Cooking for one

PasturesNew

Nelski wrote: »

... no to pink custard though that was just wrong....

That was one of my favourites.
I used to also like the skin on custard and the skin on the rice pudding. They'd scrape those to one side, so if you waited until you'd been served then asked "can I have a bit of skin?" that'd be extra

Doom_and_Gloom

Although I have an OH we eat very differently as I'm vegan and the OH is not, meaning we are a household of two but both cooking for one (though OH cooks for me mostly as I'm disabled )! He may nab the odd carrot or onion but I'd manage to get through the packs without his 'help' before they went bad.

For Tuesday, rice was made up for me in the rice cooker - 3 portions of rice. Tuesday I had chinese and yesterday I had spicy vegetable rice. Today I'm likely to have a Buddha/rice bowl. 3 different meals based around the rice that needed using up.

OH on the other hand - Tuesday chinese that he had in freezer, yesterday he had baked potato and cheese sauce. Today he'll probably have the same as yesterday or have the potato with a tin of ravioli as he had cheese sandwich for lunch.

We do have a large freezer, it's taller than me with 6 draws, and we have a fridge-freezer - the freezer has 3 draws. If I lived alone I would still have the large freezer as it pays for itself with me but I'd downgrade the fridge-freezer to a fridge to save money on running costs as soon as it went kaput.
In the small bottom draw of both freezers I have them full of fruits that were reduced or bought on offer. Cut up and each bagged into portions. I have 24 home made ready meals in one draw - currys, chillis, stews and soups made in the slow cooker. A draw full of frozen vegetables, though half this draw OH has. Another is full of things like chopped chilli (I bought these when less than 40p per pack), tortilla wraps, pizza bases, great food products bought on offer/reduced, reduced tofu portioned out, pure spread bought reduced etc.
So out of 7 large draws and 2 small draws I take up 2 small draws and 2 and a half large draws right now- the equivalent of three normal draws and a small. Yes my OH has more draw space than me as he buys meats, cheeses etc reduced a lot and freezes them. He'll buy a large reduced joint for example and portion it into steak, diced and slices to put in the freezer. He'll buy reduced mince, sausages etc and portion them up. 2 of the draws he uses are full of meat and cheese. The others have meals bought reduced (cheaper than a take away if he feels like one), pizzas (bought frozen and reduced ones), garlic bread, tortilla wraps etc.

I know it's all horses for courses kind of thing however I find that the freezer is absolutely invaluable for a eating for one kind of living. Sure sometimes I or my OH eat the same thing for days on end but we don't want to have to all the time.

PasturesNew

I ended up with some veggies, instant mash, sausages/onions, stuffing and gravy. Freezer & dried packet goods, one kettle, one nuker. Dinner.

caronc

Hi everyone - I'm late on parade today my lots to catch up on

An old friend came round for lunch today and we had a right good catch up and generally put the world to rights:D I'd made lentil soup and put together a bagel with cream cheese and smoked salmon to go with it as I know she really likes these. Her OH is a fruit & veg supplier and she brought a box full of delicious looking veg (I'm still working my way through the fruit basket she sent me a couple of weeks ago) including some proper dirty spuds and carrots from a local farm so I'm looking forward to using the stuff up though will freeze some bits as well.

I'm a butter to edges please and pink custard eater (though hated the green one tasted like toothpaste). Our primary school dinners (apart from the greay stew) were lovely especially the mince and dumplings and carmel tart with custard :Dbut the high school ones were horrific and after the "dead wasp in the cabbage" incident I refused to take them anymore_pale_

Sausage and apple pie, roll, twist, plait I'll take one in any combo as long as has sausage, apple and pastry in it and if it's not too much bother could I have some onion chopped through as well please :cool:

Doom_and_Gloom welcome to the thread good to hear about the different home set ups that mean you are cooking for one too:) I couldn't be without my freezers and by the sounds of it I use more freezer space than you and your OH do just for me which feels a bit excessive but I am working on making sure things get used up.

Not sure what to have for dinner think it will be a freezer rake, bung it on a tray and bung it in the oven job tonight as I'm tired tonight as missed my afternoon snooze

PasturesNew

I only went into the kitchen to make a coffee .... somehow managed to wander out again clutching a toasted slice of crust topped with some chocolate spread

Willowx

A bit of a cheats meal today picked up some fish in sauce microwave portions to try in mr T so giving them a go with curly fries and onion rings. Have also made what I call a milkshake but could well be a smoothie. 160g frozen banana and strawberries and 300ml milk blitzed with the hand blender and divided into two, one for now, one for tomorrow. I have a selection of reusable glass milk bottles with screw caps for storing drinks in shorten.

caronc

Willowx wrote: »

A bit of a cheats meal today picked up some fish in sauce microwave portions to try in mr T so giving them a go with curly fries and onion rings. Have also made what I call a milkshake but could well be a smoothie. 160g frozen banana and strawberries and 300ml milk blitzed with the hand blender and divided into two, one for now, one for tomorrow. I have a selection of reusable glass milk bottles with screw caps for storing drinks in shorten.

Please let me know if these are any good, love the sound of your glass bottles

caronc

PasturesNew wrote: »

I only went into the kitchen to make a coffee .... somehow managed to wander out again clutching a toasted slice of crust topped with some chocolate spread

Naughty ;)but if you've only had hoops on toast today no wonder you felt munchy

ETA: Whoops see you also had veggies etc. but still hardly excessive

moneyistooshorttomention

Talking about the freezer rake as regards what to have for dinner.

I don't/won't have a microwave - so I've not really been able to do that. However - I've discovered that cooker ovens these days (well - at least some of them - including the one I'm going to buy for my new kitchen) have a defrost function on them:D.

Deep joy - as it looks as if I'll soon be able to just whip things out of the freezer and into being cooked at last. Thank goodness there are some good sides to newer technology:T. No longer having to remember to take things out day before - and, more often than not, forgetting to do so.

Doom_and_Gloom

caronc wrote: »

Doom_and_Gloom welcome to the thread good to hear about the different home set ups that mean you are cooking for one too:) I couldn't be without my freezers and by the sounds of it I use more freezer space than you and your OH do just for me which feels a bit excessive but I am working on making sure things get used up.

Not sure what to have for dinner think it will be a freezer rake, bung it on a tray and bung it in the oven job tonight as I'm tired tonight as missed my afternoon snooze

Using things up is the problem we have. We have lists with what is in the freezer that we add to when things go in and cross off when used.

In that vein tomorrow's meal is going to be Moroccan koftas that have been in the freezer six months and bombay potatoes that have been in the freezer 3 months with vegetables and beans. Both the koftas and bombay potatoes are in the fridge defrosting now.

As that was sorted I realized I'd have half a tin of beans needed to be used up. So no Buddha bowl tonight but spicy vegetables again, beans added. Buddha bowl would have been nice but oh well.