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Single Servings: November '08

By: Mackenzie Schieck

Just for you--cooking tips, recipes, and a shopping list so you can print and go!

NEW!

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

Single Servings Blog

Quick Flavor

For a super-fast dinner on those nights where you have zero to no time, make some of these seasonings to keep on hand. Just sprinkle on your protein of choice and cook!

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.

One Great Deal, Several Great Meals!

If you're anything like me, you often see large pieces of meat on sale, but know it's just too much for you to eat yourself. Or is it? This month beef was on sale at my grocery store, so I've got some recipes for making use of that great deal.

Cook It. One option is to keep it whole and roast:

All American Roast Beef

Once cooked, slice meat and freeze in smaller portions. Then get creative with your cooked meat using these recipes (some direct you to cook the meat--lucky you, you'll be one step ahead of the game, so ignore that part):

I'm also partial to my "Easy Philly Cheese Steak Wrap"…sauté onions and bell peppers for about five minutes, then wrap veggies, meat, and provolone cheese in a tortilla.

And don't forget, the recipe for the roast is also great just as it is--simply pair with a side dish of your choice for the easiest meal of all.

Freeze It. Simply cut the meat up into smaller pieces and freeze. Here are a few delicious beef recipes:

Leftover Groceries

Coconut Milk & Green Curry Paste:

Got Thanksgiving Leftovers?

Personally, I love Thanksgiving leftovers just as they are, but here are some recipe ideas for those who want to spice theirs up a little:

Shopping List

Meat & Poultry:
1 (3 pound) whole chicken
2 ounces pancetta bacon (or turkey bacon)
2 ounces ground lamb
4 ounces ground turkey

Produce:
2 onions
3-4 carrots
2 medium size butternut squashes (enough to produce eight cups cubed)
Fresh rosemary
1/4 pound Brussels sprouts
1 clove garlic
1 bell pepper
1 bunch spinach (for Green Curry Lamb Balls, if desired)

Dairy:
Unsalted butter
8 ounces half and half (or whole milk)
1 egg

Spices & Flavorings:
Ground nutmeg
Green curry paste
Lemon pepper

Oil & Condiments:
Canola oil
Olive oil
Salsa

Other:
6 cups vegetable stock
Bread crumbs
Steak seasoning to taste
Coconut milk
Garbanzo beans
Rice (for Green Curry Lamb Balls, if desired)

Pantry:
Salt
Pepper

Printable Shopping List

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.

When you get there, click on 'Bookmark This Page' near the top left of the page to keep it in your favorites.

Homemade soup; it's my new favorite thing. Which is strange because I've never really been a soup person--but for no particular reason. More than anything else, I think I just like saying "I'm not a soup person." It's just part of my rebellious nature. That and the way I don't always refill the paper towel dispenser at work when I use the last one (I mean, I usually do, but sometimes I totally don't…I like to take a walk on the wild side every once in while to see how much I can get away with).

Now all of a sudden soup has been sounding especially good to me. Partially because it's getting cold and blustery outside, and partially because I like the idea of sitting next to fireplace while I eat it. (Did I mention my fireplace last month? I love it. Have I mentioned how much? A lot.) And soups, at least the ones I've made, are surprisingly easy to make--as long as you don't make the mistake I did in thinking a blender would do just as well in place of a food processor. It doesn’t. I knew this as soon as the soup erupted, blowing the top off my blender. Why I attempted the same thing a second time expecting a different result, I'll never know. Even more perplexing is why I went for it a third time. Even intellectually-challenged characters in sitcoms catch on quicker than I did, but I was determined to emerge from the flying soup triumphant.

And I did (blend a little at a time, and start on the slowest speed--words to live by)--albeit with a couple less servings than I'd intended, but in the end I produced a lovely soup worthy of sharing, so I've included it in this month's recipes.

Enjoy! And have a happy Thanksgiving!

Prep & Freeze

Butternut Squash Bisque: Butternut squash is at its best right now, so take advantage! I used whole milk instead of half and half and it was still very creamy and rich. Freeze in individual servings

Roast Chicken with Rosemary: Roast a whole chicken, then slice and freeze in resealable plastic bags to serve with your soup--buy or bake some rolls to round out your meal if you like.

NOTE: Change serving size to eight.

Two Quick Meals--No Leftovers!

Jasmine's Brussels Sprouts: Brussels sprouts are not worthy of the bad reputation they seem to have. They are actually very, very good, but the trick to avoiding the mushy variety is to only cook them for 5-10 minutes (for small ones, five minutes is plenty), then douse them with cold water to stop the cooking.

For this recipe, I used turkey bacon instead of pancetta, and added a quarter cup of garbanzo beans during the last five minutes of cooking to make it feel more like a main dish. Sprinkle on a little parmesan if you have some, then eat up!

NOTE: Change serving size to one.

Jasmine's Brussels Sprouts

Green Curry Lamb Balls: This is one of those recipes that makes you feel like a total rock star cook because it's so good, yet it requires almost no effort. I love it when that happens! Serve lamb over steamed spinach and/or rice. (Oh, and use low-fat coconut milk.)

NOTE: Change serving size to one.

Green Curry Lamb Balls

Cook Once, Eat Twice

Healthy Turkey Loaf: I usually try to shoot for a 20 minute cook time, but this'll take 25 minutes in the oven--hopefully you can forgive me just this once. Serve this with a simple side salad. (This recipe calls for an eighth of a cup of red and yellow bell peppers, but I just put one bell pepper on the Shopping List--seems silly to buy two peppers, and then use just a few slices of each.)

NOTE: This recipe says it makes five servings, but it's really more like two to three, so you don't need to adjust the ingredients.

Healthy Turkey Loaf

And for Dessert...

Iced Pumpkin Cookies: These ought to tide you over until those Thanksgiving pumpkin pies.

NOTE: This recipe not included in Shopping List.

Iced Pumpkin Cookies

Sunday Prep

This Sunday Prep probably won't take you more than an hour and a half, but you'll be waiting on the Roast Chicken with Rosemary for about an hour beyond that. (Good time for a nap, perhaps?)

Prepare Roast Chicken with Rosemary, then bake.
Do steps 1 and 2 in Butternut Squash Bisque directions.
Prepare Green Curry Lamb Balls--refrigerate or freeze raw.
Finish off Butternut Squash Bisque in food processor (step 3 in directions). (I like to let it cool in fridge for awhile before pouring into containers to freeze.)
Do step 2 in Healthy Turkey Loaf directions, then wrap tightly with plastic wrap and store raw in fridge or freezer.
Wash spinach and/or make rice to serve with Green Curry Lamb Balls.
Once done baking, slice Roast Chicken with Rosemary and freeze in small portions.

What Say You?

More emails! I'd love to hear from you too, so feel free to drop me a line.

Mackenzie,

I'm a fairly new member to this site and I have to say that I love your column. I used to share your opinion of casseroles (could not figure out how not to get sick of eating the same thing over and over). I made a Mexican casserole recipe that I found on this site and I used your idea of making it in a regular baking dish and freezing individual portions. It worked out great! Thanks so much for providing such a great column for those of us who don't have "thousands" to feed!--Dana

Dana,

Thanks for your email--great to know you're getting new ideas out of this column! --Mackenzie

Mackenzie,

Howdy, I'm a 76-year-old geezer who is now widowed. I just now stumbled upon your column and would like very much to get your stuff regularly. The cooking for one is nice, but cooking for two makes more sense as that way you can have the "kept-overs" the next day. I make stews in my crock pot and freeze the remaining five or six bowls in plastic for heating up later.

Anyway, I could use all the help available for doing meals for two or one, that use regular things and not the exotic stuff that most of us don't have in our kitchen pantry. My wife always had a very good supply of herbs and spices and I have kept them also. I keep a good supply of fresh garlic as well as crushed?always use a lot when I cook beans, ha ha. My daughters tell me that my whole side of town is vampire free because I use it in just about everything that I can!--Coley

Coley,

I tend to cook additional servings as well and take leftovers for lunch the next day--I agree it's much easier that way. Definitely use this column as a base, but by all means, cook up a little extra. Our recipe pages all have a function underneath the recipe photo where you can adjust the number of servings. It comes in very handy! And I've added a link below that will take you to recipes for two--hope that helps! Thanks so much for taking the time to email me! --Mackenzie