Cooking for one

Miss_Purple_Hat

Hi!

One of my super lazy meal options is a bit of cooked chicken (if I pre-prepared some I use that but will used cooked stuff from a packet - yes, slightly processed, I know) with brown rice and frozen mixed veg.

Stick rice and water in saucepan, switch on. A few minutes later, chuck in some frozen veg. Cook for a few more minutes.

Chuck the chicken in the microwave for a few seconds on the dish you're going to eat off. Drain the rice and veg and add it. Drizzle with soy sauce or something if required.


Stir fry is also a quick option. Or I buy those packs of fresh pasta and chuck them on a hob for a few minutes. I literally eat them as they are.

And tuna pasta.

Boil pasta. Add tins of tuna and sweetcorn. Add mayo. Mix together. I usually also like to add some sliced cucumber if I have it.


I like to cook but hate it when I have to share a kitchen because of other people's mess and dirty dishes - which is required most of the time at the moment because I rent a room in a house share during the week. I will go through phases of wanting to do loads of cooking from scratch anyway and then go through others (like the past couple of weeks) where I really don't want to at all. Single pan / pot dishes are great because of minimal washing up.

Lynplatinum

Hiya
Miss Purple Hat - know what you mean about shared kitchens - it was the pits when I went to Uni (1978) and it was when my sons went (one left 4 years ago) and a friend of mine's son has just finished his first year and it is still the same!!!
You would think people might have learnt to be more civilised - in most recent case they had a dishwasher too! but they lived on convenience food and could nt be bothered to clear that away! why???

gayleygoo

I like one-pot rice meals. There's loads of options, but I fry bacon until crispy, add onion and garlic, add lots of sliced mushrooms and other veg, a cup of rinsed rice and 1 1/2 to 2 cups of chicken stock. And lots of black pepper. Stir well, cover and cook until water is almost absorbed, shaking the pan occasionally to check. Take pan off heat and leave covered until rice is tender and water is absorbed. I always make enough for two portions and save half for the next day, or the freezer.

ETA: you don't have to batch cook, I've never got on with that either, but it can make life much easier if you just make two meals at a time rather than one. For example, if you're doing stir-fry, rice dishes or pasta, just double and you've got another for the next day. Automatically cuts cooking time in half! You could cook and freeze stuff like rice in portions, to go with anything you decide to have.

Maybe have one or two nights a week where you plan to have a ready meal or takeaway if it helps. Not everyone enjoys cooking, so don't feel bad if you don't do it every night

Linda32

How about frozen fish fillets? We had some Birds Eye pollock tonight with thyme and lemon seasoning. They were £2.00 for two pieces but you could just cook one piece at a time. 30 minutes in the oven.

Or you can get a bag of fillets which you cook from frozen.

You could cook some wedges at the same time to go with the fish to make a meal.

HTH