OT Dinner question

[jpeka65844]

Hey all! DH travels with his job and DS4 and I are on our own a lot during the week for dinner.

He's a bit of a picky eater and never eats very much so I never feel compelled to cook. But I'm tired of eating ready-serve food (frzn pizzas, canned soups, etc...)

Does anybody have any tips on cooking good, new stuff for ONE????

 

[Luv Bunnies]

I also have picky kids and end up cooking things just for my DH and me. My DH can also be picky so there are times when I only cook for myself! You can cook one evening and have leftovers the next day or freeze them. I like to make split pea soup in the crock pot and eat it for a few days. I also make a pound of pasta at a time with meat and sauce and freeze whatever we don't eat. If you freeze it in individual servings you have some good microwave meals for when you need something quick. You can also buy a package of chicken breasts and separate them into individual packets. Put them in the freezer and take out one or two as you need them. One of my "go to" meals when I'm on my own is a large baked potato with cheese and sour cream and a salad.

 

[Stephres]

I have three picky eaters (two kids and one husband) and what I do a lot if buy a rotisserie chicken and let the picky ones eat the breasts and then take the thighs and make a salad with it by adding pasta, vegetables and feta cheese. You could try that with your picky eater: make the chicken and mac & cheese for dinner and use the rest of the chicken for you.

Good luck!

 

[Wendybird55]

Did you ever try breakfast for dinner? Omlettes are a great and easy one person meal to make. I like to make veggie omlettes (mushrooms, tomatoes. peppers, etc.) and sometimes add cheese. You can add ham if you want or just about anything. This along with toast, or roll or some kind of potato and maybe some fruit for a bit of dessert. It's filling, fast and easy to make and perfect for one.

And don't forget about pancakes and breakfast meats. All are very good.

Also a quick stir fry. Again take any veggies you may have or like and a piece of chicken or beef. Slice and dice and put in a pan with a little oil and stir fry. You can add any seaonings you like. Sometimes I go italian and add garlic powder and italian seaonins and can of diced tomatos for liquid and maybe even some mozzerlla or parmesain cheese.

Or you can go Asian and ad some ginger, garlic, teryiaki or soy sauce. Boil some rice or pasta and another fast meal for one.


You can also can *** some zest to frozen pizza - add some slices veggies or a little crumbles meat and some extra cheese and you have your own specialty pizza.

A big salad is also nice - again chop up any veggies you like - you can add some chicken or tuna for protein, maybe some shredded cheese. If you like the waldorf flavor add some apples, raisins and nuts and the dressing of your choice.

One helpful thing is to break down your meats and such before you freeze them into some individual servings. If you get a pack of chicken put a few single serving pieces into freezer bags, etc. It's always less expensive to buy meat in larger packages, but when you cook for one it's not feasible to defrost that much meat. But with single freezer servings you can thaw out a single serving of meat and cook it anyway you like.

 

[badblackpug]

Buy things and separate them into smaller portions and freeze them. I try not to buy a lot of processed things because of health and cost. Try raw vegies, you can buy celery already cut up and baby carrots and lo fat ranch to dip or peanut butter to spread. You can also buy individual packs of apple slices (Motts, I think) that stay fresh for a long time. They are good dipped in peanut butter. My kids love to dip anything. I buy frozen shrimp. Very easy to separate out a portion and quick to stir fry or boil. Stuffed baked potatoes are good with broccoli and cheese and can be done in individual portions. I also buy a large bag of tilapia fillets. They are frozen in individual portions and cook quite quickly. Pasta can be done easily, too. You can buy a bag of meatballs and just take out enough for you and your son. You can also use just enough pasta for the two of you and store the rest in an air tight container. sauce is sold in small jars. I also buy stuff that can be used in several ways. I will make a pork loin, and the next day cut it up and reheat it with bbq sauce for pork barbeque. I also do the same thing with chicken or turkey. I buy a whole roaster and make it. The next day it is open faced sandwiches, and the next day it is chicken salad.

 

[brymolmom]

One thing I decided a long time ago is not to make separate meals around here. I don't understand how some people do it...it's enough work and cleanup for one meal! I will cave and let the kids have mac n cheese or other if I'm making something like shrimp for dh and I - but that's only about once every couple of months. I have 2 kids - ds is a good eater - dd is very picky. I stick with 'basic' stuff most of the time but occassionaly throw in something new/different. So most 'regular' days it will be meatball subs, tacos, pasta, frozen ravioli, soup and grilled cheese, grilled chicken, stir fry, we get chinese take-out about once a week, calzones, pizza bagels, broiled fish (oops forgot - I do a bit extra for kids on this night too - I let dd have fish sticks - pretty much anything with a different consistency like fish I will allow them to have other). Then on occassion I throw in a chicken casserole, chicken parm, hamburgers (turkey burgers usually), beeef stew and any other new recipe that I find.

The way I handle the picky eater is that she has to have at least a couple bites of what we're having (sometimes more or less depending if I really know whether or not she dislikes it or is just being a pain) and then I make sure there are a couple things on the table that she does like (raw cucumbers and carrots, grapes, mandarin oranges, rolls or even bread & butter) - so she is allowed to 'fill up' on any of these things after she has had her couple of bites. Just a couple weeks ago I made beef stew and put about 5 small bites of the beef on her plate (she DOES like the egg noodles I do with the stew which is what she usually fills up on) - and to my amazement - she ate all the beef up very quickly. There is no way I would have thought she would and I was thrilled to find another thing that she LIKES! If I was just letting her have chicken nuggets every night - there's no way I would have found that out.

Anyway - it is a big thing to me because I have always been picky myself and I hated it and it was a pain when I was a kid cuz I never even wanted to go over to friends' houses for dinner as I knew I wouldn't like it. So, I am trying to give her as many opportunities as possible WITHOUT dinnertime becoming a huge fight/argument so that she hates the whole dinner thing altogether.

Or do what pp's have said and just make big pots of stuff and then freeze individual portions of it for yourself. Good luck!

 

[Mathfailure]

I am another vote for just make dinner and put it on the table.

Children will not starve, and at 4 your child cannot go and make something different, so place the food out and see what happens. Don't give in, and like the above Mom, make sure at least one healthy liked option is offered.

Eat, don't eat, but the next meal is -----------number of hours away. Then only offer snacks that are healthy - veggies and fruit.

We cannot make our children eat, and sometimes the amount they need is smaller than we realize, but we can control the selection of what they eat. If you do not make the kid food they have to eat the other.

If I had to face this, I would most likely make a full meal and freeze the extra protions. Eventually I would have a great variety of home made meals to choose from, and could add to on those occasions when I wanted to cook again.

 

[Hannathy]

I refuse to battle over food. There are a lot of things I care my kids are good at than blindly eating what is put in front of them. I don't like everything why should they?

Anyway someone beat me to Breakfast for dinner. When my kids were little and DH traveled we did this a lot. frozen waffles are good also.

Casseroles are good because you can freeze portions of them.

The individual chicken breasts they sell at Aldi's and other places (Cordon Bleu, Kiev, etc) are great because it is the entree and it is easy to add a side.
Frozen fish comes in individual sealed pouches anymore, so you can cook only what you want and they thaw quickly cause you can put them in water in their sealed pouch. EAsy to microwave or bake.
Make a meatloaf, have it one night freeze slices of it.

 

[badblackpug]

Oooh, I forgot hamburgers. You can make the patties ahead of time and freeze the extras.

I agree that I am not a make several different meals kind of person. I cook what I cook. You can find something on the table you like or you can be hungry. I honestly though this thread was less about being a picky eater and more about finding things the OP could make in small portions, that wasn't processed. I will also do a big pot of soup and freeze it in individual portions. My kids love the classic kid things, nuggets, pizza, etc, but I try to offer a variety.

Lasagna freezes nicely. I have made pot pies from leftover chicken and frozen them.

 

[clutter]

When my dd was that age, she had a very limited diet. Since it was just the two of us, I loved it. Life was easy then. I'd throw fish sticks in the oven for her and make pasta for me. My fave - I'd keep frozen, cooked shrimp in the freezer. Warm them under some water, saute them in olive oil and garlic, throw in some spinach or broccoli, then toss in the pasta for a sec. There's so much you can toss into pasta without feeling like you're cooking. Now my dd eats really well, and it's a pita having to cook all the time!!!

 

[Mandychelle79]

I am another vote for just make dinner and put it on the table.

Children will not starve, and at 4 your child cannot go and make something different, so place the food out and see what happens. Don't give in, and like the above Mom, make sure at least one healthy liked option is offered.

Eat, don't eat, but the next meal is -----------number of hours away. Then only offer snacks that are healthy - veggies and fruit.

We cannot make our children eat, and sometimes the amount they need is smaller than we realize, but we can control the selection of what they eat. If you do not make the kid food they have to eat the other.

If I had to face this, I would most likely make a full meal and freeze the extra protions. Eventually I would have a great variety of home made meals to choose from, and could add to on those occasions when I wanted to cook again.

My four yr old has been known to make himself a PBJ or a bowl of cereal when he doesnt like what we are having. Or a bologna and cheese sandwich.