Cooking for One During a Quarantine

Wow.
Has it been a year since Rona paid us an unwelcome visit?
Time flies.
Except when you're quarantined or isolating. Then it drips at the speed of molasses dripping off of the side of the Grand Canyon. 

I have been in quarantine twice already all by my lonesome, cut off from family, scared, sick, moody, angry. But those experiences and being too exhausted and or slothful to stand at a stove for longer than 10 minutes forced me to find easier ways of filling my gut with good food. I couldn't afford take out every day and I didn't want to eat unhealthy. So, I turned to crock pots and soup pots and one pot oven meals. 

That's right, I would empty out the contents of my fridge into a vessel of choice, light a flame under it, put my feet up and have myself a big 'ol glass of wine. 

"Ahhh...this is the life", I would say to myself as I binged my way through Netflix.

Afterwards, I'd pour my soup into several jars and freeze it.

Ditto for the crock pot chill, stew,  chicken wings roast, etc.

FYI: There is nothing you CAN'T cook in a crock pot. Tell all your friends!

My third strategy when laziness gets a grip on me is to put take a small cast iron pot and fill it with one serving of meat and veggies. I pop that into the oven and voila. Totally fuss-free. 

                                                    Chicken Vegetable Soup

• Ingredients: 2 Litres of chicken broth (you can use water and bouillon powder), 2 chicken breasts, Cabbage, yellow onion with skin on it, celery root, celery, carrots, red bell pepper, bok  choy, leek, garlic clove, ground black pepper, whole allspice, salt, a few drops of Maggi seasoning and a teaspoon of Vegeta bouillon.
• Cook on low heat until it boils, then simmer for about an hour.
• When soup is cooked, I add rice noodles, a few drops of hot sauce (Tabasco or Sriracha) and scallions for garnish. BAM! 

Crock Pot Chicken Drumsticks with Rice:

• In a crock pot add: a few dribbles of olive oil, 6 chicken drumsticks, chilli sauce, a splash of lemon juice, 2 cups of orange juice, 1/4 cup soya sauce, chopped garlic clove, fresh chopped ginger root, hot sauce, 1/2 cup red wine, ground black pepper, Italian seasoning, onion powder. 
• Slow cook for 4-6 hours. 
• Dump everything into a deep pan and cook on low to medium heat until the sauce thickens and reduces by half. 

Hamburger Soup

• 2 Litres of beef broth (you can use water and bouillon), ground beef, a bag of frozen vegetables, 1 red onion, 4 cloves of chopped garlic, Onion soup mix (you can use onion salt or onion powder), Italian seasoning, 1/3 cup soya sauce, 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce, a few tablespoons of Ketchup, 1/2 cup tomato sauce, 1 bay leaf, ground black pepper, salt.
• Cook the ground beef first on low heat.
• Add everything except the frozen vegetables.
• When soup is almost done, add the frozen vegetables. If you cook them too soon, they may get mushy.

VOILA!

How beautiful is this? And it tastes better than it looks!

One Pot Meals:

Steak, Taters and Carrots

You can throw everything into one pan or spread it into two.

Two Pans for Two Peeps

Quiche

• I buy ready made pie crusts because making crust myself sounds like work.
• In a bowl, I add 6 eggs, a splash of milk, Seasonings of choice (Italian, black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder....whatever the heck you like).
• I add chopped onions, red and green bell peppers and shredded cheese.
• Bake for about 35 minutes on 375F or until crust is golden brown and the filling is puffed up.

Naan Pizza for One

• Buy some Naan bread (it comes in packages of 3-4).
• Spread with pizza sauce or spaghetti sauce.
• Add seasonings (Italian seasoning, chilli pepper flakes, etc).
• Add the toppings of your choice: cheese, bell peppers, onions, meat.
• Pop in oven for 15-20 minutes. I use a toaster oven.

And that's it for now, folks.

I'm off to put my feet up and have another glass of wine.

Stay safe and healthy and BON APETIT!