Cooking for yourself

[Euryalus]

So recently I found myself in the unenviable position of lacking a microwave. The horror I know. I pray for release everyday.

Anyway, In the meantime I've taken it upon myself to start cooking dinner instead of microwaving stuff and am wondering what I should make for the next few weeks.

Any suggestions? Anything in particular you guys like making or having made for you?

 

[PsychicTaco115]

Stir fry is the best man

This video will be all you need to know about making it

 

[Aeshi]

Chilli con Carne is a good one. If you make a nice big batch of it that can easily be 4 or 5 meals worth right there, and it's a pretty versatile recipe so you can tweak it to your tastes.

I'll also second that Stir Fry nomination.

 

[Colour Scientist]

How do you live off of microwaving food?

I never ever use a microwave.

When I was growing up, my mom refused to even own one.

Anyway, stir-fry is always a safe bet and it's pretty simple to make a decent curry from scratch, it doesn't require much skill. Spaghetti bolognese is a good lazy option or frying a steak takes almost no effort and is ridiculously quick, depending on how well-done you like it.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

Empanadas. Pictured below is the sweet variety (I put quince jelly inside and coat the outside with sugar), but the point is you can fill them up with just about anything. Super easy to make.

 

[jademunky]

So recently I found myself in the unenviable position of lacking a microwave. The horror I know. I pray for release everyday.

Anyway, In the meantime I've taken it upon myself to start cooking dinner instead of microwaving stuff and am wondering what I should make for the next few weeks.

Any suggestions? Anything in particular you guys like making or having made for you?

Pasta or Potato caserolles are always great since the leftovers will last you a few days and are super-economical. Assuming you have a 9"*13" baking dish and a cooking pot.

Try this:
1) cook a box of pasta (penne, Rigatoni, bowtie, doesn't matter so long as it is not a long noodle type) then drain it and set it aside

2)Dice up an onion, bell pepper and 2 Jalpenoes, throw them and 1 lb of ground turkey into a cooking pot with heated olive oil, heat on high for 5 minutes (till turkey is cooked). Then add 2 cups of Marinara and 1 cup salsa, 1 tsp of cumin, chilli powder and oregano, sprinkle a bit of pepper, mix and heat for 5 more minutes on medium low.

Now you have your meat-veggie sauce

3) spoon just a little sauce into your greased baking dish, then add half the pasta, half the meat sauce, add 1 cup of cottage or Ricotta cheese onto the sauce, smooth it out with a spoon, then add the remaining pasta, remaining meat sauce and sprinkle a cup of cheese (chedder or whatever you like) on top.

Essentially you are layering it like a lasagnia

then cover in tinfoil, place in the oven at 350 for 30 minutes and you are done.

I just made it the other day. You should get 8-10 servings out of it. To reheat the next day, just place it back in the oven for 10-15 minutes.

 

[Euryalus]

How do you live off of microwaving food?

Plentiful use of vitamin suppliments? XD

I make proper quesadillas, Sloppy Joes, or steaks when I feel like it! Don't judge me!

I even learned how to make Schwäbisch potato salad from a crazy German Hippy once. I just would rather buy microwaveble wings and eat immediately than spend an hour making food.

Stir fry is the best man

Stir fry is stir try?

 

[Euryalus]

Empanadas. Pictured below is the sweet variety (I put quince jelly inside and coat the outside with sugar), but the point is you can fill them up with just about anything. Super easy to make.

So they're like pies or? The sweet kind I mean.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

Empanadas. Pictured below is the sweet variety (I put quince jelly inside and coat the outside with sugar), but the point is you can fill them up with just about anything. Super easy to make.

So they're like pies or? The sweet kind I mean.

Similar, I suppose the main difference would be the size and the dough. Empanadas use wheat flour pastry dough, similar to a tortilla, which you can buy in any market. Actually what we call pie (tarta) is also made of the same dough, only instead of wrapping one small tortilla around a certain filling, you cover a circular tray with one tortilla, spread the fillings and use a second tortilla to shut it in. But I got the impression you were referring to minced pie, which uses cornmeal crust.

 

[Twintix]

Well, I've got a recipe for chicken curry that's easy-peasy.

You need:
About 2 chicken breasts, cubed
About 1½ dl créme fraîche (If they don't sell that where you live, I guess coconut milk also works. Or plain yoghurt. Just don't use sour cream; It splits when heated up)
½ dl water
2 tsp of tomato paste
2 garlic cloves
Spices to taste (Garam Masala, turmeric, ginger and chili powder)
Salt and pepper

Melt some butter in a frying pan. Fry the chicken until it's browned. Season with salt and transfer to a saucepan. Add créme fraîche, tomato paste, water and garlic and bring to a simmer. Add spices to taste. Cover with a lid and simmer for about 5 minutes.

Serve with rice or naan bread.

Tomato soup is also quite easy. I don't have any exact measurements, but this is what I usually do:

Make some stock with water and boullion cubes, preferrably vegetable or chicken stock. Chop tomatoes, garlic and red onions. Fry the onions and garlic in an oiled saucepan first, then add the tomato. At this stage, feel free to mix the soup with a stick blender until it's smooth, strain it and put it back in the saucepan. Otherwise, immediately add the stock to the tomatoes and onions. Bring to a simmer. At this stage, I sometimes add another ingredient to make the soup taste different. Sometimes I add mustard, other times I add worcestershire sauce or something else. Season with salt and pepper.

If you're feeling lazy or fresh tomatoes are expensive, just use some canned tomatoes.

 

[Evil Moo]

I hate cooking. I find it very draining. If it takes longer to prepare my food than it does to eat it, I will not be happy. The last time I cooked something it made me miserable enough that I lost my appetite and didn't really feel like eating it when it was done. I don't really care how much better the home cooked food is, the effort-reward ratio is not good enough for me.

 

[sanquin]

You fully live off of microwave food? My god... I cook for myself at least 4 nights a week. Usually 5 or 6. Just look up easy recipe websites online, searching for either potatoes, pasta, rice or noodles as a base. That's what I usually do if I need a new idea for what to cook.

Or, if all else fails, you can stir fry something. Noodles/rice, some vegetables, chicken/beef, and a sauce. The sauce you can buy premade in a grocery store. Boil the noodles/rice. Stir-fry the chicken first. Add the vegetables later. Add the sauce. And a minute before serving, add the rice/noedles. And done. It's not exactly high class, but gets me through plenty of days considering the wide variety of sauces you can get. Plus you can prepare it in a single pan.

 

[Prime_Hunter_H01]

I hate cooking. I find it very draining. If it takes longer to prepare my food than it does to eat it, I will not be happy. The last time I cooked something it made me miserable enough that I lost my appetite and didn't really feel like eating it when it was done. I don't really care how much better the home cooked food is, the effort-reward ratio is not good enough for me.

Same here, I hate cooking so much. It was a slow to build hate because I kept messing up merely reheating food. And not being told stuff like, you can't leave cooking food alone, so I have burnt/ruined many thing because my mother expected me to know that I had to watch the thing I'm cooking. So like you said the effort is not worth the reward. And I would either make crap or make myself sick eventually.

 

[Little Woodsman]

I just would rather buy microwaveble wings and eat immediately than spend an hour making food.

Oh, well if you like wings that's super-easy.

You will need
A pineapple or some pineapple juice (I keep some of the small individual serving cans for this purpose.)
Some barbecue sauce or teriyaki sauce.
(may need some chicken broth) (powdered/instant is fine.)
Chicken wings or wingettes (also works well with legs, or breast pieces cut in to chunks).
A container that you can put the wings in and cover with liquid and that will fit in your refrigerator without spilling for at least 24 hours.
A baking tin with sides at least 1 inch (2.5 cm) high.
Aluminum foil.

Put the wings in the container you are going to use for the marinade step.
If you are using fresh pineapple put the chunks of pineapple in with the wings.
If you are using pineapple juice, mix the juice with the sauce you are using for the marinade.
Pour the sauce in to the marination container. It should completely cover the wings. This is where the chicken broth can come in handy--if you don't have quite enough marinade sauce just pour in a little broth to extend it.
Put the marination container in the refrigerator and leave it for at least 24 hours.
After 24 hours put the chicken in a single layer in the baking pan. Pour a little of the marinade sauce in with it. Marinade sauce should not come more than 1/4 the way up the chicken pieces.
Cover the whole pan *tightly* with aluminum foil.
Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees. (Depending on your oven you may wish to up to as high as 400 degrees).
Bake the chicken in the oven for 1 hour.
Take the chicken out of the oven and *carefully* remove the aluminum foil (watch out for steam burns).
Decrease oven setting to 200 degrees.
Return the uncovered chicken to the oven and bake for an additional 10-20 minutes (you may want to drain off any sauce left in the pan, and you will want to experiment with the time you use a few times to find what yields the texture you find most appealing).
Take pan out of oven and allow chicken to cool to serving temperature.
Enjoy!

 

[f1r2a3n4k5]

All pasta forever.

Some of my favorites.

Get a big can of sliced/diced tomatoes. Saute it in a pan with oil and garlic (pronounced gahhhhh-lic for added flavor). Throw the whole melange over cooked spaghetti with some mozzarella and romano.

Or. Cook some spaghetti. Get one of those premade alfredo sauces. Throw sauce, a bag of spinach, and some spicy red bell peppers onto spaghetti. Stir around and act like you cooked it from scratch. I recommend using the jarred red bell peppers. Just give 'em a quick rinse before you throw them in to wash off some of the pickling juices.

Or. If you are looking to fall asleep immediately after dinner. Get one of the big tomato sauce cans. The cans are infinitely better than the jars. Throw in some Italian spices: basil, oregano, etc. There's tons of recipes, but I just do it to flavor, tasting the sauce as I go. Also, crack open a bottle of a sweeter wine. Add wine to sauce. Add wine to face. Repeat until sauce is done. Pour over spaghetti. Finish wine.

 

[Superlative]

So recently I found myself in the unenviable position of lacking a microwave. The horror I know. I pray for release everyday.

Anyway, In the meantime I've taken it upon myself to start cooking dinner instead of microwaving stuff and am wondering what I should make for the next few weeks.

Any suggestions? Anything in particular you guys like making or having made for you?

Pulled (insert meat here)

take a piece of meat (thawed tastes better but frozen will do), place in tinfoil and wrap it up air tight, then shove in your oven at 325F for an hour.

when you take it out the meat will be cooked and tender enough to pull apart with forks.

also, i second chilli con carne. you can make it cheep, in large batches, and most recipes can survive for up to 3 days w/o refrigeration.

 

[Best of the 3]

Any pasta dish is pretty good. It's easy to make from scratch or with set ingredients. Almost anything can be chucked in and it can come out tasting great. Make too much? save some for later and eat it cold. My personal favorite is tomato passata with peppers, mushrooms, onions, garlic, meatballs, a bit of cream (to take off the tangyness of the tomato), cornflour (mixed with a little warm water in a cup before adding, this thickens the sauce. Sometimes sold in supermarkets as "sauce flour"), pasta. Served with some crunchy leafy salad and cheese.