Last week on Lifeboat some widows shared ideas about cooking for one. It isn't easy, is it! It takes just as much work to cook for one as it does for a whole family---that is, if you actually cook anything---right? I know, I know! Well here's a single-living recipe I like because you can freeze the leftovers and easily reheat them. I've made it for people of all ages and groups of all sizes. Everyone likes it, even the kids!
20 Minute Meatloaves
1 1/2 lb. ground beef
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
2 Tbsp. dehydrated onion flakes or 1/4 c. finely chopped onion
1 large egg
1 or 2 slices of bread torn up into 1 c. of soft crumbs
1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
2 Tbsp. parsley flakes
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
Mix meat, salt, pepper, onion, egg and bread crumbs with 1/2 can of tomato sauce. Shape into 6 or 8 individual loaves, whichever size you prefer. Place on foil in a shallow rimmed baking pan.
Bake 15 minutes at 450 degrees.
While they're in the oven, mix brown sugar, parsley and Worscestershire sauce with remaining 1/2 can of tomato sauce to make a topping.
After 15 minute of baking, drain grease out of pan. (I just move the loaves to another foil-lined pan). Spoon tomato sauce mixture over each meatloaf.
Bake 5 minutes more. Let loaves set a few minutes before serving.
Cool leftover loaves, wrap individually and freeze. To reheat, simply thaw and heat in microwave, or bake it until heated through. Serve with a salad or veggies and you've got a meal!
Recipe may be doubled or tripled. Instead of hand-forming the meatloaves, pat the meat mixture into the baking pan so it's about 2" thick. Separate it into 16-24 loaves with a knife, pancake turner, or dough scraper. Bake as above. Freeze leftovers.
Please help out other widows by adding a comment or sending in your favorite single-living recipes and tips to me at wcplace@gmail.com today. Thanks!
♥ ferree
Thank you for your recipe! I will try it on my next -"I'm to save money and make a meal" day.
ReplyDeleteI should have more days like that too :)
ReplyDeleteI love going out to eat, but easy freezy recipes like these make it quick and convenient to fix it at home.
I have always loved to cook, I miss cooking for and eating with my dear husband. He always complemented me on the meals. There were some recipes I tried that weren't so hot and he told me that too. Some were blah and I wrote that in my books.
ReplyDeleteIt's definitely NOT as much fun cooking for one, but usually I make a big pot of something or other, or a normal sized recipe and divide it up into portions for the freezer. I still like trying new recipes, can't help it. But I really miss my dinner partner. I like eating tilapia, (you can just cook up a piece of fish quickly, add some veggies so that the meal is a quick one), chicken, tacos, soups, the list goes on.
This looks like a great meatloaf recipe.
Happy cooking ~ FlowerLady
I can picture your cookbooks with your hand-written comments, Lorraine. They'd be a true treasure to me! Thank you for your good ideas about freezing the individual portions of dishes you like. And I'd forgotten about fish. A lot of times if you buy them frozen they're individually wrapped. They thaw quickly and we're supposed to eat more fish, right? Thanks again, I always enjoy hearing from you.
ReplyDeleteWhat a good idea to publish "widow friendly" recipes. I like to make soup -- tomato,broccoli cheese, vegetable -- and eat it for a meal or two and freeze the remainder. I also have some recipes for salads that keep well like kale or cabbage and then I have a ready to eat salad at mealtime. Another easy idea is put a yam (sweet potato) in the microwave for 3 min, turn over, microwave another 3 minutes, top with butter and cinnamon. Delicious and healthy.
ReplyDeleteIf you're able to share your recipes I know many would enjoy trying them (especially me!) Great idea about the sweet potato. thank you
ReplyDeleteI love homemade soup, especially on those cold winter wet days. A friend of mine shared this recipe with me that is absolutely simple and delicious !
ReplyDeleteCabbage Lasagna
make it the same way you do with regular lasagna, but substitute the lasagna by boiling a large cabbage and separate the leaves and layer each of the layers with cabbage leaves instead of lasagna. A lot less calories and I might add very delicious and tasty.
I like Old El Paso Enchiladas. The package makes 6, so I make them and then package them two at a time in non-stick foil, then freeze. Yummy with salsa and sour cream.
ReplyDeleteThese comments are making me hungry! I absolutely will try both them. Cabbage Lasagna (my neighbor gives me home-grown cabbage all the time) would save a TON of calories! The enchiladas idea is great too, and I suppose we could do that with other 6-serving size products, I'd never thought of thatr. Thanks!
ReplyDelete