Meals for One

I'm trying to eat right so I've been cooking my own food my hubby doesn't choose to eat. Anything I buy like a pack of pork chops, steaks, or chicken I take out wrap individually in plastic then foil and stick in labeled ziplock back in freezer. No freezer burn and I cook one at a time.

This is a great time to try mixing different spices and using on meats or salad dressings as marinades because you are the only one eating.

Great time to eat veggies because they can be expensive. Only have to buy for one. Fresh green beans, asparagus, yellow, red peppers.

If you take notice to menus at chilis, applebees, wherever...you can easily try to repeat them. You can actually only cook 1 cup of pasta. I saw on tv you can freeze leftover spaghetti sauce but havent tried that one myself.

If you get tired of your own cooking watch the sale papers that come through almost every major restaurant surprisingly has meals under $7 and then discounts also.

Good luck.

You could start off the week with a split chicken that has been grilled or roasted.. Eat what you want with a salad and a veggie the first day. The next day, make up some pasta and heat up some of the chicken in a little olive oil with garlic with some italian seasoning.. Mix in the warm pasta and toss.. Sprinkle italian cheese and black pepper on top.. Sometimes, I add the Mr. Gatiis, cheese packet to this mixture and it is perfect..

Another day, make a small roast beef or pork in the crock pot with veggies. Eat what you want the first day with some fruit salad. The next day pull out some of the roast and heat it up with BBQ sauce and have a BBQ sandwhich... With salad or raw veggies. (Kaiser rolls freeze great. Just pull 1 out of the freezer about 10 minutes before you need it, then heat in microwave about 10 seconds). If there is any left the next night make a gravy out of the juices and then heat up the leftover roast and veggies, pour it over rice.. Really good.

Purchase ground beef or turkey that is on sale. Cook all of it with onion, garlic, salt, pepper and cumin. Brown and drain all of it.. Put it into small portions in the freezer.. This is the basis for almost all Tex Mex... Tacos (corn and flour tortillas also freeze great). Nachos are good with beans cheese and this meat. Purchase or make some enchilada sauce and pour over a few tamales (Tamales freeze great). Or make your self a few cheese enchiladas with a corn tortilla wrapped around shredded longhorn cheese.. Pour the enchilada sauce on top.. Heat in the toaster oven...

When our daughter was little, some of the SAHM used to swap leftovers.. It worked out great. See if you can find some others that will now only be cooking for one and pick a day to swap or split your meals.. Or you could cook for a few on Monday another person could cook for others on Tuesday..

I would just try making casseroles, lasagna, soup, etc. and freezing some of it for later. Like for casseroles or lasagna, you could prepare the meal in several small casserole dishes (I think the small size is about 1/3 of a normal size one) and then cover tightly with foil and freeze BEFORE baking. Then you can rotate meals over the course of 3 or 4 weeks so you won't be eating the same thing over and over. For soup, you cook the soup all the way, then freeze portions of it in 1 quart freezer baggies. You could take out the baggie in the morning or night before and by dinner time it will be defrosted enough to heat in the microwave. Also, try variations of a chicken salad, but just make half of what the recipe calls for, which will be plenty for 2 meals for yourself. I would try Kraft Foods website, they have tons of easy ideas and really inexpensive ones and they have recipes for every occasion, including cooking for 2 (which you could halve the recipe or just have leftovers).
Another idea for single serving meals would be buying frozen fish, fully-cooked frozen grilled chicken, frozen hamburger patties, etc. and then you can just take out what you need and they cook really quickly and you could just pair it with some instant rice and steamed veges or a salad or a baked potato, anything that's quick and can be single-serving.
Stir fry is always easy and cheap and if you want to use chicken in it, just buy a big package of boneless skinless chicken breasts and divide them into individual baggies with one piece in each bag. Then you can just quickly cook it with whatever marinade or sauce you want, add frozen or fresh veges, maybe add some nuts (or nuts in place of meat), and some instant rice. It's very versitile and healthy! You can also try beef stir fry or even fish (I like salmon, and they sell small salmon patties in the frozen section in a re-sealable bag so you can just pull out one).
OK one more...pasta! you can try different types of noodles, just buy a jar of sauce (which you can also buy many different kinds of), and cook just one serving of noodles and heat one serving of sauce (save the rest in the jar in the fridge), add a salad and some garlic bread on the side, and if you want to have more variety, try adding things to the sauce (chicken, ground beef, bell peppers, squash, zucchini, eggplant, carrots, etc.)
I think that's all the ideas I have for now, hope this has helped you out!

I use the crock pot. It is so easy! I put a meal that I like in there and then eat it for days. My favorite is stew because it has meat and veggies and becomes even better after a few days. There are a lot of things that can be cooked in a crock pot with little prep. (Since you may not have a lot of time for prep.) There are cook books with crock pot recipes. I also eat salads. I walk grocery store to find new ideas for salads.

Mom, I hope your husband comes back home soon and safely. I have some easy meal ideas that i create along with what's on sale at HEB. I hope this helps, the portions can be adjusted and left overs can help you in a pinch.

http://sanantoniomoms.blogspot.com/

Check out mealsmatter.org It has been helpful to me for meal planning. I would suggest you cook twice a week and store correct portions in the freezer so you can have them another week.