Single Girl Cooking

Ok so it’s not a surprise that I love cooking and baking (and any of my friends will tell you I’m darn good at both too ).  The problem for me is….I am only cooking for one person 99% of the time!  Plus I also have to eat semi-early because of my medications I need to take in the evening.

So late one night, honestly probably early one morning, I came across a lady on Pintrest who does “Dump Cooking”.  The sound of it intrigued me and I thought I would take a look.  All she does is she spends 1 day preparing meals, placing the ingredients in Ziploc bags and freezes them. when the morning rolls around, she gets into her freezer, pulls out a bag and dumps it into her Crock Pot.  Why have I never heard of this before! Then a few weeks later I read a pin about a lady who “preps” her family's meals ahead of time and it takes the majority of the cooking out of preparing meals.  THIS is what I needed!  If I could cut an hour or 2 out of my cooking meals I would be set, and I could still eat semi-early, like 6-6:30.

So I went out and did my monthly shopping and got great deals on chicken and hamburger and started my cooking.

I boiled and shredded 7 chicken breasts which I got on sale for $1.99 /lb. and Smart & Final.  I seriously love this place.  Great prices AND they accept coupons too!

After it was shredded I divided it out into “me” size servings (quart bags), which in all honesty will give me 2-3 meals.  I got a total of 7 bags, one which I used to make Stir Fried Quinoa, which has turned into a comfort food for me.  Great flavor, super easy to make and SUPER healthy too!  So I threw these 6 bags into 1 gallon size bag and it is waiting for me to try any number of shredded chicken recipes, found here, here, here, and here.

Now, besides pretty much living on chicken I LOVE Italian food like lasagna and spaghetti but as you know if it impossible to make a small batch of it so…I have a friend who told me about making lasagna in a bread pan.  She says that she loves it, but her husband is not a huge fan so she makes it in a bread pan and freezes the rest for when he is working late.  this has become me new favorite way to make it.  I figured since I was going to make spaghetti sauce, why not make a double batch and freeze the rest for when I want spaghetti.

I thought I took a picture of the lasagna in the pan, but I guess not.  Basically I used a pound of hamburger, made the sauce, cut up a pound of mozzarella (I love cheese on anything) and boiled up 6 lasagna noodles.  I layered the first 2 noodles length wise in the pan then sauce and cheese.  Then the next layer I cut 2 noodles in half and laid them down width wise in the pan.  This helps the layer “stay together” and then repeated the sauce and cheese.  the last layer length wise again.  After it cooked I let it cook, covered and put in the fridge over night.  The next morning I took it out and cut it into 6 “slices”

So here are my 6 servings of lasagna all ready to go.  Turn the over to 350 and let it warm up for about 30-45 minutes (obviously less time if you microwave it, but I don’t have one).

Now with the left over sauce I divided it up into 2 cup Ziploc containers and put them in the freezer overnight

The next morning I found out that I had no hot water!  So as I was boiling water (shout out to mom & dad for taking me camping so many times as a kid.  This girl knows how to survive, lol) to wash the dished left over from the previous nights cooking I threw the container with the sauce into the water so I would be able to get the sauce out

And TA-DA……

Put that bad boy into a Ziploc bag and I am ready for a pasta night!

I also love baking and since I was on a kick of “freezing” things I thought what about cookie dough?  I mean we all buy it from the kids selling it for school fundraisers and lets be honest, it NEVER makes it to the oven.  So I decided to get out the “complimentary” ice trays I got with my new apartment and divided the cookie dough up into those and wouldn’t you know…I’M A BAKING GENIUS!

It took a few hours for them to harden up, but they kinda popped right out of the molds and viola!  Premade homemade cookies.  No more wondering if I have the ingredients to make a batch of cookies (which is funny because I always do).  Again I put them into a bag and labeled them with heating directions.

The last thing I prepared this weekend were breakfast burritos!  I love my oatmeal and protein shakes for breakfast, but sometimes I want eggs.  Granted it is easy to microwave them when I get to work, but I’m not a huge fan of carrying eggs to work already cracked.  I’m afraid its going to leak out into my lunch bag. Plus I have to shred cheese in the morning and I don’t get the sausage or potato either.  So I looked on Pintrest again and found this pin.  She give you step by step instructions to making them and freezing them!  So after a dozen eggs, a pound of sausage and a bag of shredded cheese (yep I cheated on that one) I got 8 burritos.  Well only 7 are frozen because let be honest, who doesn’t want a breakfast burrito when its freshly made.  I probably could’ve gotten 12 easy, but I piled the eggs and sausage on.

So there are my “cheating” steps so surviving Singledom and still cooking a full meal, but just cutting it down to a manageable amount for me   I also like to think of this as preparing me for the married life with kids.  If it can cut down on time I have to sped each night cooking and away from the family, I’m all for it.

Easiest Dinner for Cheap!

Earlier this year I wanted to start eating healthier and honestly cheaper too.  Getting take out is way too expensive (and calories…WOW!) and you only get 1 meal out of it.  I found this site called 100 Days of Real Food where she and her family eat NO PROCESSED FOODS!  That kind of got me thinking about all of the money I’m buying on “chemicals” that come in the food I eat.  Yes, it is a little bit more time consuming and it can be expensive, but if you look around you can find some great deals.
Take this recipe for example, it literally cost me $4! And I will get 3-4 meals out of 1 chicken.

Chicken from Fresh & Easy. I bargain shop pretty much everything else, but I get my meat from F&E. It is all natural, no hormones and the serving sizes you get are enormous.  Plus with their coupons and my Friends card I can and have saved $20 on 1 shopping trip without buying a shopping cart full of things.
And the seasonings I already had in my cupboard (so…free!)

Oh and 1 thing you will always find in my kitchen is a Crock Pot.  If you do not have one of these…you need one!  It is the easiest way to cook, and honestly, if you don’t know how to cook, it does it for you
Whole Chicken in a Crock Pot – courtesy of 100 Days of Real Food
If you can, rub down the chicken either the night before or a few hours prior to cooking.  It allows the meat to “marinate” in the seasonings…yummy!

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne (red) pepper
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• 1 onion
• 1 large chicken

Directions

1. Combine the dried spices in a small bowl.
2. Loosely chop the onion and place it in the bottom of the slow cooker.
3. Remove any giblets from the chicken and then rub the spice mixture all over. You can even put some of the spices inside the cavity and under the skin covering the breasts.
4. Put prepared chicken on top of the onions in the slow cooker, cover it, and turn it on to high. There is no need to add any liquid.
5. Cook for 4 – 5 hours (for a 3 or 4 pound chicken), on low for 8 hours or until the chicken is falling off the bone.
6. DON’T THROW AWAY THE BONES!!!!!

Seriously it tastes BETTER than the store bought rotisserie chickens but you know exactly what is used instead of getting a chicken that was frozen, un frozen, rubbed with some sort of seasoning, cooked and then placed under a heat lamp until you grab it. Put this on before you go to work and come home to a great smelling house and make up some sides.  BOOM! Dinner is done!





Look at that! In 5 hours the house smells delicious and just to make sure that everything was juicy, I based the top with some of the juice (which you can't relly see, but it comes up 3/4 of the way of the thigh!) and the skin just fell off on the legs!

Overnight Chicken Stock – again from 100 Days of Real Food
Now, I have never made this before because I bought some Better Than Bullion Chicken stock that I love (thanks Holly) and I started using that before I found this chicken recipe, but I am working my way thru the BTB so I will be making the stock next time I make the chicken.

Ingredients

• Leftover chicken bones or carcass roughly equivalent to one small or medium sized chicken
• 1 onion, peeled and loosely chopped
• 1 rib of celery, roughly chopped
• 1 carrot, roughly chopped (no need to peel)
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 sprig fresh parsley
• 1 sprig fresh thyme
• Salt, to taste
  Note: If you are missing any of these ingredients I wouldn’t let that stop you from making it anyway.

Stock Directions

1. After removing all edible meat from the chicken put/leave the bones, skin, cooking juices, etc. in the crock pot. If you are using the chicken carcass from the “The Best Whole Chicken in the Crock Pot” recipe just leave every single thing that’s leftover (except the good meat of course) in the crock pot including the original onion and spices you used when making the chicken.
2. Add the onion, celery, carrot and spices on top of the bones and fill the crock pot almost to the top with tap water (leaving about 1/2” at the top).
3. Turn the slow cooker onto “low” after dinner and cook all night long or alternatively you could start it in the morning and cook on “low” for 8 – 10 hours during the day.
4. After the stock is done cooking turn off the heat and, using a soup ladle, pass the stock through a fine sieve to remove all herbs/bones/etc. Either refrigerate or freeze the stock for future use. I usually freeze some in both 1 and 2-cup portions, and I also sometimes freeze stock in ice cube trays just in case I just “need a little” for making sauce or rice.
5. This stock is great in soups like chicken noodle soup and also in rice like risotto. Enjoy!

Memorial Day Oatmeal and Banana Obsession

This past Monday morning, Memorial day, I woke up with a major hankering for something with banana in it.  I had a bunch of bananas that were right at the “getting to nasty to do anything with” and I remember that I had a yummy recipe for some Banana oatmeal pancakes that I found in a magazine last year.  And after that, my search for using the rest of the bunch was on for the day.
Banana Oatmeal Pancakes
Ok they may sound kinda gross, but they are so good and filling
In a blender combine:
1 banana
1/4 rolled oats
2 tablespoons cottage cheese (see doesn’t that sound funky to be in pancakes? But I promise you its delish!)
2 egg whites
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Blend until smooth and stir in 2 teaspoons of chopped walnuts.  Heat a large skillet over medium heat and coat with nonstick cooking spray.  Pour batter into skillet to make two 4-inch pancakes. 
I always end up with more than two pancakes, but they can be frozen and reheated for a quick breakfast.  And the two pancakes are about 300 calories!
Individual “Banana Bread” Baked Oatmeal
This and the following recipes I picked up from Pintrest (seriously what a great site).  These are moist and delicious little muffins that clock in at about 145 calories per muffin (that is with all 12 tins filled.  The recipe says that it’ll make 9 but I was able to get 12 from my batter. Maybe I don’t fill them up as much as she does).  And these freeze great!  I take one out and put it in my bag for work, throw it in the microwave for about 20-30 seconds and a yummy breakfast
2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup nonfat milk (or “milk” of your choice)
2 medium bananas, mashed
1 large egg
2 tablespoons oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
Extras: nuts and chocolate chips (soooooo yummy!)
Spray cupcake tin with nonstick spray and preheat over to 350. In a large bowl stir together the oats, sugar, baking powder, and cinnamon until well combined.  In a separate bowl mash the bananas and add the milk, egg, oil and vanilla until combined.  Add to the dry ingredients and stir well.  Divide into tins (I just use a 1/2 cup measuring cup for the entire thing and I divide it up using between 1/4 to just under 1/2 cup for each tin).  Bake for about 20-25 minutes.

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Squares
See what I mean about OB-SESSION!!!! This is a great one!  I mean who doesn’t love bananas and peanut butter?  Another great treat or even a quick breakfast bar, depending on how big you cut the squares (1/16th is about 85 calories!)
1 1/2 cup quick cooking oats
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup milk (or “milk” of your choice)
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 large mashed banana
1/4 cup smooth peanut butter
Lightly spray an 8”x8” metal baking pan (glass works too, you just have to cook it a little bit longer) and preheat the over to 350.
Mix together the oats, brown sugar, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.  Add in the vanilla, milk and egg.  Mix until combined.  Then add in the mashed bananas and peanut butter.  Combine all ingredients and pour into pan. 

Bake for about 20 minutes or until done.

(Yes that is a corner missing.  I mean I HAD to try them out before posting it here)
So needless to say my place was smelling like banana bread all day long and I have been enjoying the fruits of my labor (hahaha get it…fruit…banana!)
But most importantly I want to thank the men and women who serve and have served our country to keep us free!  God Bless America!!!!!!