Learning to cook for 1, or in my case, less than 1, has been a challenge, but I love to cook, so I deem it a good challenge. Here are a few “helpful hints” that have made my life a little easier.
1. 1. To help control portion sizes, use small cooking containers. I took a trip to my local World Market and found a bunch of fun, small cooking containers for a fairly inexpensive amount. They are all oven to table. I think the most I paid was $6.99, everything else was $2-3. Here’s a picture of some of what I use, and I’ve tried to give you a good description/cost each dish.
b. Yellow 8 in. baking dish (World Market $6.99)
c. Mini loaf pan (World Market $1.49)
d. Wavey Edges Ramekin-that’s probably not the right description, but it’s the best I’ve got! (World Market $1.99)
e. 4 oz Ramekin (World Market, 4 pack $2.99)
f. 6 oz Ramekin (World market, 2 pack $2.99)
g. 4.5 in tart mold, which reminds me of a mini pie pan (World Market $2.99)
h. Glass Ramekin (Target $.99)
i. Mini Dutch Oven (World Market $3.99)
j. Silicone Muffin cups (World Market, 6 pack $2.49)
2. Eat off small, fun plates. If you have something the size of a muffin on a huge dinner plate, it can look almost tragic. Using small plates can help keep it entertaining. I love places like World Market and Pier 1 b/c you can find a lot of unique and fun little plates. Here are the ones I use, they are about 6" or less, except for the long one, it's about 5"x 10". I find that sushi plates, and dessert plates are usually a good size. (Also please forgive my photography skills. I've misplaced my camera....and the cell phone......well, it is what it is. Hopefully some day i can afford a nice camera that will give me those artsie shots I like.)
3. I like to add sautéed veggies to a lot of what I do b/c it adds texture, flavor and filler without adding a lot fat or calories, but trying to use up fresh veggies before they go bad can be difficult. You can buy packs of frozen veggies, but I personally prefer to buy fresh and freeze them myself, they don’t seem to be as watery. For instance I will buy red, yellow, orange, green bell peppers and onions, cut them into strips and then store them in zip lock bags in the freezer. I pull out a few and chop them up, and sauté them when i need them.
4. And finally, a word about measurements of the ingredients in the recipes that are to come. You will often see measurements like, .25 oz of cheese. I know this seems crazy. I fortunately have a digital scale, which helps figuring that out super easy, but in reality who has time to measure that minuet an amount. But for the sake of trying to give you some fairly accurate nutritional information I have measured the ingredients for the sake of the blog, but typically I’m just getting a little pinch of cheese, or a few crumbles of feta. So don’t over stress the measurements too much. If you’re working with little containers, it helps to thwart over usage. :D
5. O! I thought of something! So I'm editing it in. Keep some basic ingredients on hand. You don't have to go all out, and buy out the the grocery store, but its good to keep around some basic things. I always say go with the stuff you like, so for me that looks like: Spices: salt, pepper, chili powder, cayenne or red pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, ranch seasoning (packaged or homemade), cumin, and ground mustard. In the fridge: Eggs, minced garlic, milk, mustard (brown and yellow), ketchup, lite mayo, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, bar-b-q sauce, salad dressing. In the cabinets or on counter tops: Chicken broth, Lipton soup mix (onion or any other variety), canned-flavored tomatoes (there are lots of varieties out there), jar of tomato sauce, canned veggies, powdered milk (goes great in my coffee, and is good for those times when the milk has.......begun its life transition.) Non-stick cooking spray
6. I have a George Foreman Toaster Oven that has been HUGELY helpful when trying to cook smaller. I don’t have to heat up my huge oven for one little recipe. They cost about $70, but if you are going to do a lot of “small” cooking, it is a worthwhile investment.
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaand, that's it for now. i might think of some more hints on down the road, so i reserve the right to revisit this subject, :D.
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