Cooking for one (Mark Two)

Bigjenny

MrAPJI, some excellent recommendations. You mentioned that your SIL is an excellent cook, could you perhaps ask her, when she has the time, to show you some easy meals to cook, and some basic methods of cooking.

[Deleted User]

I am done eating for the day, apart from a great big fat rascal, the first of my christmas eats, from bettys. I`ll eat that at 5 and that will be it until 6.30 tomorrow morning. The sun is very faint but at least the gloom has lifted a little and I am feeling like a cycle ride. Not a fast ride, just one to get me out and only 6 miles or so but enough small hills to get my blood moving, lower gears today

PasturesNew

MrAPJI wrote: »

I love cauliflower cheese, but would struggle with the sauce. Must say that I'm not keen on the packet ones, but they may have improved since I last tasted them, thirty or so years ago lol

Nuke it. Seriously. It's easier than anything you can imagine.

Take a microwave safe mug/similar sized bowl...
Tablespoon of butter/margarine, melt that in the microwave (30-45 seconds or so, just poke it every 10-15 seconds so it melts/breaks up).
Add a tablespoon of flour, heaped (not overly heaped).
Using a common fork, whisk it around until all the lumps have gone.
Add a splash of milk. Use that fork again, all the lumps out.
Bit more milk... needs to be thick, but not solid.... use that fork again.
Nuke for 15-20 seconds. Look at it - poke it with that fork again ... add a bit more milk.
Repeat this step building up your basic sauce.
After about 1½ minutes or so it should be there.
Now add cheese (grated or cut into tiny pieces) and give it a stir round.
Back into the nuker.
Now just nuke it 15-20 seconds at a time, taking it out, looking at it, poking it with a fork and adding milk if it needs loosening, bit more cheese to make it cheesier/thicker ... repeat for about a minute or so until you've got a smooth cheese sauce.

Then use as required.....

If this sounds a bit complex, print this out and give it to your sister in law who is a good cook and get her to make it with you so she can help you the first time.

MrAPJI

Many thanks to you all, for your kindness and support. Such good suggestions and I will take on board what each of you has said

Hope you enjoyed your ride Kittie. Cycling is something which I enjoy and come the New Year will endeavour to return to.

PasturesNew, thanks for taking time to share your recipie. I will print it out and tomorrow I'm going to 'give it a go' - fingers crossed .

Today I've managed a bowl of porridge for breakfast, and for lunch a tin of bacon and lentil soup (it was ghastly lol) with a couple of wholemeal rolls. This evening I will jacket a potato with cheese on top and serve with baked beans - like yesterday lol.

Better make tracks as the piano tuner is about to arrive

Stoke

Aldi do 2 pieces of cod in a sealed packet. Turns out I have a few in my freezer. Cut one of off and removed the packaging, fried it from frozen using frylight in a shallow pan, sprinkled a small amount of salt and black pepper on.

Did myself some of my healthy chips. I'm down to using 1 potato now. I'm feeding one. I needed to get out of the habit of using 2 and making too much.

Also some mushrooms. Again, fried them in frylight.

Healthy fish, chips and mushrooms.... delightful.

You could easily throw a tin of baked beans on to make it even better.

PasturesNew

One thing I do is always have what I call "meal in a tin" stocks in the cupboard. They will typically be "things I can stick on toast" so canned spag bol, or beans with sausages - something "a bit more than just beans on toast". There's often the odd can of chunky soup too, which can be eaten as if it were a stew.

It takes time to find your own little favourites to stock up on.

I also nuke all my breakfasts, which will typically include any/all of: scrambled eggs, poached eggs, boiled egg/soldiers, baked beans, tinned tomatoes, sausages and hash browns. I don't buy/eat bacon else that'd be in the mix too. For sausages, if you CBA to fry them from raw .... you can buy Walls ready cooked ones to nuke ... or, like I do, just use cooked cocktail sausages (which freeze too).

I always have a box of cereal in - honey nut cornflakes is my current "go to" box .... and I have Weetabix too (for the times I have milk in the house, which isn't always).

moneyistooshorttomention

caronc wrote: »

I had the usual toast & fruit for breakfast and lunch I think will be fried egg in a piece of stottie cake with a couple of clementines for "afters":D

That's my fact for the day learnt then - after thinking "fried egg with cake? Huh?" and I now know it's flat, round bread. Ah now it makes sense to me.

On that thought - wonders if I should buy some pickled cucumbers? Hm...as I occasionally take a fancy to a Middle Eastern breakfast - tomatoes, olives, pickled cucumbers, egg, feta cheese, suitable bread. Hmm....

PasturesNew

Lunch today was two hot sausage rolls, that's 4/6 gone.

Two more tomorrow I'm guessing
Or maybe later...have to see how I feel.

Farway

Welcome MrAPJI, sorry to hear why you have arrived at CFO, but you will soon fit in

Don't worry about hating shopping, I'm a bloke and and fully agree with that sentiment. Not restricted to men BTW, sounds like PN is of same mind, as no doubt are many others. Just a chore to be done, but it has a benefit of getting out in the fresh air and not staring at the walls

Some of the ready meals, either the frozen or chilled are very useful to have in, and some are tasty as well. You may find some of the portion sizes are a bit small, but I top up with nuked frozen veg, like green beans, peas or for when you can't make your mind up, mixed veg is a handy cop out on decision making

Generally for nuking I find frozen is best for CFO because you only use at much as you fancy and are not left with a huge pile of sprouts for instance

I went out getting the final buys in, especially the chuck away foil roasting tray now the DW is duff. Good old £land, two for a quid, may be a bit flimsy but I'm not going to have a huge turkey or similar in them

Plus bag of SR flour and a lettuce, both "just in case". The lettuce will help improve the turkey sarnies next week:)

I have continued with the mince pie noshing, a new 12 pack opened yesterday, 4 down, 8 left

Lunch was the last of the LO HM sardine pate on toast

Dinner will be start of Christmas with a trial run on roasting all the veg
Thus sausages are defrosting, ready to make pigs in blankets, plus roast spuds, roast carrots, roast parsnips and roast sprouts

All in one of my new chuck away trays, in one oven. I will make extra of everything, so could be Xmas bubble & squeak type meal or just CFO style warmed up left overs one day:(

PS, just thinking, with the roast everything in a chuck away tray, one could just pour gravy on top and eat out of the tray. Chuck tray in bin, no washing up.
I'm not doing this BTW, I prefer eating on a plate

Hollyharvey

Farway wrote: »

Plus bag of SR flour and a lettuce, both "just in case". The lettuce will help improve the turkey sarnies next week:)

I have continued with the mince pie noshing, a new 12 pack opened yesterday, 4 down, 8 left

Love the randomness of a bag of SR flour and a lettuce "just in case". I'll admit to the lettuce being one of my "just in case" items as well, and like you thought it would be useful for sandwiches. I was thinking turkey mayo salad sandwiches .

I'm afraid I'm just the same as you with the mince pies (and stollen). I had to go and get another box this afternoon. I've given in and bought 4 boxes, the best before date is the 8th January, and to be honest, I looked at that and thought "they won't last that long anyhow, and even if they do, I can always freeze them".

I've made another discovery to go with them, along with the cream, it's rum butter. I bought it on a whim yesterday. It is a bit too sweet so I shall make my own in future. I have a bottle of dark rum, unsalted butter and icing sugar in. It has some "festive spices". They are listed on the packaging so I will use them but to my own taste so hopefully homemade will be even nicer ).

Christmas needs to hurry up or I will be the size of a house!.


PS. Meant to say welcome to MrAPJI