Cooking for One

I live alone, after having raised a family and losing my husband, so I am used to cooking for more than one. Also, a couple years ago I decided to give up processed foods, such as frozen dinners and convenience foods, as I am not a big fan of additives and preservatives. Plus, those foods are expensive for what you get. Most frozen meals are tiny and leave you looking for more. Cooking for one is easy, and it can also mean that you spend less time cooking and cleaning up. What you say? Here are some examples of what I cook:

I make 12 servings of my favorite steel cut oats in my crockpot (several recipes are online), and at the end, add whatever dried fruit I would like, or what I have on hand. I then pour it into a 9 x 9 glass dish, cool it a bit, and let it set up in the fridge. Once that is done, I cut it up into squares, flash freeze them on a tray, and wrap individually for the freezer. A portion reheats from frozen in 2.5 minutes in my microwave. I use a liner in the crockpot, so no cleanup there, and every morning, I am not having to stand at the stove and babysit the oatmeal, clean the pan, etc.

I also make a whole lasagna, and basically go through the same process (except I use my oven instead of my crockpot). I know what goes into it-all fresh ingredients. Again, I have one pan to clean up from the initial baking, and no pan to clean up after dinner, as portions get reheated in my microwave.
Same goes for chili and soups, and those get portioned out in sandwich sized zip bags, flattened, and put in the freezer. I find 1.5 cups is a good serving.

Also, I buy family packs of chicken breasts or thighs-much more economical than smaller packs. Those get frozen individually as well, and after thawing I cook them in my air fryer. Speaking of air fryers, they are really mini convection ovens that dont heat up your kitchen and use far less energy than heating up a big oven, especially for one piece of chicken. Steaks, Italian sausage, chicken, burgers and vegetables all cook up very well. My 3.4 quart size is perfect for 1 or 2 servings.

So, spend a little time in the kitchen and fill your freezer. Every day, you will thank yourself for having lots of easy, nutritious meals at your disposal. And your wallet will thank you too.