ISO "Cooking for One" cookbooks?

[pennywaltz]

Hello, I'm new to this forum and hoping to learn from all of ya'll.

So I just graduated college and I am now on my own. No parents, no meal plan... just me.... I have basically little experience with cooking and I don't know where to start.

So I am looking for a cookbook. I am looking for a cookbook to basically plan everything out for me for the week, since I don't know how. Ideally I would want the cookbook to have a shopping list for me for the upcoming week and I would go buy that and then it would have the recipes for the week using that shopping list. Does anything like that exist?

I think this would get my feet wet and get myself more comfortable with cooking.

 

[Dawgluver]

Licia, a member of this board, is looking to write a cookbook that sounds like just what you need. Try emailing her. Get a church or local community cookbook, they have lots of good info!

Ask away, folks here have a wealth of knowlege.

When I was in college, we always found out where the best Happy Hours (and free food) were. Kept us going even when we were diirt poor.

 

[pennywaltz]

Licia, a member of this board, is looking to write a cookbook that sounds like just what you need. Try emailing her. Get a church or local community cookbook, they have lots of good info!

Ask away, folks here have a wealth of knowlege.

When I was in college, we always found out where the best Happy Hours (and free food) were. Kept us going even when we were diirt poor.

Thanks I'll e-mail her.. I miss college.. I'm out of college now and have a full time job.. do you have any titles that you can recommend that is similar to what I am looking for? As i said I have no experience in cooking basically and shopping... Figure this is a still I will need to survive

 

[PattY1]

I think you might have better luck looking for a cook book for 2. Eat one meal and freeze the other. After awhile you will be able to come up with ways to use the remaining ingredients, turning one meal into something else. Have fun!!

 

[Dawgluver]

Thanks I'll e-mail her.. I miss college.. I'm out of college now and have a full time job.. do you have any titles that you can recommend that is similar to what I am looking for? As i said I have no experience in cooking basically and shopping... Figure this is a still I will need to survive

Check out "How to Cook Everything" by Mark Bittman. It's available on IPad, and IPhone, also through Amazon.

Ramen noodles are your friend, cheap and tasty, but loaded with salt. Check out the archives here, just plug in your key recipe words.

Minute Rice with Velveeta, microwave with veggies like shredded carrots and celery.

Get seasonal veg like corn on the cob, microwave for 5 minutes in the husk. Frozen peas on salads are good too, along with cottage cheese.
Check with your mom or grandma, surely they have some advice!

 

[EatLoveMove]

Just do a Google search "Recipes for one", or "recipes for two". Could even try "meals for one" etc...
There are cookbooks out there, but the main ones I've seen are only based around meals for two. You could also search "one pot" recipes, you can usually freeze most of these types of meals. Your freezer will be stocked up!

 

[Fabiabi]

You have a good plan to buy enough to make meals for the week, this way you won't be buying daily, this is where I waste money. I also find that I buy far too much when I buy daily as i'm often hungry when I'm out shopping and just get whatever I fancy there and then and don't get through half of it. If you want quick and easy meals then good old Jamie Oliver is useful as he uses a lot of fresh vegetables, herbs and pasta which is easy to reduce down to the size of a meal for one.
You could always bake something over the weekend that you can keep in the fridge for a few days to eat during the week with some salad.

 

[Josie1945]

Hi Penny Welcome to DC.
I would look into a cook book program that will change the serving size, Like from (4 to 1). Then you can find thousand of recipes online and type them into your program them let the software change the serving size.

Josie

 

[EatLoveMove]

Penny, I was just at the library and saw a cookbook called "Single Servings". Didn't see an authors name on it. I have a feeling that its been produced by a company.

You could see if your local library has it, or even your local bookstore, or order it online? It looked really good, I almost borrowed it but had my arms full of cookbooks already. If you're interested I could get you the info about the book if you liked.

 

[licia]

Penny, I didn't think of it when I answered your pm, but a rotisserie chicken is a good place to start. Even with the two of us, I make 2 meals at least. You can take the already cooked chicken from the bones and make sliced chicken for one meal, an entree including chicken with another, a salad or soup - an endless variety of meals plus you can freeze the chicken at any interval for a later meal. It really comes in handy when the hunger is there, but not much time. I do have a cookbook for two somewhere among my many shelves and if I can find it I will post the name or maybe some of the simpler recipes. I know with your interest you will do very well. BTW, when we get our cookbook off the ground I will post some of what we've come up with. The task is going a bit slower than we thought - but time really gets away in the summer time.

 

[Selkie]

Living alone, I often use "America's Test Kitchen Cooking For Two" revisions 2010 & 2011. I find the recipe ideas extremely helpful and simple. The quantities leave just enough for a second meal.

 

[pennywaltz]

Wow thank you so much for all the replies. I am feeling very welcomed and help! I am extremely grateful with the comments everyone left

Funny thing, As I post this message, lifehacker posted an article on cooking once a month (freezer cooking). I'm a bit of a tech geek

Ideally I would like to find something like this: One Shopping List for Multiple Meals - Chicken | Cooking For One by Ashley Lojko

Sadly, Ashley stopped her weekly menu list and she only has 3 meals I messaged her on twitter and she said she's not continuing that list anytime soon due to her travels..

At this point, I want to get my feet wet on independent living and surviving! But yeah the thing starts off with exactly what I should get at the market and plans out meals for me.

I found a website that offers something similar (one week cooking), but I am unsure the $55 subscription is worth it. I found no independent reviews about the service, so I fear it might be a scam (or might not!). But regardless, I think I want a cookbook, that way I can interchange weeks (depending what's on sale at the market!). For example, the book might say the upcoming week is chicken, but there is a big sale on beef. I would do beef switch beef and chicken week

I think 7-Day Menu Planner For Dummies has what I am looking for. I need to head to BN to thumb through it before I make the purchase (either online or at BN) to see if it is what would aid me on this.

@Eat More Love, I'll check out "Single Servings". I am heading to Barnes and Noble at some point this week. Sadly the Borders near my house close down.. I'm sure I can find the title and ISBN number via google or amazon...

@Dawgluver I did get the How to Cook everything app for the iphone. I find that would be easy once I know what I am doing and how to plan out the meals.

@Fabiabi I love baking. But I think I would go into a sugar coma if that is all I ate. My boyfriend said I make killer brownies!

@Josie1945 do you have any recommendation on cooking program.

@licia The $5 rotisserie chicken at my supermarket seems to be my friend. It last me a food 2-3 days for the whole chicken! That would be great that you can give me a few names of cookbooks off your shelves. I would love to pick up your cookbook, do you know when it will be completed?

 

[Katie H]

I agree with licia. A rotisserie chicken is a wonderful resource. One meal could be simply pieces of the freshly cooked chicken. Another would be chopped chicken as a salad and stuffed into a tomato, next you could chop more and turn it into an enchilada/taco, etc. dish, slice up others and make a gravy/sauce and serve it with mashed potatoes. Save the bones and remaining clinging meat and convert that to a soup using small quantities of leftover frozen veggies that get accumulated from ends of packages that aren't enough for a whole serving.

So far, this one chicken has provided at least 5 meals. Even better. If you have the capability to rotisserize your own chicken, you'll also save money. Our toaster oven has a rotisserie feature that we use all the time. It cooks a 4-pound chicken in about 2 hours. The last one I did I got the chicken on sale for about 69 cents per pound. Pretty inexpensive if you're also seeking to save money, too.

Along with others here, I agree that if you use a cookbook designed for two, you'll maximize your time and effort and have extra meals already prepared for times when you're busy or don't feel like cooking.

 

[Dawgluver]

Rotisserie chicken carcasses make outstanding broth. I make it on a per carcass basis, but if you don't have time, you can freeze the carcasses to cook up later. You can also freeze the broth for later soups and stuff.

 

[spork]

pennywaltz, I have a cookbook that fits your description almost to a tee. One of my very first cookbooks, a gift shortly after I too graduated. Unfortunately, it's written in Japanese.

If you're completely new to cooking, I'm thinking youtube could also be a helpful resource...?

 

[pennywaltz]

pennywaltz, I have a cookbook that fits your description almost to a tee. One of my very first cookbooks, a gift shortly after I too graduated. Unfortunately, it's written in Japanese.

If you're completely new to cooking, I'm thinking youtube could also be a helpful resource...?

I actually follow 1 youtube cooking person, she cooks vietnamese food (My background!)... it gives me a "taste" of home I guess.

Now the question is, is it easier to learn Japanese or search for the cookbook in English?

 

[pennywaltz]

Just wanted to report, I found a cookbook that might be ideal.
[FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica][SIZE=-1]The 7-Day Menu Planner: Weekly Shopping Lists, Menus, and Recipes for an Entire Year[/SIZE][/FONT] It was $6 on amazon. Based on 1 of the 2 reviews, it may not be healthy (lots of butter) but at least it would get my feet wet. and of course it's an older cookbook (1993).

I found the 7day menu planner for dummies, which puts together weekly menus at Borders. It doesn't have a shopping list (I suppose I can go through all the recipe and put together a list). I might switch to that one in the near future. I find it funny it is cheaper to get a copy off amazon than the everything must go sale at Borders (as you know they are closing!).

 

[Max Sutton]

Going Solo In The Kitchen

I have GOING SOLO IN THE KITCHEN (1995) by Jane Doerfer in my cookbook collection. It is geared for the lone cook who is new to cooking.

 

[NotActuallyaHero]

You know, I am quite honestly at least half kidding with this suggestion, but there is either the greatest or saddest cookbook for you to use right here: Microwave Cooking for One

 

[pennywaltz]

I'm reading through The 7-Day Menu Planner: Weekly Shopping Lists, Menus, and Recipes for an Entire Year and the book is really geared towards perhaps a family of 4... i am attempting my first week soon and of course I am dividing everything down and skipping a few things. THe book wanted me to make a chocolate cake on a Tuesday night... now that is funny

I'll do a search for GOING SOLO IN THE KITCHEN @Max and look at the reviews

You know, I am quite honestly at least half kidding with this suggestion, but there is either the greatest or saddest cookbook for you to use right here: Microwave Cooking for One

This is what I'm trying to avoid, but I might have to learn to love my microwave!