Whenever my parents are out for dinner and a movie by themselves (which I love, because then I can party at home with a movie, my wii dance, homemade baked goods and the freedom to sing my heart out throughout the house), I usually fend for myself when it comes to dinner. And I do this gladly.
When I ask my friends what they eat in a similar situation, I am surprised to here them list frozen dinners from Trader Joe's, cereal and milk, eggs, and other foods I condemn as my evening entree. I find it much more satisfying to make my own food, no matter how ridiculously easy it is to do.
When I don't feel like getting takeout or we don't have any leftovers, my staple ingredients in all of the "alone-time dishes" I cook for myself are:
- several types of pasta (spagetti, penne, udon, ramen, whole-wheat pasta)
-frozen or fresh peas and carrots
-leftover roasted chicken, sausage, honey-ham or other type of protein
- beans of some sort
-fresh or canned tomatoes
-chicken stock
-salad greens
-Soy sauce, teriyaki sauce (best kind!), balsamic vinegar, etc.
With a well-stocked pantry filled with these foods, one can make just about anything! My current favorite meal is chicken noodle soup-made simply under 15 min!
ALL YOU NEED IS (serves 1-2):
1 can of reduced-sodium chicken broth (or 3 cups homemade) + water to taste (if too salty)
(or vegetable broth, or beef broth, or any kind of broth really!)
Any pasta at hand (I used Annie Chun's brown rice noodles)
an array of vegetables (carrots, peas, celery, sugar snap peas, etc)
1 small potato (optional)
Olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder, seasoning, etc.
EXTRAS: roasted chicken, tortellini (instead of pasta), chopped tomatoes (make minestrone!) wonton wrappers (mash roasted chicken, peas and sesame oil into thick mixture, spread in between two wonton wrappers, seal with dabs of water)
General Directions:
1. Pour desired broth in a medium saucepan over medium heat until almost boiling.
2. Meanwhile, microwave or boil vegetables until tender but also slightly undercooked in a small bowl. Cut up potato and cook until done.
3. Lower heat over broth to a simmer. Add cooked chicken or other desired protein to broth. Add almost cooked vegetables. Add salt, pepper, garlic, and any other spice to broth. Cover and simmer for 5 min.
3. Boil noodles until al dente (slightly undercooked). Strain.
4. Add noodles to soup and serve hot!
MIX-INS and ADDITIONS (the Classic, above):
Shake up your soup a bit with other ingredients in your kitchen. And whatever you add, make sure you also have some crusty warm bread or toast!
ASIAN SOUP:
Swap spaghetti or other Italian pastas for thick udon or curly ramen noodles.
Add a few drops of sesame oil and a splash of soy sauce to the broth in Step 3.
For protein, add small cubes of stir-fried tofu, thick portobello mushrooms, or long, stringy enoki mushrooms.
WONTON SOUP:
Make wontons with round or square wonton wrappers filled with a DIY mixture of mashed-up roast chicken, peas, sesame oil and soy sauce. Place a small portion of the filling mixture in the center of a wonton wrapper, wet the corners with small dots of water, and seal with another wonton wrapper. For an even simpler version, make the quick dumplings from a previous post and add to the broth at the very end.
ITALIAN SOUP:
Keep Italian noodles or swap them for rice. To make lemon chicken soup, add rice, shredded roasted chicken, the juice of a lemon, olive oil, bay leaf and garlic cloves to the chicken broth. Let simmer. (this could also be considered Greek chicken lemon rice soup...)
MEATBALL SOUP:
Add hearty meatballs to the soup by mixing ground beef, pork, turkey, or a combo, garlic powder, a bit of egg, breadcrumbs and salt/pepper together until well combined. Heat oil in a small pan and cook meatballs. Add to soup
HEARTY WINTER VEGETABLE SOUP:
Add a can of chopped tomatoes to the broth and whatever hearty vegetable you have on hand (swiss chard, kale, fresh tomatoes, carrots, etc). Use. macaroni or other delicate pasta shapes. Add a spritz of lemon and a generous grate of parmesan cheese before serving.
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