<p>Cook for two, and freeze the other half. That way you can take time off from cooking altogether on some days!</p>
<p>I keep a running list of the frozen meals in my freezer as I seem to forget what’s in there!</p>
<p>I occasionally make up a box of Rice-A-Roni and use it as an accompaniment for salmon or tilapia one night, throw in some rotisserie (seems I never spell that correctly!) chicken and a handful of frozen peas making a one-dish meal for another night.</p>
<p>I’m also a big fan of frozen veggies in their own steaming bag. Also use the small veggie trays that offer good portions for one.</p>
<p>Cooking for just me gets boring!</p>
<p>Wow, these are some great ideas. When I buy groceries (which I hate doing, by the way), I have learned to freeze individual portions of uncooked meat, but I haven’t had much success freezing meals. I made a pot of vegetable beef soup a while back when kids were visiting and put the leftovers in single-serve containers in the freezer. When I thawed and reheated one, it was just mush. </p>
<p>I love interesteddad’s idea of putting all the salad fixings in one “box.” Salads have been a pain for me because I hate pulling out all the individual items then putting them all back in the fridge when I’m finished with them. </p>
<p>I also like the idea of cooking and immediately dividing the meal into future servings. I have to admit, I tend to overeat instead of saving the leftovers when there’s still some left in the pan because I tell myself it’s not enough to save, but too much to throw out.</p>
<p>An amount that seems to small to save can actually work quite well. Just serve it with a big salad, or with soup first, or with crusty rolls, or plan on a fruit dessert.</p>
<p>RE: Mushy soup</p>
<p>Some things freeze better than others. Vegetable soup does tend to come back mushy. But it helps if you undercook the carrots and use firm non-starchy potatoes (Yukon Gold or Red Bliss, not russets). </p>
<p>Soups I’ve had good luck with are hearty soups (beans, lentils) or pureed soups like potato & leek w/ ham, or cream of _____ (don’t add the milk/cream until you’re reheating it). French onion defrosts well so does chicken and wild rice (freeze with just celery, add carrots when reheating). I do the same with beef barley (add the carrots later).</p>
<p>When I cook a large batch of a soup I pour it (very hot, almost boiling) to glass jars, screw lids on and turn it upside down. When cooled , place them in the fridge and the soup stays good for 2-3 weeks :)</p>
<p>One thing I just learned I could do (never occurred to me before): freeze uncooked individual chicken breasts in a marinade. The first time I did it, I just used the bottled sauces in my refrigerator were getting old – one of the problems I have living alone is that half-used bottles of teriyaki sauce, etc, tend to sit in my frig long past the time that I would feel comfortable using them.</p>
<p>Anyway, I just popped the chicken breasts into small quart sized freezer bags, poured in enough of the sauce to cover, then zip locked the bags & froze. When you are ready to eat them, just remove the chicken from the bag & pop it into the oven to bake, frozen marinade & all. </p>
<p>I also often will cook up a batch of brown rice and freeze extra serving-size bags so that I’ve got cooked rice whenever I want it ass well.</p>
<p>I love brown rice “ass well” also!</p>
<p>Sorry, I couldn’t resist.</p>
<p>Lol.
…</p>
<p>calmom, I have a question for you about your 1.5 qt crockpot. I am planning to get a smaller crockpot (since my current one is 6 qts), but I worried that such a tiny one might burn the food, since I really am away from 9-5. But it sounds as though you may be too, and that my fears might be unfounded.</p>