Cooking for 1: Mexi Mash

Most of the time, I eat rather unglamorous food. I don't like spending a lot of time cooking if I'm the only eater, so if it's just me, I tend to just throw together stuff in my fridge. Mexi Mash is one of my favorites since it's basically embracing the concept, "Here, let me just fancy up some basic food with SALSA!!!"

Random tangent: I come from a long line of salsa users. My great-grandmother used to pack a jar of Pace in the crocheted basket on her walker whenever she went down to meals at her retirement home. She passed down her love of the zesty.

Back to Mexi Mash.

Combine several of the following ingredients in a bowl. Top with cheese or salsa or whatever (here's a recipe for homemade salsa). Heat & eat.

Rice (my fav: microwaveable brown rice)
Beans (my fav: refried black beans)
Ground meat (for fancier, make it with taco seasoning)
Scrambled Eggs
Potatoes
Leftover veggies

Cooking for 1: Use Your Friends / Relatives

Just because I am only 1, doesn't mean I always have to cook for 1. Last month, Simply Recipes published a recipe for African Chicken Peanut Stew. It looked so good, but it makes 6-8 servings. My family has long joked that 6-8 servings means 6-8 hungry lumberjacks, & I figured that for this recipe, it meant 6-8 African marathon runners.

So I invited myself over to my parent's house for dinner on MLK day & said I'd cook. It worked out quite well, & the stew is quite tasty! However, not only does this recipe make a lot of food, it also takes quite a bit of time for chopping & simmering, not a good combination for living single (unless you're a single with lots and lots of time on your hands). So sometimes, it's better to share. It's also nice to have some company during dinner.

For a picture, check out the link above.

Recipe tweaks-

I don't do raw chicken, so I used the meat from one rotisserie chicken instead of the chicken thighs. I threw a few of the chicken bones into the pot & simmered it for an hour & it turned out beautifully.

Cooking for 1: Curried Red Lentil Soup

Nothing like a ridiculous Midwestern snowstorm to start a soup craving! However, soup for one is a bit difficult. Making a pot from scratch usually has about 8 servings & I don't have enough room in my freezer to hold extras. Canned soup is one serving, but doesn't have enough calories to keep me going through the day.

Then last weekend in the health food aisle at my local grocery store, I found a carton of Pacific Natural Curried Red Lentil soup. Although still light on the calories, I figured it'd be easy enough to add a protein & side items to fill it out. Plus, lentils have fiber!

The first evening, I cooked up a tilapia fillet with olive oil, salt, & pepper, put it in a bowl, & poured my soup over it. Deliciousness in less than 15 minutes! Ok, I actually cooked up two fillets & had the same combo for lunch the next day.

Since I still had some soup leftover, I got some chicken poppers from the local convenience store (baked not fried!) & enjoyed those with my soup for two more lunches. And now it's all gone.

I'm excited to try more flavors of soup this brand has!

Cooking for 1: 20 Tortillas

Cooking for one is neither fun nor economical.

The last few months of food preparation have been difficult since I have very limited refrigerator/freezer space (4 girls, 1 fridge) & don't want to spend lots of time cooking. Typically, I have a few goals for meal planning.

• Have a food variety
• Stay economical
• Don't waste food

In the next few months, I'll be randomly exploring various ways to accomplish ways to successfully cook for one.

About a month ago, I was seriously craving burritos, so I bought a package of tortillas. Without thinking, I picked up a package of 20 tortillas. Heh, not the best idea ever. I have learned many ways to use tortillas. Also, freezing tortillas works well but remember to pre-separate them before putting them in a freezer bag.

Burritos

Tortillas

Optional Fillings
Refried beans, ground meat flavored with taco seasoning, leftover veggies, whatever else might be in the fridge that would taste good in a burrito

As needed, dump ingredients in a tortilla & warm up in the microwave. Top with salsa!

Fake-adillas (cause I don't eat cheese)

Tortillas

Optional Fillings
Refried beans, lunch meat, leftover veggies

Make it like a quesadilla. Top with salsa!

Chicken Wrap

Tortillas
Pre-cooked chicken
Small portion of sprouts, carrots, whatever veggies from the grocery store salad bar
Ranch dressing

Microwave the chicken & tortilla if you want. Add veggies & ranch.

Thai Chicken Wraps

Tortillas
Pre-cooked chicken
Veggies from the salad bar
Peanut sauce
Sriracha!

Peanut sauce- In a small saucepan, combine 1/4 cup sugar, 1/4 cup peanut butter, 3 tablespoons soy sauce, 3 tablespoons water, 2 tablespoons cooking out, 1 teaspoon minced garlic, & ginger if you like it. Heat until sugar is dissolved, stirring frequently. (it's seriously good)

Assemble like a wrap.

Tortilla Dessert

Spread butter/margarine on a tortilla. Sprinkle on white sugar or Dutch chocolate sprinkles, roll up & enjoy.

Any other good ways to use tortillas?