Dining for One
January 20th, 2009 by Karen
Quick Minestrone – great for that small piece of leftover steak that you know you shouldn’t eat right now
1 TBSP vegetable oil
1 zucchini, chopped
small piece of leftover meat, chopped small
1 can chopped tomatoes (or whole and cut them up)
~8 oz green beans (fresh is better than frozen is better than canned)
1/2 envelope lipton onion soup mix
16 oz water
handful of macaroni/bowtie/similar pasta
In a saucepan on medium heat, add oil, zucchini & meat. Cook 2 minutes then add tomatoes, green beans and water and bring to a boil. Add the onion soup mix and pasta and stir well. Reduce heat to low and cover and cook for about 10 minutes. Add pepper and salt to taste.
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Crock Pot “Roast” – rather than a big roast, get a nice size steak, roll it up and tie with butchers twine.
“Roast” (this also works great with cheaper cuts of meat that are normally tougher)
1 medium onion
1 or 2 carrots, sliced into pieces an inch or so long
1 or 2 celery stalks, sliced
1 envelope lipton onion soup mix
1 beef boullion cube
Water
Tie up your steak and place in crock pot along with the vegetables. Dump in the onion soup mix, boullion cube and add enough water to come a little more than halfway up the side of the rolled steak. Cook for about 2 hours and check for doneness. (Timing will depend on the size of your roast)
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Broccoli & Almonds
1 head of broccoli, chopped
2 green onions, sliced thin
2 TBSP butter
2 TBSP or so sliced almonds (bulk foods is great for this rather than the baking aisle)
Lemon
Melt butter over high heat. When it’s hot, add broccoli, onions and almonds. Stir constantly until broccoli is tender, but still bright green. Remove from heat and squeeze lemon over after plating.
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Saucepan Baked Apples
2 large baking apples (mackintoshes, rome, gala…I prefer the red blush colored ones)
2 spoonfuls of sugar
cinnamon
butter
1/2 C water
Scoop out the core of the apples, but don’t pierce the bottoms. In the hole, add the sugar until almost full, add a pat of butter on top and sprinkle with cinnamon. Pour water into saucepan and carefully add apples. Cover and bring water just to a boil over medium heat. Lower the heat and cook for about 20 minutes or until tender. A nice variation on this is brown sugar.
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Caesar Chicken and Orzo Pasta – this is all done in one skillet
1 TBSP vegetable oil
2 chicken breasts
1 C chicken broth or 1 chicken boullion cube and 1 C hot water
1/2 C water
1/2 C orzo pasta (looks like like pieces of rice)
~8 oz bag frozen mixed spring vegetables (carrots, green beans)
1 1/2 TBSP Caesar dressing
Pepper
Heat oil in skillet over medium-high heat and cook chicken for about 10 minutes, turning once, until brown. Remove chicken from skillet and keep warm. Add broth and water to skillet and bring to a boil. Stir in orzo and bring to a boil again. Cook uncovered for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occassionally. Stir in frozen vegetables and dressing. Add chicken and sprinkle with pepper. Heat to boiling once more, then reduce heat to a simmer and cook uncovered for about 5 minutes or until the chicken is done.
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Fish en Papillote – fancy talk for fish in parchment (or tinfoil!)
1 frozen lean fish fillets (perch, sole, just about any white fish)
1 C frozen mixed vegetables (broccoli, carrots & cauliflower)
1/4 tsp dill
salt & pepper
1 TBSP white wine (leftovers are good, or get a bottle of kitchen wine)
(Do this on a cookie sheet lined with foil. Little clean up that way!) Heat oven to 450. Place the
fish on a 12 inch square of foil and top with the vegetables, dill, salt, pepper and wine. Fold up foil and seal edges to hold in the steam. Bake about 35 minutes on a cookie sheet or until vegetables are done and fish flakes with a fork. (You can do this in parchment paper too, but rather than a square, you’ll need to cut the parchment in a heart shape. Put everything on one side of the heart, fold over the other half and roll the edge to seal.)
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Maple Apples and Carrots – great with a nice pork chop or chicken
1 medium carrot, sliced
1 medium apple, sliced thinly (hint…slice like you would a potato, and then cut out the centers)
1 TBSP butter
2 TBSP maple syrup
1/4 tsp cardamom (use nutmeg if you don’t have cardamom)
Heat about an inch of water to a saucepan and bring to a boil. Add carrots and cover and heat to boiling then reduce heat. Simmer 12 to 15 minutes or until tender. Drain. While carrots cook, heat butter in a skillet over medium heat. Cook apple wedges in butter for 2 minutes, stirring occassionally. Stir in syrup and spice and cook for an additional 3-5 minutes sitrring frequently until apples are evenly coated. Stir in carrots.
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