All in One Meals
Discussion
I live alone most of the time and, although I love to cook, find that cooking complicated meals for one during the week is too much bother.
When I get in from the office I just want to do 10 minutes preparation, leave it for an hour and tip into a bowl.
Minimal effort, minimal washing up.
On the flip side, I do want to eat reasonably healthy/balanced and only have a stovetop, oven and grill - no microwave (not had or used microwave for well over 20 years!).
I usually resort to a good stew - beef/lamb shank/chicken - in a pyrex casserole with carrots/spuds etc and let it go.
But that is getting boring.
PHers, please post your easy, delicious, all in one, work night mano-solo dishes.....
When I get in from the office I just want to do 10 minutes preparation, leave it for an hour and tip into a bowl.
Minimal effort, minimal washing up.
On the flip side, I do want to eat reasonably healthy/balanced and only have a stovetop, oven and grill - no microwave (not had or used microwave for well over 20 years!).
I usually resort to a good stew - beef/lamb shank/chicken - in a pyrex casserole with carrots/spuds etc and let it go.
But that is getting boring.
PHers, please post your easy, delicious, all in one, work night mano-solo dishes.....
Cheap and tasty meal I do just because im too lazy in the week.Chop some onions,red if you have them and some chorizo sausage also some red & yellow pepper or just one or the other.I fry it all in a pan with a pack of gnocchi from Aldi.Right near the end I chuck in some stir in pasta sauce,you can get it with tomatoes and onions or olives and just heat through.
If you like Chinese style food why not get a decent wok and raid somewhere like Wing Yip for a range of sauces, soy & rice wine etc., compared to supermarkets they are really cheap. They also have an on-line store if there aren't any Chinese grocers near you, www.wingyip.com
Preparing veg & meat can be done in minutes while you cook rice/noodles, then cooking the food in the wok, for most dishes, only takes a matter of minutes.
Get a cookbook or two, Ken Hom or Ching-He Huang or similar, or just look up their recipes on bbc.co.uk/food.
There are also lots of braised dishes that you can cook in the oven for an hour or so that you normally wouldn't find in Chinese takeaways.
Just a thought.
Preparing veg & meat can be done in minutes while you cook rice/noodles, then cooking the food in the wok, for most dishes, only takes a matter of minutes.
Get a cookbook or two, Ken Hom or Ching-He Huang or similar, or just look up their recipes on bbc.co.uk/food.
There are also lots of braised dishes that you can cook in the oven for an hour or so that you normally wouldn't find in Chinese takeaways.
Just a thought.
oilydan said:
Maybe a couple other constraints....
As tasty as that sounds, I'm working in Saudi Arabia, so pork is off the menu
And my ingredients are limited; gnocchi is unheard of here!
I can get good veg and lamb/beef/chicken though.
That complicates matters a bit.As tasty as that sounds, I'm working in Saudi Arabia, so pork is off the menu
And my ingredients are limited; gnocchi is unheard of here!
I can get good veg and lamb/beef/chicken though.
You might have to buy a tagine, a flock of goats & a sack of cous cous.
Buy a set of steamers.
On one ring you can steam up to three things. The variety of stuff you can make is amazing. And steamed vegetables are super healthy and cook in ten minutes.
Slow Cookers are great and are far more versatile than the inevitable casserole. Slow roasting meat can be done in it. Combine with an oven for browning at the end and those steamers and there's roast dinner with ten minutes effort!
On one ring you can steam up to three things. The variety of stuff you can make is amazing. And steamed vegetables are super healthy and cook in ten minutes.
Slow Cookers are great and are far more versatile than the inevitable casserole. Slow roasting meat can be done in it. Combine with an oven for browning at the end and those steamers and there's roast dinner with ten minutes effort!
Bag of mixed salad and some cooked chicken breast I reckon that would take about an minute to plate up, and if you use a paper plate you save on washing up
A slow cooker is only about £20 and you get heaps in it to freeze leftovers. I cook quorn chilli in mine a lot, but before I went percatarian I did a nice Caribbean stew type thingy, chicken thighs, onions, butternut squash or sweet potato, fresh thyme, garlic, scotch bonnet peppers and some jerk seasoning leave cooking for about 10hours then dinner is served.
A slow cooker is only about £20 and you get heaps in it to freeze leftovers. I cook quorn chilli in mine a lot, but before I went percatarian I did a nice Caribbean stew type thingy, chicken thighs, onions, butternut squash or sweet potato, fresh thyme, garlic, scotch bonnet peppers and some jerk seasoning leave cooking for about 10hours then dinner is served.
oilydan said:
PHers, please post your easy, delicious, all in one, work night mano-solo dishes.....
Works for me http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=104...
oilydan said:
That all sounds like too much hard work - steamers, slow cooker, oven.... just think of the washing up 
I'm after one dish, all-in, leave for X minutes recipes...
Okay Dan. I can help. I'm after one dish, all-in, leave for X minutes recipes...
Buy the following:
2 purple aubergine
Pork mince
Spring onion
Can of water chestnuts
Bag of salted peanuts
A bunch of coriander
A red chilli
2 garlic cloves
Light soy sauce
Chilli oil
Black.pepper
Sesame oil
Rice
Get a huge wok or frying pan. Stir fry the mince until very brown. Add diced aubergine, lid on with half a cup of water. Steam fry until soft. Toss.
Add other ingredients and stir fry. Add soy and chilli oil in good quantities and reduce until sticky. Add sesame.
Eat with rice and some thai crackers. For a couple of nights at least.
Hope that helps you.
Dan...... just get the BBC GoodFood app for the iPhone called "onepot" ... plenty of recipes for one pot cooking makes life easy, I try one or two of these a week (or from other BBC GoodFood apps) just to give me something different to eat, rather then fall into the same old same old food. They are easy meals with out a lot of fancy prep, so you can knock them out without much fuss
one of my faves is Harissa tray bake
Basically mix harissa paste, red wine vinegar, chicken and onions, spread over roasting tin, whack in the oven for 25-30 mins, add roasted peppers (jar bought ones), feta and pine nuts and cook for another 10mins...... Bobs your Uncle, and enjoy
one of my faves is Harissa tray bake
Basically mix harissa paste, red wine vinegar, chicken and onions, spread over roasting tin, whack in the oven for 25-30 mins, add roasted peppers (jar bought ones), feta and pine nuts and cook for another 10mins...... Bobs your Uncle, and enjoy
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