disclaimer: this post is kinda all over the place, just take from of it what you will there are tons of things you can do. don't be afraid to get a cookbook, get recipes online, whatever. if you want healthy, steam vegetables and make rice. face it, you're gonna have to get creative. get a rice cooker, those things kick butt! if you don't already have them, you're gonna need a good pan or two, a pot, some utensils, a good knife, cutting board. utensils for cooking. below are some simple things to cook or make, not all may be healthy, most are quick to make, but sometimes, you need to take time to cook. for instance, pot roast... dude, you gotta be patient for the good pot roast...but pot roasts come later. i digress. for now, easy, quick stuff... pasta and sauce - boil water, throw pasta in, boil till ready, drain water. fresh pasta takes a couple of minutes to cook while dry pasta can take 12-15 minutes... open sauce jar, heat in microwave or in a pan on the stove. combine both when ready. Add parmesan to taste. don't forget the bread, garlic bread, bread loaf, whatever... or no bread and make a salad, ceasar salads are easy, lettuce, croutons, parmesan, dressing... sandwiches - start with bread then your choice of anything you want to put on a sandwich! rice and beans - instant rice, can of beans, heat. if you want to get adventurous, boil your rice, don't go instant... tacos - your choice of taco shell, crispy, flour, soft corn. add stuff inside. cheese, lettuce, tomato, seasoned meat, chicken, tofu, beans, avocadoes. stir fry - rice, veggies, meat, tofu, shrimp... go nuts! quesadillas - tortillas, cheese, salsa - heat in microwave or on stove salads - lettuce is a good start, some kind of dressing then go from there... pizza - throw cheese and stuff on top of a premade pizza crust, heat in oven chicken and rice - boil chicken, bake chicken, grill chicken, stir fry chicken, serve with rice. baked potatoes - butter, sour cream, cheese, fixin's. you can cook your potatoes in the microwave. poke holes then nuke em. eggs in many variations - boiled, deviled, scrambled, fried, with bacon, maybe breakfast foods? cereal for dinner or pancakes. fish, fish sticks, mashed potatoes or get frozen fries or tater tots and heat them in the oven. the possibilities are endless, just have fun and don't think of grocery shopping as a chore, make it fun, enjoy cooking, don't make it out to be burden, revel in it. avid home cook, former bachelor, rH
I've never been much of a cook. When I was single, my diet consisted almost entirely of cereal. Now, I eat better than that, but I still try to keep it as simple as possible -- stir fries, soup and sandwich combos, pasta dishes and vegetarian frozen entrees make up the majority of my meals. As rh mentioned, check out some cookbooks. There are lots of good basic beginners books that will walk you through a meal step by step. Also, check out cooking magazines as well -- my new favorite is Everyday Food from Martha Stewart. I was surprised to find that, unlike the elaborate recipes she's usually known for, this magazine features very basic, easy-to-make dishes. At my Kroger, they keep it up by the registers so you can check it out while you're waiting in line.
get Sloppy Joe Sauce in a can...add ground beef and cook till the meat is done.. make sure its cooked well.. heat up burger buns..and add sloppy joes in.. you're set
My mom just taught me this. And it is incredible!!! Buy frozen green beans. Heat a skillet with olive oil. put green beans in skillet. season with salt, pepper, and garlic. cook, occasionally stirring, for about 5-7 minutes. presto! your new favorite side dish!
I feed myself with TV dinner all the time. I had been using microwave oven until my friend told me not to eat too much microwaved foods. So I switched to use conventional oven lately. But now I am wondering if the plastic container of the TV dinner is safe in a conventional oven. It is commonly known that plastic doesn't do well in extreme heat environment. I always have the terrible notion that the plastic would melt and become part of the food which ends up in my stomach. Any advice?
OK..... I feel like I am the quintessential bachelor here, so here are my takes: Potted meats: they're good, and they're cheap. Shell's and cheese: you can add anything, and it still tastes good. Pizza: Seriously-order the damn thing! every frozen pizza is crap! Frito Pie: Still the best meal single males can buy. White Castle burgers: great eats when you've had one too many. Ramen: Seriously, they're fun from time to time, but they're not a good sustinence food. I hate to say it, but I'm a huge fan of ANYmexican style dinner, as long as it has some "filling" material. That said........... Frying vegetables is the new thing!
Stouffer's Lasagna - best pre-packaged dinner in my opinion. Red Baron Deep Dish Pizzas - best frozen pizzas I've had...about 450 calories. Another good thing to buy is soup mixes. A lot of times you can just mix them with water and chicken and maybe a vegetable or two. Old El Paso Taco Dinner Kit. All you really have to do is brown the meat. The best ingredient for someone who can't cook worth a damn is garlic. I use it in almost everything I cook. Chili, spaghetti, hamburgers, etc... When I'm feeling a little ambitious my favorite things to make are soups from scratch. Surprisingly, they taste great every once in a while. Some of them like brocoli chesse or potato soup aren't very tough to make.
The king of bachelor cooking is in da hayouse! #1...get yourself a George Foreman grill. Perfect for boneless chicken breasts and grilled veggies. #2...get yourself a wok for stir frying #3...get yourself a bar bq grill for outside if you have a patio or deck at your place. You can grill and barbecue and best of all...NO CLEANING UP! Other than that, fill your freezer with Healthy Choice and Weight Watchers frozen entrees. And keep the phone numbers of restaurants that deliver to your neighborhood handy.
I suck at cooking on the stove but I rock when it comes to grilling. I love fish, and there is nothing easier then cooking fish on the grill, it`s quick and healthy and as RMTex pointed out theres no clean up. I like to spruce my fish up with lemon, dill and a pinch of garlic, top it off with a spinach salad any you are on your way to a healthy and tasty meal
