<p>Here’s something very easy – cook time is about 30-40 minutes, but prep time is nothing.</p>
<p>Buy chicken parts or fish filets. You are going to freeze them in baggies for separate one-meal portions. For chicken, that is one small breast or 2 thighs per portion. For fish, I think 1/3 of a pound per portion works well. </p>
<p>With the chicken, you can put several tablespoons of a preferred marinade in the bag with the chicken before you freeze it. (I haven’t tried pre-marinading fish-- I only recently learned that the chicken could be frozen in the marinade). The “marinade” can be a purchased sauce – such as barbecue sauce or soy sauce. You can use regular sandwich baggies, and then put all of the separate pre-frozen portions into a zip lock freezer bag. You might want to put a stick-on label on each baggie so you know what the different sauces are. </p>
<p>You can take whatever you plan for dinner out of the freezer the night before & let it thaw. You’ll cook the chicken or fish in a roasting pan in a hot oven – since the chicken is pre-marinated, you don’t have to do anything with it other than put it in the pan. I usually put a marinade on my fish about 45 minutes before it will go in the oven - I just add that to the baggie where the fish had been frozen. </p>
<p>Add roasted veggies to that – simply chop up your veggies and put them in the oven at the same time as the fish or chicken. (There are some timing issues depending on the type of veggies, but you’ll figure that out).</p>
<p>If you have a rice cooker, you can also make some rice or quinoa to go along with your meals – I like to make a batch that is large enough for several days’ meals – I just keep the extra in the frig.</p>
<p>I can’t help with the “eating alone in front of the tv” part. The alternative is to eat alone at the dinner table with no one to talk to – when you are alone, that isn’t all that much fun either. (I do also eat frozen dinners sometimes, but I NEVER eat them out of the plastic container – I think it’s just less depressing if you can put your food in a real dish or plate before eating).</p>
<p>I prefer to eat lighter dinners in the summer. Last night we had a shrimp salad and strawberries for dessert. I made up the salad and rinsed the shrimp and stored them separately. Since my family was in and out at different times, they just dished up when they were hungry.</p>
<p>Today I made a garbanzo dip that we had in France. It’s basically humus made with creme fraiche! That with the leftover salad and some grilled chicken is dinner.</p>
<p>Another idea is to make a pot of chili and then freeze in smaller containers and mark them as Chili with the date. Then each time you want to take one out, you can have with pasta, another time with rice, another time over a baked potato, or just in a bowl with cheese on top and a side salad…</p>
<p>Try a few small recipes and then freeze in individual size portions. Don’t forget to label what it is you’re freezing!</p>
<p>You’re going to find that rather than looking at it as a chore, you may find making dinner to be relaxing and a way to combat stress.</p>
<p>Sandra Lee, a well known personality, is famous for taking store bought items and adding other things to it to make the items “semi-homemade”. Maybe you can google her name or tv show (semi-homemade) for easy recipes you can just add stuff to create a easy dinner.</p>
<p>Also, go to the Pillsbury website [Easy</a> Recipes & Easy Cooking Ideas from Pillsbury.com](<a href=“http://www.pillsbury.com%5DEasy”>http://www.pillsbury.com) they always have very easy recipes to follow and can be easily made for one. They may even have a section for cooking for one.</p>
<p>One of my mom’s easy favorites is “bouillabaisse”. She buys a container of “homemade” Manhattan clam chowder at the supermarket, then adds a few shrimp, mussels, clams, or whatever looks nice at the fish market.</p>
<p>There are a zillion things you can prepare for yourself. My DH always travelled a lot on business and so I was home alone quite a lot. Now he is retired and I am not, but he does go away on golf trips and guy get-togethers. I always try to make something for two nights if I can like grilled chicken or eggplant or pasta. If you have Trader Joe’s near you, you can buy their individually wrapped chicken cutlets… or make any of their ravioli or tortellinis. You can stir fry veggies with rice. You can make a nice omelette… just don’t eat Lean Cuisine!!</p>