My bachelor pad dinner menus are truly pathetic

[medjay]

Spaghetti for the third time this week. And I stocked up on Ramens while I was at the store. It can't get much worse than this.

 

[penguindance]

 

[amelia]

cheesy scrambled eggs and toast.

i rely on that one quite a bit.

 

[peachykeen]

When I was in me early 20's, my roommate and I would go over to the apartment of these two guys we knew and cook huge meals for them. In exchange they would come by our place and do guy-things that needed doing (hammering nails and painting and whatnot, as our landlady was lovely and sweet but was also about a million years old and not very handy about getting things done). I think she and I were the only thing that seperated them from existing entirely on frozen microwave pizza and pop-tarts.

 

[Guest]

Ramen noodles have 800 grams of sodium dont they? nasty.
Those Chinese are trying to kill us.

 

[medjay]

Fried rice and tuna on crackers also stays in heavy rotation around here. Sometimes it's just a bag of nachos and hummus.

 

[medjay]

When I was in me early 20's, my roommate and I would go over to the apartment of these two guys we knew and cook huge meals for them. In exchange they would come by our place and do guy-things that needed doing (hammering nails and painting and whatnot, as our landlady was lovely and sweet but was also about a million years old and not very handy about getting things done). I think she and I were the only thing that seperated them from existing entirely on frozen microwave pizza and pop-tarts.

I'm actually quite the chef when I want to be. I'm just lazy about cooking for myself.

And so far I haven't found a woman who's a better cook than me so I usually end up fixing the meals when they come over. But that's only when they come over.

 

[Guest]

Spaghetti for the third time this week. And I stocked up on Ramens while I was at the store. It can't get much worse than this.

LOL That's my life, mj.

It's good thing I can cook properly. Cook a decent pot of saurce: eat pasta for a week.

 

[Ljbonobo]

Try buying a George foreman Grill. Get one of the small ones. Without my friends having them I dunno how we'd survive all the dining hall food substitutes. Really easy to make a good meal just for one.

The thing I'm not looking forward to is next year when I'm in my own apartment versus the frat house. The dining hall menus suck but they're edible. I have problems getting the family sized recipes for 4 to work for just me.

 

[aly*]

Yup, chips and hummos. I splurged today and got a Lean Cuisine. eh.

 

[Rambling Rose]

Noodle-Roni and Progresso soups - I think I keep them in business. It's hard to cook for one!

 

[intrigued]

medjay, you need to pour yourself a drink, take a toke from something, and simply decide to be good to yourself and have cooking day. On cooking day, you cook enough meals for 2 to 4 weeks at a time, and freeze them. Since you'll be a virgin at it, try 2 weeks the first time.
A couple easy meals are chicken breasts and spaghetti, or other pastas sauce type meals. With the chicken breasts, buy one of the 2.5 pound bags and cook them all at once, then place them on a cookie sheet and freeze them. Once frozen, wrap them into serving sizes and freeze again.
Spaghetti sauce freezes very well, you can use the Ziplock EZ Fill bags, or freezer containers.
Rice, sweet potatoes, corn and other vegetables freeze well, and the beauty of this is that all you have to do is nuke it, and it's food that you cooked yourself.

Are you a grater tater fan? Bake several at a time, and then just add your toppings.
Soup and club type sandwiches are a good "quickie" meal.

Do you like boiled shrimp? A pound size bag will serve you nicely...I eat that a couple times a week, and it's wonderful all by itself.

Do you have a crock pot? If not, get one. You can put your meal in it on "low" and walk away. It will be done 4 to 8 hours later.

You can do it.

 

[medjay]

I'll print out your post and put it up on my corkboard. Hopefully it won't get ignored like all the other recipes and stuff.

 

[Soblue]

I was going to say the same thing. Cook big and freeze.

It's nice to have something good in the freezer to have for dinner.

Or make fast thngs like stir fry with a chicken breast and some frozen veggies.

 

[medjay]

I miss the good old days when I had a roommate and was eligible for food stamps because I was a starving college student.

Now, when I go in the store I start thinking about the budget and how many bags I'm going to have to haul back to the house by myself.

After that, I end up leaving with a bag of chips.

 

[intrigued]

I miss the good old days when I had a roommate and was eligible for food stamps because I was a starving college student.

Now, when I go in the store I start thinking about the budget and how many bags I'm going to have to haul back to the house by myself.

After that, I end up leaving with a bag of chips.

But actually, you are saving money...and shop when you're starving!

 

[kidthor]

...cereal...milk optional...

 

[BlackSnake]

Spaghetti for the third time this week. And I stocked up on Ramens while I was at the store. It can't get much worse than this.

Man, learn how to cook. What's going to happen when you have a lady over? Keep fresh strawberries and a sugar bowl, a couple of good streaks, fresh veggies, wine: different types, beer and other things for yourself, keep your male friends at bay.

 

[medjay]

Re: Re: My bachelor pad dinner menus are truly pathetic

Man, learn how to cook. What's going to happen when you have a lady over? Keep fresh strawberries and a sugar bowl, a couple of good streaks, fresh veggies, wine: different types, beer and other things for yourself, keep your male friends at bay.

In case you missed it:
---------------------------------------------
I'm actually quite the chef when I want to be. I'm just lazy about cooking for myself.

And so far I haven't found a woman who's a better cook than me so I usually end up fixing the meals when they come over. But that's only when they come over.
-----------------------------------------------

When the ladies are over is the only time I do cook. It's still pretty sad but not as bad as you were thinking.

 

[Johnny Mayberry]

Seriously, you should get your act together. I try to eat at least one 'real' meal a day, even though I'm single. I do make big batches of rice and noodles, and freeze them, which makes it easier. Then I can just fire up the grill and cook a pice of meat really quick, chop up some veggies, and I'm set!

 

[KillerMuffin]

Re: Re: Re: My bachelor pad dinner menus are truly pathetic

And so far I haven't found a woman who's a better cook than me so I usually end up fixing the meals when they come over. But that's only when they come over.

I'm moving in. Be there in a few hours.

I'm tired of cooking.

 

[LovetoGiveRoses]

medjay, you need to pour yourself a drink, take a toke from something, and simply decide to be good to yourself and have cooking day. On cooking day, you cook enough meals for 2 to 4 weeks at a time, and freeze them. Since you'll be a virgin at it, try 2 weeks the first time.
A couple easy meals are chicken breasts and spaghetti, or other pastas sauce type meals. With the chicken breasts, buy one of the 2.5 pound bags and cook them all at once, then place them on a cookie sheet and freeze them. Once frozen, wrap them into serving sizes and freeze again.
Spaghetti sauce freezes very well, you can use the Ziplock EZ Fill bags, or freezer containers.
Rice, sweet potatoes, corn and other vegetables freeze well, and the beauty of this is that all you have to do is nuke it, and it's food that you cooked yourself.

Are you a grater tater fan? Bake several at a time, and then just add your toppings.
Soup and club type sandwiches are a good "quickie" meal.

Do you like boiled shrimp? A pound size bag will serve you nicely...I eat that a couple times a week, and it's wonderful all by itself.

Do you have a crock pot? If not, get one. You can put your meal in it on "low" and walk away. It will be done 4 to 8 hours later.

You can do it.

Great advice! I make big pots of soup and try to add a different carbos to it (rice, pasta, etc) each evening.

 

[ShamelessFlirt]

I think Intrigued hit most of the high points. The only things I would add are things that turn into other meals.

My favorite meal that turns into another meals is roasting a chicken which basically after you rub the chicken down you just stick in the over till it's done. Get a vertical roaster for this, it's very simple and the chicken comes out great. Leftovers become individual chicken pieces or chicken salad.

Pasta is great, play with different sauces. Simple things like ricotta and peas with a hit of garlic take only as long as boiling the pasta. Leftovers become a side dish. You can also use salad dressing on the pasta and make it more of a salad (which works with the chicken breasts as well). Canned soup also makes a great sauce. Cream of mushroom soup is great to make chicken breast in.


One of my favorite things to make are beef strips over linguine. It's practically a one pot meal, except for boiling the pasta. Make the pasta ahead, or have it finish about 5 minutes before the beef will finish. Sweat some onion in butter until it's just translucent then add the beef strips (like a longon broil, but cut into strips). When the outsides of the beef are seared, the onion should just be beginning to caramelize. Add a little marsala or medera wine to that and let it reduce, scraping up all the brown bit with a wooden spatula. After it starts to reduce, add in the linguine.

The only seasoning I use on this is a little salt on the onion while it's sweating, the a little more salt and fresh cracked pepper on the beef as it's browning and finally a little Mrs. Dash just before adding the wine.


Wow, that turned into a rant ...lol
Hope it helps!

 

[erosman]

Here's my simple breakfast. Microwave a potato until done. Dice the potato. Then beat one egg with a small amount of milk and microwave for 60 seconds +/- in a microwaveable bowl. (flat bottom allows it to cook more evenly. It will inflate like a parachute. It is quite light and fluffy.) Salt, pepper, salsa, etc. to taste. Wrap it in a tortilla or pita. Eat it with toast or muffin.

bon appetite!

 

[medjay]

Thanks for all the menu suggestions everyone but I guess I ought to point out I'm something of a vegetarian (some fish here and there but not often). Otherwise, I'll do what I can.