One pot meals for one

[quixoticgeek]

I'm sure I had asked this before, but can't for the life of me find the thread.

Does anyone have any favourite one pot meals for one? I'm really looking for simple meals that do really only use one cooking pot. Either stove top, or throw everything in an oven dish types are good too.

Thanks

J

[T42]

Surely you could use a normal recipe and divide the quantities accordingly.  And of course, if something's good you could eat it two days running.

Anyway, omnivore, veggie, veggie + fish or full-on vegan?

[Cudzoziemiec]

Just scroll down! https://yacf.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=115275.0

[quixoticgeek]

Surely you could use a normal recipe and divide the quantities accordingly.  And of course, if something's good you could eat it two days running.

Anyway, omnivore, veggie, veggie + fish or full-on vegan?

Not always is it possible to scale things down easily.

As for two days running, the reason I'm asking is I'm fed up with batch cooking. I normally cook for me and 3 friends called freezer. I have a whole draw in the freezer of single portions of stews, casseroles, and the like, but after a while it gets to be a big faff. Sure the cooking effort isn't much more, but you have to remember to let it cool, down then portion it into bags, label and freeze, the number of times I've got out of bed cos I forgot I had to put the left overs from dinner in the freezer. I want to mix it up with a few dishes where they really are one and done. Where I just have one pot, one plate, and maybe a measuring jug, to wash up afterwards.

Omnivore leaning more to carnivore.

J

[rafletcher]

Well, first things first. Why get out of bed? I regularly leave food to cool in the pan overnight, packaging it up the next morning.  Never been an issue.

As to “one pot”, hmmm. Risotto is good but I’m not sure single portion quantities work, also paella. Similarly stir-fry’s. I’d just do enough for 2 and stick the other half in the fridge for a couple of days to ring the changes (tonights dinner is baked leftover-from-Friday risotto as it happens). Salads are always reliable, with hot or cold protein of your choice. Likewise baked potatoes. I’m not convinced by the famous one-pot pasta, but soups are a good choice. There’re a number of Japanese one pot dishes if you google.

To reduce pot-age I’ll frequently not bother with potatoes, and cook carrots/peas/green beans/broccoli in the one saucepan, adding according to required cooking. 

[T42]

Surely you could use a normal recipe and divide the quantities accordingly.  And of course, if something's good you could eat it two days running.

Anyway, omnivore, veggie, veggie + fish or full-on vegan?

Not always is it possible to scale things down easily.

Right.  Well, US recipes use cups for exactly that reason: you just have to use smaller cups.

Mind you, a lot of US recipes start off in cups then add an ounce of something and leave you floundering.

[markcjagar]

Batch cook rice and store in fridge, eat stir-fry's until all portions of rice are consumed

[quixoticgeek]

Batch cook rice and store in fridge, eat stir-fry's until all portions of rice are consumed

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bacillus_cereus

Also. I am trying to avoid batch cooking stuff. I'm looking for simple one and done recipes.

J

[rafletcher]

Ramen then.

[chrisbainbridge]

I use an air fryer. I can do celeriac chips in it for 20 minutes then take them out, put them on the plat, cover with foil and cook a piece of salmon for 4 minutes and then eat. That is for 2 of us. For just one I would add the salmon for the last 4 minutes.

Courgette spiralise allowed to dry slightly then fry very quickly with cumin ginger and chillie for 3 minutes. Add prawns until pink, serve with chopped cherry tomatoes.

The next option is an instant pot electric pressure cooker and there are plenty of recipes.

[Paul H]

I like cooking books for ideas, but don't really follow recipes, or not more than once, one pot meals in particular are more about combining ingredients you like.  I'm lucky that I like most veg, so pasta or rice with veg, sometimes with some fish and occasionally meat is simple enough.  I have no difficulty cooking rice or pasta in single portions, quite large portions admittedly, but not excessively so. I do have simple tastes, pasta and leeks with some cheese grated on top is a perfect meal, or white fish poached in a tomato sauce, or a long term favourite, kedgeree, though you'd need to hard boil the eggs first, I don't have a recipe for that, there's probably 100's, by varying the rice, greens and spices you could have it every week and it'd be different each time - the recipe in Jack Monroe's bootstrap book is a good base. 
But why the one pot?  And is it always the same pot? Microwave as well? Do you have a steamer?(Edit, just seen from your other thread that you do) I have a steamer and a sauté pan and although i have some other bits would get on fine with just those two.

[nobby]

I'm sure I had asked this before, but can't for the life of me find the thread.

Does anyone have any favourite one pot meals for one? I'm really looking for simple meals that do really only use one cooking pot. Either stove top, or throw everything in an oven dish types are good too.

Thanks

J

Camping food? I like the Alpkit vegetarian ones. MRS and British Army ration packs are good and there is a brand sold by Cotswold outdoors "Adventure Food", I think.
My widowed brother tells me that M&S meals for one are easily heated.

[Ben T]

stir fries can be made different enough that its not the same thing twice in a row. I always put onion, plenty of garlic and about a dozen chillies, veg, dash of a couple of a few different cooking sauces, already-cooked chicken and or frozen prawns, and sometimes a bit of rice but you dont need rice. Change it by varying the veg and the sauces used.

[rafletcher]

Batch cook rice and store in fridge, eat stir-fry's until all portions of rice are consumed

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bacillus_cereus

Also. I am trying to avoid batch cooking stuff. I'm looking for simple one and done recipes.

J

That doesn’t happen because rice is kept in a fridge for a couple of days though, does it.  It’s from cooked rice “left at room temperature for hours” to quote wiki.

[Hot Flatus]

Huevos Rancheros, Shashuka or whatever variety of eggs in tomato sauce. Healthy and nutritious.

[ian]

I do one-pot pasta quite often. It adapts, but saute your main ingredient (meat or veggie sausage), add some garlic, fennel and chilli and cook through for a minute or so till fragrant, stir in a couple of chopped tomatoes, a big dollop of tomato puree and add about 300 ml of hot stock (for one) and your pasta of choice. You'll need to cook the pasta for a few minutes more than it says on the packet, add about two minutes and taste toward the end of cooking. Add more liquid as necessary. I usually grill some broccoli and add it at the end (you could just add it, but a bit of char is nicer). Once cooked, take off the heat, stir in a generous helping of parmesan or pecorino and a couple of spoons of double cream.

About a minute of chopping and grating and around fifteen minutes cooking from start to eating.

[L CC]

Omelette.

[ian]

Omelette.

But you'd need chips.

[T42]

My pre-cycling pasta: 4-5 balls of tagliatelle boiled for 6 minutes. During the last minute I nuke a packet of lardons (~100g) in the microwave using the plate I'm going to eat off, then drain the pasta and dump it on top, add butter, raisins and parmesan, stir it all up then eat with a cuppa on the side. Total preparation time ~8 minutes.

Horrid variant is when MrsT appears and says "tagliatelle? Can you do some for me?" at which point the whole procedure goes to hell because she's veggie. Result is usually cold pasta and pissed-off yrs trly.

[L CC]

Omelette.

But you'd need chips.

Carbs are for wimps.