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Post by ohblondie on Oct 20, 2014 11:34:32 GMT -5
Do you have a crock pot? This morning I loaded my crockpot with chicken breasts and cream of chicken soup and chicken stock. When I get home I will make chicken and biscuits. Then I will use the leftovers for chicken pot pie. Anything left over after that will be any casserole or dish that uses chicken. CHicken/brocc and pasta or someone mentioned chicken fajitas.
you can also throw cans of stuff in the crockpot to make chili or other soups.
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Post by angela on Oct 20, 2014 11:45:14 GMT -5
sunshineshouse I am in a similar position. Although I am not eating out because I just don't have the money for it, I am not eating well at home. It seems I have forgotten how to cook. I will say, when I was doing okay on my own, I did a lot of one-pot meals which you could do on that one burner hot plate. Boneless, skinless chicken thighs are my favorite, easiest, and often cheapest meat for a meal. The key for me to make a one pot meal work is to have ingredients that all cook at approximately the same rate. So I would do angel hair pasta, chicken thighs, and frozen green peas for example in about 2 inches of chicken broth. Cook with lid on for about 15 minutes. Other meat things I have used, hamburger and fish. Chopped broccoli florettes, corn. If I make it to Trader Joe's they have a couple of frozen mixed vegetable mixes. Orzo or couscous are other good starches. It can be helpful to precook quantities of certain things like rice or hamburger. I know you have limited refrigerator space so that might be a little tricky. Because you don't have much refrigerator, it does sound wise to use canned products instead of frozen, I just thought of that. There is canned chicken chunks and canned salmon. Those cooked with pasta would make a good easy meal. Hope this helps!
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Post by def6 on Oct 20, 2014 12:58:08 GMT -5
Down here in Florida, we tend to lose power ALOT! A great meal that does not require refrigeration for the ingredients is tuna fish casserole: tuna, noodles, cream of mushroom soup and a can of early peas Just cook the noodles then add in all the rest …put it in a casserole dish with cheddar cheese or broken up ritz crackers on top if you want to get fancy.
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Post by aa on Oct 20, 2014 13:25:20 GMT -5
sunshineshouse, are you maybe as much in need of encouragement to clear the areas you need cleared, as you are of actual food suggestions? Because I can tell you from experience, that you can have good intentions to cook, but if you have no counter space and can't reach the appliances, you'll get discouraged quickly. The more you can do to clear a space to prepare your meals, the easier it will be and the more likely you are to succeed. Do you have any clear counter space? Are there things on the floor in front of the place where the appliances are set up? My stove doesn't work either, so I use my microwave every day, including to cook rice and pasta. And, I couldn't live without my George Foreman grill--yummy grilled cheese sandwiches and veggie burgers! But if I couldn't get to where these things were I would never use them. Good luck with your cooking, eating out all the time has to be frustrating, expensive, and not very healthy either! Diane I feel for you. I save money by bulk purchasing and freezing, and cooking huge meals to last several days, which with your limited food storage seems impractical. Does anyone have some really good ways to live on mainly dry goods? Any 'how to use up all that food from your nuke/zombie apocalypse/rapture/alien attack bunker' lists? I think these two posts are very applicable. dtesposito (Diane) speaks the truth that good intentions are one thing, but if the task is too complicated by things getting in the way, it's really hard to stick with it. And PaperGrace points out a very important detail - it's cooking meals where you are able to use items you have gotten good deals on (like by buying in bulk) and also that use the entire contents of something if it can't be stored easily (like full cans, entire vegetables, etc.) and then being able to divide it up into portions to have later that really lets you get the full savings of the meal. Cooking for one can be expensive. So many recipes just can't be cut in half or quarters without leaving you lots of open ingredients. And if you can't turn around and use up the rest of those opened ingredients before they go bad, that's a lot of food waste. And if you make the full recipe and don't eat it all or can't store it properly, that's a lot of food/money wasted as well. Based on your current setup, I think searching "cooking in a kitchenette" or "cooking without a kitchen" might work better. I thought this one really might hit home happyherbivore.com/2011/10/minimalist-monday-how-cook-without-kitchen/. In it she says, "My “kitchen” consists of a hot plate, a toaster oven and a microwave. I can only use one appliance at a time, because my building is super old and if I try & run two, I blow a fuse and have to re-set it & start all over! I should also point out that I don’t have a kitchen sink. I just have a mini one in the bathroom, which leads to me doing my dishes in the shower (I know it sounds crazy, but for my living situation, it’s actually highly efficient!)."
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Post by sunshineshouse on Oct 20, 2014 18:22:46 GMT -5
hi hordfest, I don't have cable tv but I do have a lot of cookbooks or even magazines with recipes. In fact I picked up a free book the other day that has recipes for autumn-inspired things. I may not be able to make most of the things in it, but it does help my brain to get unstuck a bit!
Hi charis! Thank you for the website and the recipe. I am going to print out both a start a little guide for myself - a very scaled-down sort of cookbook.
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Post by sunshineshouse on Oct 20, 2014 18:33:21 GMT -5
Hi Arid, I will add grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup and also eggs to my list of possible purchases and menu items. Also oatmeal - and you gave me an idea that I could probably bake oatmeal cookies in the toaster oven and add raisins and cranberries to them. That would make a healthy snack or a breakfast on the go.
Hi def6
Yes, a credenza - I know the type of furniture you mean. I was going to set up a mini-kitchen in the hallway just outside my bedroom last winter. I did set up the electric tea kettle and the electric burner. The kettle I used a lot of mornings for tea or hot water. The burner I used occasionally to reheat something like Chinese food wrapped in foil. I am closer to being able to use the kitchen this year even if it is just a small part of it. It's a start!
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Post by sunshineshouse on Oct 20, 2014 19:08:36 GMT -5
Hi onwardandupward! Thank you for the great chicken parm recipe! I should mention that only one dd eats meat but I could prepare this and other dd and I eat just the bread crumbs and rice part : ) I will often eat something like chicken noodle soup but just have the noodles. Other dd eats the chicken and shares with the appreciative dogs.
Hi dtesposito! Yes, indeed, you are correct, it is difficult to prepare meals - I won't glorify it too much by saying cooking meals...simply making food in my house using food that is in my house - in a kitchen that is still squalorly. Especially if you are out of practice. I do have stuff on the floor blocking the area where I would need to stand to use the kitchen counter. I am chipping away at it at a slow pace. The counters are not clear but have no seriously dirty dishes on them, though stuff that has been out and is dusty. I have about 4 feet of counter space. What is on the 2 feet space on one side of sink is a toaster oven, little espresso maker, paper towel holder, little coffee pot, small Keurig. I am only trying to gain access to that area at first. And figure out where the microwave can go. I know a clear goal of simple food I can make - like melting cheese on bread in toaster oven - helps me not to fritter (food pun) away my time and to stay focused on the task. Saturday I got two small bags of trash out of kitchen. Not super, but okay.
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Post by def6 on Oct 20, 2014 20:41:58 GMT -5
Love your suggestion Messymimi!
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Post by TML on Oct 20, 2014 23:46:55 GMT -5
As a university project, a young lady named Leanne Brown wrote Good and Cheap: A SNAP Cookbook. Her idea was to help people on SNAP Benefits (formerly called Food Stamps) eat healthfully and cheaply. Her recipes are very easy, and can probably be done with just the equipment you have.
You can download her book for free at www.leannebrown.ca
messymimi Thanks!!! There are a couple of recipes I can't wait to try
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Post by sunshineshouse on Oct 21, 2014 17:02:34 GMT -5
Trying to figure out how to tag someone when I am posting from a phone.
So many good ideas, I've only read halfway through. I forgot I have a George Foreman grill too! That would be useful too. I don't have enough counter space to line up many small appliances, but the grill and the rice cooker for instance would fit, and I could make veggie burgers and a side dish of some sort.
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Post by dairy2mama on Oct 23, 2014 22:54:27 GMT -5
I bought my dd a small crockpot and she takes it to work to heat up soups, stews. etc. Cut up vegetables or frozen vegetables with rice or potatoes and tomatoes sauce with a few herbs or spices is a delicious crockpot meal. I start mine in the morning, eat it for dinner, keep it on low over night and eat more for lunch the next day. Do you have a way to reheat food at work or be able to keep food at work? Sometimes I bring a couple of days of food to work and leave them in the fridge. In the winter, you live where it is cold, you could use your car as a fridge.
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