Cooking for One

It's just myself and my 6year old daughter in our home. We too eat out to much because it really doesn't cost anymore to do so and it's fast and easier. The two of us can go to McDonalds for $5 bucks easy.I rarely cave in for a HappyMeal. That's where it eats your wallet. $5 bucks... You can hardly do that at the grocery store for a good meal. But with trying to eat healhtier we do these sort of things alot.

Cereal for dinner -cheap,easy, healthy
Sandwhich's
A normal dinner like lasagna, or meat/taters then freeze what we don't eat for another meal
Mac/Cheese or similar meals
Pizza
I usually throw a veggie or fruit in with meals or a fruit later as a snack

I don't feel bad not cooking a big meal everynight because she get's hotlunch at school with all her food groups and it does cost alot to make a nice meal everynight for 2 people. We're very busy school, soccer, girlscouts, homework I save my bigger meals for on the weekends.

I feel ya! My husband isn't in the army but he does work until 8pm and so its hard to make my kids and i something too. What I am going to do is make more of certain meals put them in indvidual containers and then i can just pull it out of the freezer and microwave it. Another thing that i am going to do is "lets dish" you can go to www.letsdish.com for more information. You go there for 2 hrs and voila! You have have dinner done. Iam doing it and one thing that someone told me from there is that all the meals are to feed six so I would split it in half so it would be double the meals and you would have a little left over. for 12 meals ( or 24 if you split them) is 204.00 and you use there menus ( which change every month) and they're containers! I hope this helps!

Have you considered one of those cooking places - such as "My Girlfriend's Kitchen" or "Supper Thyme" or "Let's Dish" or "Seattle Sutton's", where you go and prepare meals that you can easily assemble/finish at home? Better and cheaper than take-out.
Currently FM107 has in their dining deals section fall cyber-ssale 6 remaining half price gift certificates for My Girlfriend's Kitchen. You can by one $50 gift certificate for $25. I just bought one to try it out and other's in my office have used this place as well as others like it.
Good luck.
D.

N.,

I completely understand where you're coming from. I'm a single parent, so I only have me and my four year old to cook for. I use the crock pot sometimes for a meal that is ready when we get home. Another dinner my daughter loves is Mac and Cheese hotdish. Just make a box of regular Macaroni and Cheese, and once you've added the milk and butter add a can of tuna and a can of cream of mushroom soup. Put it in a microwave bowl and microwave on high for 5 minutes. I add a veggie on the side, too. It's a quick and easy meal, and usually has left overs for one or two days. My daughter loves it and askes for it about once a week. Good luck!

Dont' cook for one! Take a weekend and cook some of your favorite meals. Then freeze enough for your daughter and you to have meals. You would probably get 4 or 5 meals out of one typical size meal. Make a few different things so you are not always eating the same things. Then just decide what you want that day before you leave for work. Take it out and put in the fridge to thaw and when you get home heat it up. Nice meals made especially by you. Cheaper and most likely healthier also!

I cook lots of meals on Saturdays and sundays. I then label and freeze them. During the week i can just take it out of the freezer and I heat it up. This way we get a hot meal, homecooked meal with only half the work. Good luck.

First of all, try to make the cooking as interactive as possible (much easier as your daughter gets older obviously). But even at her young age, she can sit in a booster at the table while you chop veggies and try little bits of different things while she colors or plays. And make things that both of you can eat.

Pastas are always good with young kids. You could even make some mac and cheese and just throw in some broccoli for the last few minutes of boiling the pasta. I'm a big fan of soups, especially as we get into fall and winter. Make a big pot of soup on a weekend when you have more time and then freeze 2/3 of it in separate containers. Then you'll have dinner on other nights when you're too tired to cook. This also works well with lasagna or other hotdishes.

My son also loves quesadillas and I healthy them up by using whole wheat tortillas, refried beans and veggies (try green/red peppers, sauted spinach and tomatoes) and some cheddar. Add some salsa for you and thats a good meal. Scrambled eggs or omelets are also great for a fast, healthy dinner. Again, throw in some broccoli or spinach and some cheese or ham and turkey and you're both set.

English muffin pizzas with mushrooms and peppers or Dijorno crusts? Red beans and rice with a salad for you and some frozen veggies for her (they sell pretty good ones all set to prepare in the grocery store)? Pick up a rotisserie chicken and bake a sweet potato and some green beans?

Hope some of these ideas are helpful. Good luck - its hard to be by yourself with a young child. I hope after she goes to bed, you are taking a nice long bath and taking care of you too.

B.
Momma to a bundle of energy toddler.

Cooking for one is hard. By the way, thank you for your sacrifice while your hubby is away.

You could do some crockpot meals, and those are good for leftovers too. Try whipping up a grilled chz sandwhich and soup, have salad makings in the fridge so you can toss one together quickly. Deli meat and chz omlets or just a fried egg is good for speed. You could fry 2 eggs, toast and have a banana or apple in a matter of minutes. You could make a pan of lazagna and freeze individual portions ahead of time. Then, just take one out that night before work and when you get home, it won't take long to microwave. You could pick up some of those noodle/pasta frozen bags (I forget the name brand, but they are meals in a bag sort of thing) but those are great and only take a few minutes. They usually have lots of veggies, a meat and a sauce all in one. I'd go for things you can bake too, because you can toss them in the oven and walk away for a while to spend time with your daughter. Or, freeze individual meal sizes for later. Soups are great too...either a can away. I know this isn't recipes...but you sound like you know your way around the kitchen a little, and these things are sort of elementary.

A suggestion from me would be to make a few large meals in advance, like on a saturday, sunday or even after your daughter goes to bed. Then take some smaller containers, the dollar store has a good selection without spending much, or ziploc bags and freezing 1 portion at a time. That way you can eat a meal without having to spend time cooking it and can even share time with your daughter before bed.

Hi N.,

I have so much respect for single parents and those with spouses in the military. I really don't know how you do it and work. My husband travels alot and when he's gone, it's crazy. Meal time is hard and i'm a SAHM. What i do is over the weekend i make 3 meals for the week. I don't mind eating the same thing twice. My daughter was born march 06 also, so i know it's not easy cooking with her around. Here are some things i've made. They are quick and the kid's like them. They have your meat's,veggies and starch's

Baked chicken,mashed potatoe,veggies.
Shepards pie(kid's love this)
Tuna noodle casserole
Tator tot hot dish (kid's love this one also)
Cub has already cooked rotesorrie chicken for $5.
Kielbasa(sausage ring)veggies,rice or mashed potatoe.
chicken nuggets with mac n cheese.( add extra noodles, last a few more day's)
Hot dog's with mac n cheese, baby carrots on the side
pancakes for breakfast (I make a big batch and freeze them)

This summer my husband was gone most the time. I got to the point where i just bought paper plates and plastic utensils. With the already made meals and the paper plates, there wasn't much for cleanup. Hope this helps some.

p.s. I like the idea of Dish it up. I think i'll try that

N.,
I make a crock pot meal at least once a week. This week I even cut everything up before bed and then took the meal out of the fridge and turned it on it the morning. Instant dinner when I get home. The leftovers make great lunches or freeze so you don't have to eat the same meal 6 times during the week. I found tastycrockpotrecipies.net to be a great resource and we are surprised often how yummy the food is. Good luck. It's hard cooking just for one and a little one.

I had the same problem when my husband was gone (army as well). Towards the end of the deployment I was REALLY sick of cooking for one! I would just make the same meals that he and I would normally make and either use the leftovers for the next days lunch or dinner or put it in meal size freezer safe containers and have them on hand for busy days!
Hope that helps. -Elizabeth

crockpot meals are key. Pull out the ingredients and throw it all in the crockpot to cook all day. No worries of burning down the house or overcooked food (as long as you put enough liquid in the pot).
Ideas:
Pork loin with potatos and carrots, beef stock or just the beef with water and a little salt and pepper, when you get home throw on some BBQ sauce.
Chili or soup
YOu can even make enchiladas in the crockpot

YOu can even do a search on the internet for crockpot foods.
Bettry Crocker has a cookbook that offers great crockpot cooking.
Also you can go onto www.recipes.com and you can put in the ingredients that you have on hand and it will give you tons of ideas.
One other idea is to spend a few hours on the weekend (either during nap or bedtime) cooking up some quick, simple to re-heat meals for during the week.
YOu will find that your daughter is going to get hooked on the fast food dinners very easily and start to turn her nose towards the home cooked food.
www.kraftfoods.com offers a FREE magazine that they send to you, great recipes and easy ingredients. you can sign up online.
Shoot me a PM and I will share some of my fave recipes.

Hi N.,
I'd try a session at Get Cookin' or Let's Dish. You can divide the meals into smaller portions. So instead of 6 big meals, you get 12 or 18 small ones for you and your daughter. Most thaw in the fridge overnight, and require very little cooking time. You could get a simply crock pot recipe book and fill it in the morning for a ready-made meal when you get home. Or, one thing my son and I do when it's just the two of us and we're short on time is an "hors d'oeuvre" dinner. Slics of pita, hummus, bell pepper strips, cucumber slices. It takes only minutes to prepare and is just as healthy and complete as any cooked meal. "Breakfast" for dinner works well, too: eggs, sausage, toast, a small salad or some fruit...
Best of luck to you, and I'm praying for your husband's speedy & safe return!