Tip and tools for cooking for one

mikemac
Tue, 26 Mar 2024 16:19:45 +0000

snowball:

Quick research leads me to the Staub Enamel Cast Iron grill pan; would love other suggestions. I thought I could cook a couple of pieces of chicken, steak or fish at a time, and use the second piece for on a salad the second day for variety.

This could work well. Another approach you might like is to use a toaster oven. Sear both sides of chicken or steak in a frying pan then put into the toaster oven at say 350F and use a probe thermometer to tell when it is done. Or you could reverse the order, cook the protein in the oven until almost done and then sear. For fish you could omit the sear step. If you have a restaurant supply store near you then 1/8 Sheet Pans and 1/4 Sheet Pans can also be used in the toaster oven; line with aluminum foil and drizzle some oil so the protein doesn’t stick, then just toss or recycle the foil when done so cleanup is a breeze. Amazon also sells them.

Soups and stews freeze well. Amazon carries Souper Cubes made out of silicone in a variety of sizes. Make a big batch, eat 2 servings the week you cook and freeze the rest. A vacuum sealer such as Anova is helpful; pull a frozen puck out the day before you plan to eat it. Once you’ve built up a few different soups and stews you’ll have some variety in what you pull out.