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Single Servings: March '09

By: Mackenzie Schieck

More tasty recipes for you--and a few tips to help you get organized!

NEW!

This column has moved to an Allrecipes Blog--you can find new editions of Single Servings here:

Single Servings Blog

Whole Wheat Pasta: An Experiment

I don't eat pasta very often--almost never. I honestly can't remember the last time I had it before this month. The reason being that the amount I need to eat in order to fill me up is much more than any one person should consume in a single sitting. So, this month's pasta recipe was kind of an experiment for me. I wanted to try whole wheat pasta because, in addition to being much better for you, it's also supposed to fill you up faster. But would it?

The answer to that question? Yes! It totally filled me up. And I didn't crave a whole other meal an hour later (like your typical carb-loaded pasta dish)--even though I'd gone for a 5-mile run that night, which normally would leave me ravenous. I think a serving of whole wheat pasta will now be my new post-run meal of choice.

Why is whole wheat pasta better for you? It contains nearly three times the fiber of regular pasta, which is why it fills you up faster (not to mention it lowers your risk of heart disease and diabetes).

Shopping List

Poultry & Fish:
1 fresh tilapia fillets
4 boneless chicken breasts
Whole chicken

Dairy:
3 eggs
2 ounces tomato basil feta cheese
1 ounce grated Parmesan cheese

Produce:
3 medium onions
2 large red bell peppers
5 cloves garlic
1 carrot
Green onions
3 dried shiitake mushrooms
1 mango
1 Serrano chile
1 bunch cilantro
1 lime
1/2 ounce sun-dried tomatoes
Cabbage*
Spinach*

Spices:
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
3/4 teaspoon curry powder
3/4 teaspoon garlic pepper seasoning

Oil & Condiments:
2/3 cup extra crunchy peanut butter
3 tablespoons olive oil
1-1/2 teaspoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons soy sauce

Canned Foods:
1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
64 ounces vegetable broth or stock
4 ounces chicken broth

Breads & Rice:
1 cup uncooked brown rice

Pantry:
Salt
Pepper
Sugar

*Optional

Printable Shopping List

Roasting a Whole Chicken

To roast a four-pound chicken:

Preheat oven to 500 degrees F (260 degrees C).
Bake at 500 degrees F for 15 minutes.
Reduce oven temperature to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Bake for another 15 minutes.
Reduce oven temperature again to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C) and bake for another 30 minutes, to an internal temperature of 180 degrees F (85 degrees C).
Let stand 20 minutes before serving.

Get a little fancier with these recipes for roasted chicken:

A Couple Things to Keep in Mind

With the exception of the Prep and Freeze recipe, I intend for you to eat all the meals in one week, which is why prep is done on a Sunday night. If you don't plan to eat them all within seven days, adjust your prep accordingly. (Veggies may go bad if cut and stored for too long.)

Keep all meats frozen in individual servings until one or two days before you plan to cook them. And don't scrimp on the resealable bags--get the good ones--the generic variety aren't as good at keeping things fresh.

Bookmark This Page

I've received emails from many of you asking where updates of this column can be found each month. Easy! You will always find the complete history of all columns here. Click on 'Bookmark This Page' near the top left of that page to keep it in your favorites.

Now, I don't mean to toot my own horn here, but this month's recipes are really good (and actually, it wouldn't even my horn to toot anyway--I certainly didn't write the recipes). I mean, the recipes I usually choose are always good but this month they're like really, really good. I'd even go so far as to say each meal will likely be a taste explosion--a fireworks show for your taste buds! And frankly, it kinda took me by surprise because they are recipes I wouldn't have ever tried except that I continually need to find new and exciting dishes to feature in this column. Because as much as I'd love to, I can't feature Mexican food every month.

It's sorta like when I end up buying a sweater in a color I wouldn't normally be drawn to simply because that color is on sale, and then it ends up being one of my favorites. See, normally I'd go for the blue sweater or the brown one (or Mexican food), but factors out of my control force me to consider items I wouldn't naturally gravitate towards. And the result is a more robust (and way cuter) wardrobe--as well as a series of taste pyrotechnics comin' your way.

Prep and Freeze

African Peanut Soup: The ingredients sound like they'd be a little weird together, but this soup is so good! I liked it much better pureed, though (I left the rice out)--it seemed to really bring the flavors together much better. Oh, and I also tripled the chili powder, but do that at your own risk!

Helpful Hint: I learned a trick from a coworker about pureeing hot soups: Fill the blender no more than half-full, take out the middle part of the lid and cover the top with a cloth, then blend carefully. Pour pureed portion into another pot and repeat until all soup is pureed, then stir together.

I like to cool the soup in the fridge before dividing up into smaller portions to freeze.

To complete this meal, roast a whole chicken then divide it up into smaller portions and freeze (see sidebar for how to roast a whole chicken). You can also just purchase a chicken already roasted at your grocery store.

African Peanut Soup

Cook Once, Eat Twice

Angel Hair with Feta and Sun-Dried Tomatoes: So easy and really, really good. Add some chicken, serve with a salad, and use whole wheat pasta.

Instead of making a salad, one night I steamed a bunch of spinach and added it to the pasta. To steam, just add spinach to boiling water (using a steamer basket) and let sit, covered, for two to three minutes until spinach is wilted but not soggy.

NOTE: Change number of servings to two.

Angel Hair with Feta and Sun-Dried Tomatoes

Two Easy Meals--No Leftovers!

Curried Tilapia with Mango Salsa: This is a nice, light meal--maybe best on one of those days where you are still a little full from lunch. (Did your office order in pizza this week too? Oh boy.) Serve over rice.

NOTE: Change number of servings to one.

Curried Tilapia with Mango Salsa

Oyako Donburi: I sliced up about a cup of purple cabbage and added it to the carrots and mushrooms (I used fresh mushrooms because I didn't want to shell out for a whole package of the dried variety). Very good--I wished I'd made more!

NOTE: Change number of servings to one.

Oyako Donburi

And For Dessert...

Cocoa Quickies: Minimal ingredients and quick prep--with coconut--everything I love in a dessert I'm making from scratch.

NOTE: This recipe not included in Shopping List.

Cocoa Quickies

Sunday Prep

This Sunday Prep will probably take you a good two and a half hours.

If you roast your own chicken, get this started first.
Prepare African Peanut Soup completely and freeze in smaller portions.
Make brown rice for Oyako Donburi (plus a little extra if you want to serve some with your Curried Tilapia with Mango Salsa).
Cut chicken into strips for Oyako Donburi and store. Also, slice up mushrooms, carrot, onion, and green onions (as well as cabbage if you choose to add it). Store carrot, cabbage, and mushrooms together, but store onion and green onions separate from the rest (as well as separate from each other).
Chop up mango, red onion, Serrano chile, and cilantro leaves for mango salsa. Mix in lime juice and salt--refrigerate.
Cook pasta for Angel Hair with Feta and Sun-Dried Tomatoes. Save some of your roasted chicken to add to this for a little protein.
Wash and refrigerate any other side veggies.

Let me Know

Is this column helpful? I'd really love to know what you think, so drop me a line to tell me what worked, what you could do without, or what else you'd like to see. Also, feel free to pass along recipes you think would be great to feature, as well as any helpful "single serving" tips you might have (I'll give you a shout-out if I use them!).

Email me now!