Last nite was wondering what to make for supper,well I have been a bachlor for 30 years,(am 47),,made up STU,s hot dish so to speak minus the hot stuff,,and S%*t it as not bad at all,made a few slight changes,ate a good portion of it with garlic toast,BL
Quick recipe for single guys
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Nice recipe here, thanks.
Drive-thru....
This is my latest experiment:
Cook 6 servings of rice and stir-fry, and eat it for 3 days, 2 meals per day.
Got sick and tired of the food and its lack of freshness. My body couldn't handle it and got sick, right before my midterm and work project due date.
Looks like I will be having cereals and OJ for a few days.
Cook 6 servings of rice and stir-fry, and eat it for 3 days, 2 meals per day.
Got sick and tired of the food and its lack of freshness. My body couldn't handle it and got sick, right before my midterm and work project due date.
Looks like I will be having cereals and OJ for a few days.
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While I'm not a single guy and barely can remember being single, I've always cooked and I hate cooking inefficiently. Here's my secret to meals that are prepared quickly and that offer a variety of choices and options from stew to omelette to burrito:
Get yourself a bunch of plastic freezer-safe food containers and keep in the fridge or freezer, depending on what is, a variety of basic ingredients (some raw, some pre-cooked) you need all the time. For example:
- sautéed, shredded, cubed, meat, chicken, pork, beef etc
- chooped onion (freeze it -- it stinks up your joint otherwise), scallion, etc
- cut carrots, celery, etc
- chopped tomatoes
- sliced mushrooms
- frozen stock or broth is useful
... and so on and so forth. Also, cook stuff in bulk and freeze some of it. Put a label on it, or you won't remember what the heck that cryo-goo is next week.
If you have all this stuff ready to go in your fridge and freezer, you can put a variety of meals together very quickly. I rarely spend more than 10 to 15 minutes to cook a full dinner.
Oh, one more tip, if you are into sauces and soups, you may want to freeze chopped or pureed tomatoes in an ice cube tray. That way you don't have to open a whole can if you need a little tomato to improve your concoction. Just use a frozen tomato puree cube to add some flavor. If you have good-tasting, fresh tomatoes, you're of course all set, too.
[ April 14, 2006, 09:07 AM: Message edited by: moribundman ]
Get yourself a bunch of plastic freezer-safe food containers and keep in the fridge or freezer, depending on what is, a variety of basic ingredients (some raw, some pre-cooked) you need all the time. For example:
- sautéed, shredded, cubed, meat, chicken, pork, beef etc
- chooped onion (freeze it -- it stinks up your joint otherwise), scallion, etc
- cut carrots, celery, etc
- chopped tomatoes
- sliced mushrooms
- frozen stock or broth is useful
... and so on and so forth. Also, cook stuff in bulk and freeze some of it. Put a label on it, or you won't remember what the heck that cryo-goo is next week.
If you have all this stuff ready to go in your fridge and freezer, you can put a variety of meals together very quickly. I rarely spend more than 10 to 15 minutes to cook a full dinner.
Oh, one more tip, if you are into sauces and soups, you may want to freeze chopped or pureed tomatoes in an ice cube tray. That way you don't have to open a whole can if you need a little tomato to improve your concoction. Just use a frozen tomato puree cube to add some flavor. If you have good-tasting, fresh tomatoes, you're of course all set, too.
[ April 14, 2006, 09:07 AM: Message edited by: moribundman ]
Moribundman hits it dead-on.
I also like to do things like cook two fat chickens on the gas grill rotisserie on the weekend, and then make both chicken stock and chicken/rice or tortilla soup for another meal or three. The stock is always there when I need it.
I also like to do things like cook two fat chickens on the gas grill rotisserie on the weekend, and then make both chicken stock and chicken/rice or tortilla soup for another meal or three. The stock is always there when I need it.
Something I've done a few times: if you are only cooking for one or two and you just need a few ingredients, try getting some of your items from a good salad bar if you can. You only buy what you need, and they're already cut up.
If you're toying around with cooking, soups/stews/chowders are a great place to start. They're easy to "doctor" if you screw something up, and are generally still good a day or two after. (Only one pot to clean up too!) Great for using up day-old whatnots as well, which truth be told, is probably the hardest part of cooking for a small crowd. Sandwiches are fun to play around with too, and if you mess them up, you can take them apart and start again! Ha ha! You can grill them, make cool spreads, all different kinds of veggie, meat, cheese and fruit combos to try out. One of my favs = smoked salmon, cream cheese, red onion and alfalfa sprouts on an "everything" bagel.
Don't forget about breakfast stuff too... muffins/pancakes/etc. aren't tough at all, and are ridiculously easy to make if you get the mixes. You can add one or two things to them for a special touch, and it looks homemade!
johnsmith/Sara Moulton hybrid turkey burgers w/pickled cucumbers and onions:
***Pickled Cucumbers & Onions***
2 large English cucumbers, sliced thick
1 large white onion, sliced thick
2:1 vinegar/water (enough to cover)
Kosher salt (enough for step 2, and probably another 1/3 cup for brine)
1 Tbs red pepper flakes
1 Tbs whole black peppercorns
1/4 cup sugar
1) Cut up the cucumbers and onions
2) Salt cucumbers heavily, and place in colander to drain for about 45 mins.
3) Rinse cucumbers
4) Mix the vinegar/water, pepper, chilies, salt and sugar together to form a brine, and pour over cucumbers and onions. Soak 4-6 hours or overnight. They’ll stay good for at least a week.
***Sorta-Southeast-Asian-Style Turkey Burgers***
2 large garlic cloves, minced
3-4 slices white bread, torn fine
A little more than 1 lb. ground turkey (not the lean kind)
1Tbs kosher salt
Big chunk of white onion, chopped
¼ cup or so fresh cilantro, chopped
¼ cup or so fresh basil, chopped
¼ cup or so fresh mint, chopped
Juice of 2 limes
1 Tbs sugar
5 or 6 bird’s eye (or other hot) chilies, chopped
1 Tsp grated ginger
1 Tbs canola oil
1 or 2 egg(s) [optional: especially if you do these on the grill, you might need an egg or two as a binder; these fall apart fairly easy otherwise. Treat them gently all the same though.]
1) Mix everything together in a big ol bowl (just until combined, over mixing = tough burgers)
2) Let the mix stand in the refrigerator for at least an hour
3) Grill them (recommended) or cook them on a hot pan
4) Serve with the pickled cucumbers and onions, and some sort of lettuce (red leaf is nice) on what ever kind of buns you like (I like Kaiser).
^^^Yeah, sizeable list of ingredients, but they're easy to make.
Always goes over well at cookouts
And thanks for scaring everyone jmacmaster!
Turkey burgers are your friend; just cook them all the way through.
***Orange Currant Scones***
Great recipe I tried out last week, super tasty:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/4591
If you're toying around with cooking, soups/stews/chowders are a great place to start. They're easy to "doctor" if you screw something up, and are generally still good a day or two after. (Only one pot to clean up too!) Great for using up day-old whatnots as well, which truth be told, is probably the hardest part of cooking for a small crowd. Sandwiches are fun to play around with too, and if you mess them up, you can take them apart and start again! Ha ha! You can grill them, make cool spreads, all different kinds of veggie, meat, cheese and fruit combos to try out. One of my favs = smoked salmon, cream cheese, red onion and alfalfa sprouts on an "everything" bagel.
Don't forget about breakfast stuff too... muffins/pancakes/etc. aren't tough at all, and are ridiculously easy to make if you get the mixes. You can add one or two things to them for a special touch, and it looks homemade!
johnsmith/Sara Moulton hybrid turkey burgers w/pickled cucumbers and onions:
***Pickled Cucumbers & Onions***
2 large English cucumbers, sliced thick
1 large white onion, sliced thick
2:1 vinegar/water (enough to cover)
Kosher salt (enough for step 2, and probably another 1/3 cup for brine)
1 Tbs red pepper flakes
1 Tbs whole black peppercorns
1/4 cup sugar
1) Cut up the cucumbers and onions
2) Salt cucumbers heavily, and place in colander to drain for about 45 mins.
3) Rinse cucumbers
4) Mix the vinegar/water, pepper, chilies, salt and sugar together to form a brine, and pour over cucumbers and onions. Soak 4-6 hours or overnight. They’ll stay good for at least a week.
***Sorta-Southeast-Asian-Style Turkey Burgers***
2 large garlic cloves, minced
3-4 slices white bread, torn fine
A little more than 1 lb. ground turkey (not the lean kind)
1Tbs kosher salt
Big chunk of white onion, chopped
¼ cup or so fresh cilantro, chopped
¼ cup or so fresh basil, chopped
¼ cup or so fresh mint, chopped
Juice of 2 limes
1 Tbs sugar
5 or 6 bird’s eye (or other hot) chilies, chopped
1 Tsp grated ginger
1 Tbs canola oil
1 or 2 egg(s) [optional: especially if you do these on the grill, you might need an egg or two as a binder; these fall apart fairly easy otherwise. Treat them gently all the same though.]
1) Mix everything together in a big ol bowl (just until combined, over mixing = tough burgers)
2) Let the mix stand in the refrigerator for at least an hour
3) Grill them (recommended) or cook them on a hot pan
4) Serve with the pickled cucumbers and onions, and some sort of lettuce (red leaf is nice) on what ever kind of buns you like (I like Kaiser).
^^^Yeah, sizeable list of ingredients, but they're easy to make.
Always goes over well at cookouts
And thanks for scaring everyone jmacmaster!
***Orange Currant Scones***
Great recipe I tried out last week, super tasty:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/4591
whats the difference between iodized salt and kosher salt?
Genuine sea salt is sometimes called kosher salt. It's just dried up sea water, and usually not the pure white that we are used to...it's got all of the ekements found in sea water.
Salt as we are used to is almost pure sodium chloride, with not much else. They added iodine to it to improve thyroid function in people.
Salt as we are used to is almost pure sodium chloride, with not much else. They added iodine to it to improve thyroid function in people.
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Kosher salt must not contain any man-added substances like sodium silico aluminate, which prevents clumping or iodine (added by man). Kosher salt must also be caught, killed and packaged by a genuine rabbi.
Here's some info (neat little site, look around!)
http://www.foodsubs.com/Salt.html
Kosher in this case just because it sticks to stuff better (cucumbers) when you're trying to pull out moisture from something, and it won't mess up the brine. I pretty much use it for everything, although I do have an itty bitty shaker of "RealSalt" (that's the brand name) if I want to get fancy. RS is an unrefined sea salt, and it's a um...well... sweeter? Kind of hard to describe, but it's really good, and it doesn't really have that same "bite" as table salt. Nice for finishing stuff if the people you're eating with give a rat's *** about that sort of thing. Otherwise, it's nothing special.
http://www.foodsubs.com/Salt.html
Kosher in this case just because it sticks to stuff better (cucumbers) when you're trying to pull out moisture from something, and it won't mess up the brine. I pretty much use it for everything, although I do have an itty bitty shaker of "RealSalt" (that's the brand name) if I want to get fancy. RS is an unrefined sea salt, and it's a um...well... sweeter? Kind of hard to describe, but it's really good, and it doesn't really have that same "bite" as table salt. Nice for finishing stuff if the people you're eating with give a rat's *** about that sort of thing. Otherwise, it's nothing special.
Kosher or sea salt use that when you want to clean the slime on two day old fish at the market. It won't give that strong salt taste like table salt. Rub it, clean it and rinse quickly. It doesn't dissolve quickly, great in cleaning seafood.
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I think I'll pass.
How about shaving, I mean scraping your trout?
Another "guy" way of cooking. Wrap the fish up with butter, onion, seasoning, in foil. And another layer.
Place in dishwasher (no soap) and run through cycle. Voila, steamed fish for dinner.
(current issue of Outdoor Life
Place in dishwasher (no soap) and run through cycle. Voila, steamed fish for dinner.
(current issue of Outdoor Life
Here's mine...Lunch and Dinner total of $1.40
2 packs of ramen (.40)
1 can of cheap spaghetti sauce(1.00)
Boil ramen noodles, throw away the salt flavor packet.
Put Noodles in a bowl.
Heat and pour the sauce over the noodles.
2 packs of ramen (.40)
1 can of cheap spaghetti sauce(1.00)
Boil ramen noodles, throw away the salt flavor packet.
Put Noodles in a bowl.
Heat and pour the sauce over the noodles.
1 can Trappey's Pinto Beans
1/2 can water
1/2 cup rice
Put it all in a pan & bring it to a boil, then turn heat down low & simmer for 20 minutes. Shake on some red pepper & you got food.
Throw in a chunk of pig meat if you want before you cook it.
1/2 can water
1/2 cup rice
Put it all in a pan & bring it to a boil, then turn heat down low & simmer for 20 minutes. Shake on some red pepper & you got food.
Throw in a chunk of pig meat if you want before you cook it.
1) Lift receiver
2) Dial 241-pizza
3) Answer doorbell 20 min. later.
Pizza box & beer cans go in recycling, no dishes.
P.B. (keepin' it simple)
2) Dial 241-pizza
3) Answer doorbell 20 min. later.
Pizza box & beer cans go in recycling, no dishes.
P.B. (keepin' it simple)
Korean Redneck,
I can't eat ramen any more. Ate it 2 meals a day for a few years and is totally sick of it.
Then I went to pasta and ham/saussage with soy sauce and egg. Got sick of that after 1 year too.
Now I am trying to rotate among many things. Like pasta, soup, and sandwitch. Pizza is something I love but won't eat too often, too unhealthy and get me feeling all wierd (from the grease) for a day or two afterward.
Here is another one I just learned and tried:
Cabbage (or Napa Cabbage) soup:
5 leaves of cabbage, cut into 1/2" wide strips
1 tomato, cut into 1/16 slices, thinner the better
1 stick of carrot, diced
1/4 onion, diced or stripped
1 slice of ginger
1) Heat 1-2 tbl spoon of oil
2) throw in the ginger and onion, stir till the onion is cooked, or brown, based on preference
3) Add 1.5 qt of water with chicken flavor powder (or use chicken brooth), and boil carrot for 5 mins
4) Add cabbage and boil for another 5 mins
5) Add tomato and boil for another 5 mins
6) When everything is soft and mushy, it is ready to serve.
Taste better the longer you boil/reheat it, can last me 3-4 meals.
I can't eat ramen any more. Ate it 2 meals a day for a few years and is totally sick of it.
Then I went to pasta and ham/saussage with soy sauce and egg. Got sick of that after 1 year too.
Now I am trying to rotate among many things. Like pasta, soup, and sandwitch. Pizza is something I love but won't eat too often, too unhealthy and get me feeling all wierd (from the grease) for a day or two afterward.
Here is another one I just learned and tried:
Cabbage (or Napa Cabbage) soup:
5 leaves of cabbage, cut into 1/2" wide strips
1 tomato, cut into 1/16 slices, thinner the better
1 stick of carrot, diced
1/4 onion, diced or stripped
1 slice of ginger
1) Heat 1-2 tbl spoon of oil
2) throw in the ginger and onion, stir till the onion is cooked, or brown, based on preference
3) Add 1.5 qt of water with chicken flavor powder (or use chicken brooth), and boil carrot for 5 mins
4) Add cabbage and boil for another 5 mins
5) Add tomato and boil for another 5 mins
6) When everything is soft and mushy, it is ready to serve.
Taste better the longer you boil/reheat it, can last me 3-4 meals.
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