be greatly appreciated. L. ate so much leftovers were rarely an issue, so I don't have much experience with those.

Thanks!

I used to make lasagna, cut it up, and freeze the pieces individually. It reheats really well. I would also make a pot of soup and freeze it in individual containers.

I'm not a huge fan of leftovers either, I would usually make enough for dinner then lunch the next day. II would look for recipes that could be easily halved. There are lots of cookbooks out there for cooking for one or two.

Leftovers are a god-send!
Definitely do as Bmore said, and take the time to freeze them individually so that it's more convenient when you actually go to eat them.

Try looking for a good cookbook for one- or two-person recipes. I liked Delia's One is Fun (crap title, but good recipes). I'm sure there are similar US cookbooks too if you want some extra inspiration.

Also, it may seem more expensive to buy single serve meats, veggies, etc in the store but in the long run for 1 person, its cheaper because you have less food waste.  

The freezer is your friend. You buy meat in the same big packs, but then portion it up and freeze it into smaller portions.  Same with veggies, cook then freeze.  Big pots of things like soups, lasagnes, casseroles etc can be frozen down into individual portions.

Or if you cook a big thing of mince, then you can make a quick chili one night, spaghetti sauce the next, tacos for the next (and I'm usually well bored of beef by then!!!)

Good thing with pasta, rice, potatoes is that you can only cook as much as you need.

And recipies that are designed for 2 are really helpful, enough for 1 meal for supper and leftovers for lunch the next day.  Or if its a recipe for 4, I cut it in half.  

Eggs- omlettes, scrambled, fried, etc are all really quick and you don't end up making too much.

And well, don't be too hard on yourself if you don't feel like cooking. I often have those moments where cooking for just me seems like way too much work, so a bowl of cereal, some cinnamon toast, a ready meals etc are perfect.    

I would buy those small tins of refried beans and make bean burritos or tostadas pretty often. Then you can also use the tortillas to make veggie wraps, etc. You could make burgers, then freeze all of the rest of them except the one you want to cook, and have the rest later.

Here's a US book you might look for:

My DF travels alot for work and I have a hard time cooking for just me. Usually I take the leftovers from supper for lunch the next day.

Thanks. I didn't knowthey made cookbooks for one.

I'm all about the leftovers!  Do you like Mexican food & chili?  One thing I like to do is make Mexican food:  spiced beef, and then the beans separately for burritos (with the fixins - cheese, lettuce, etc).  Rather than refried beans, I always heat up tins (you could just use 1) of pinto beans & add seasonings.  Then when our Mexican meal is over, I dump all the leftovers of the meat & beans together, and voila!  You have chili con carne (with beans).  It freezes easily as well.

Also, if you still fancy a roast dinner from time to time - that's the ultimate leftovers meal!  Get yourself a smallish piece of meat to roast.  You have some leftover for a sandwich another day.  And then some to make like a curry or shepherds/cottage pie with for another hot meal (and you could freeze some of that).

And chicken...well you know all about stretching a chicken.  You could freeze the leftovers in individual size portions.

 

We have that Delia's One is Fun book but we don't use it - I think DH did when he was a bachelor.  I'll give it a look over, and you never know, I might know somewhere you can get a fabulous deal on it! 

Get yourself a small crock pot.  You can easily cook a chicken breast in the crock with whatever kind of sauce you want to make. Most crock pot recipes are easy to adjust.

you never know, I might know somewhere you can get a fabulous deal on it! 

LOL! I have an extra copy going too! But mine's still in storage with all my other stuff. 

If I didn't feel like roasting a whole chicken, would roast just a leg/thigh or breast, then put the potatoes in around it.

If I have leftover pork, I just cut it up the next day and mix it with BBQ sauce for a sandwich. Sometimes if I'm having pork chops one night, I'll make an extra one, plain with no seasoning, to use for BBQ sandwiches the next day.

I used to make casseroles, one portion for dinner, one for lunch the next day and then any left I could always freeze.  I did this with spaghetti sauce, tater tot casserole, chicken and rice, chili and a few other ones that I don't remember. 

Thanks. I didn't knowthey made cookbooks for one.

They do! And cookbooks for two - which is good if you want to have a meal and then have the other serving either for lunch or again for supper the next night.